The water feature at this home in South Barrington, Illinois was originally a waterfall and small koi pond that was integrated with a multi-tiered deck. Asked to repair existing leaks, John Hayden of JJ Hayden, Inc., discovered that the deck was completely faulty and had to be demolished. This gave the contractor and the homeowners the opportunity to rethink the project. A large lounge spa with an upper pool, several sheer descents, two decks and a bridge to the patio resulted.

The spa was designed to fit with the existing patio built of bluestone pavers. The spa's basin, steps and benches were formed with shotcrete. The steps, benches, and coping are capped with piranha stone, a naturally quarried product from Brazil. Caramel heucheras accent the edge of the spa. In the upper right corner are midnight rose heucheras.

Big trouble sometimes lurks beneath the surface of a proposed project. Getting to the bottom of it adds time and cost but can add up to surprising results.

John Hayden of JJ Hayden, Inc., was contacted by homeowners in South Barrington, Illinois who wanted to have their faulty waterfall and leaking koi pond repaired and never have to worry about it again. Little did any of them suspect the depth of the problem.

The original water feature was freestanding but was an integral part of a multi-tiered deck. To make the desired repairs, part of that deck had to be removed. And that's when they saw the mess underfoot.

"Upon removing the portion of the deck, we noticed that the deck was pulling away from the home due to the fact that the large columns were not placed on footings," states Hayden.

As a result, the entire deck would have to be taken out. After the shock of this revelation wore off, the homeowners realized it was an opportunity to expand the scope of the project.

They decided to increase the overall size of the water feature, enlarge the bottom collection pond, and at its far end, create a bridge over it to the lower patio.

After finalizing the feature's size and shape, and the location of its drops, Hayden suggested that without a major cost increase, a water treatment system and a heater could be added to turn the planned pond into a large lounging spa. The homeowners enthusiastically agreed.

The new outcropping-stone water feature has a spillway and six Atlantic sheer descents powered by a one-horsepower pump. The landscapers reused the previous water feature's Wisconsin outcropping stones so that they matched the other walls at the home. In order to fit on a new shotcrete ledge, the stones had to be cut to 18 inches in depth from their original size of 36-48 inches in depth. Cutting the stones created more material, which allowed the new water feature to be much wider than the old. The original columns had not been set in footings so the deck was pulling away from the house. JJ Hayden, Inc., remedied this by removing them, digging and setting footings, and building new columns from Unilock's Quarry Stone.

The upper pool with its own sheer descents and lights was designed to add interest and to enhance the homeowners' views from their kitchen window and upper deck, especially at night when it looks like a "glowing bowl." Flower carpet roses grace the planter.

A late decision was made to turn the old koi pond into a large lounge spa, so a mini excavator was called in to dig out the basin to four feet at its deepest point. But before that was done, the existing hole had to be filled with mulch to create a passageway for the mini excavator.

The spa was designed to disappear under the bridge, which connects the lower deck to the patio. This allows the homeowners to look out over the lake while sitting in the spa. The bridge, as well as the decks, was built with Trex products.

With the final design in hand, the work began. The rest of the deck, the columns, and the old water feature were demolished. The existing outcropping rock was removed and set aside to be used later. The basin was dug to a maximum depth of four feet by a mini excavator.

To insure that there would be no leaks, shotcrete was used to line the basin, as well as to form the benches and the steps, and to create a wall that covers the entire expanse of the outcropping-stone water feature. A sealant was applied to this wall and then a slush coat was used to bind the stone to it so there are no grout lines on the frontside.

A pool contractor was brought in to install the jets and he left two-inch whips on the backside for Hayden's crew to place when setting the sheer descents. The crew also poured footings for the columns and reinstalled them.

The old outcropping stone was saw-cut on site to a depth of 18 inches so they could sit on the shotcrete ledge. Hayden and his team constructed a new water feature with several sheer descents, an upper pool and a fiber optic light system. They covered the spa's coping, stairs and benches with piranha stone and touched up the pavers on the existing patio.

The decks and the bridge were built by a sub-contracted carpenter. The major challenge faced by everybody throughout the project was one of access.

Hayden reports, "The feature was pinned in by an existing bluestone patio with outdoor kitchen and fire pit as well as by the deck and a lake, so staging men, material, and equipment (including a skid loader) was a major concern."

The build in its entirety took just over four months to complete. Hayden's crew put in 1,200 man-hours on site.

Even though the project started with an unforeseen setback, the homeowner and the contractor used it as a starting point to go further than planned, resulting in an expansive, decorative yet useful water feature that neither will have to lose sleep over again.