Adding a water feature to your Bergen County house can dramatically increase the resale value of your home, and give you and your family a great place to relax outdoors. Water features are often the focal point of landscaped areas and can make a favorable impact on guests, eliciting comments about its beauty and functionality.
There are many types of water features to choose from and picking the right one for your home depends mostly on budget and your personal tastes. Consulting with a landscape and design company will help you determine what you can afford as well as what looks best in your New Jersey outdoor living space. The major features to choose from include:
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Koi Ponds
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Water Fountains
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Waterfalls
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Streams
Koi Ponds
Koi ponds are one of the most basic types of water features since you don’t need a lot of prep work in order to get one installed. Generally, you will have to dig a hole deep enough for your chosen pond liner to fit in, and leave some space around it for a basic filtration system. The cost of installing a koi pond in New Jersey is minimal since you should be able to dig the hole by yourself, and the biggest part of maintenance is making sure that the koi get fed. If you aren’t a big fan of digging holes during the summer, you could hire a respected landscaping company to ensure the job is done right the first time. During the winter, you may want to add a heater to your pond to keep it above 50 degrees.
Water Fountains
Backyard water fountains can accentuate any landscaping you have done. Smaller fountains only require you to level the land and dig out a foundation, but for large fountains, you will probably want it to be professionally installed.
Maintaining a water fountain includes keeping the intakes clear and removing excess debris from the collection pool. Most water fountains in cooler climates like northern New Jersey, may need to be winterized if you plan on turning them off to make sure that water isn’t sitting in pipes or tubes over the Winter which may cause them to rupture when the water freezes.
Waterfalls
Backyard waterfalls can be beautiful centerpieces for your Bergen County lawn, and they can help keep oxygen levels high in koi ponds. A standalone waterfall, depending on the size, will need to be on level ground, but you can build up dirt behind the waterfall to make it appear as though it is built into a small hillside behind it. Maintenance on waterfalls include making sure that debris isn’t getting into the intake lines, and that the tarp used is staying in place. During the Winter, if you elect to keep the waterfall on, you will want to make sure that ice isn’t forming around critical pieces of the pump.
Streams
Building a backyard stream requires a lot of dirt removal or leveling depending on how long you want the stream to be. Many people find it easier to let professionals handle this part of the landscaping since it can take awhile to get the prep work done. Maintaining a stream centers around ensuring that the pump is functioning well and that the pathway remains clear to prevent a water backup.
During the winter, many people in areas where it gets very cold will decide to shut off their stream since they won’t be spending much time outside anyway. Draining the stream may be necessary at the time to make sure that all the water is out of the return pipes.