How to Build a Fountain & Birdbath Inexpensively
Fountains and Birdbaths are great features to add to your yard for many reasons, for the tranquil sound they add, visually for the view of the water, and mostly to attract and provide water for birds and butterflies during the hot summer days.
If you are like me you would love to have these features in your yard but cannot justify the cost of spending several hundreds of dollars and even up to several thousands of dollars. I have found a way to build these for less than $50.00 and for smaller versions for less than $20.00.
I will detail how to build and purchase these to add to your yard for your enjoyment and to provide water to attract birds and butterflies.
The best fact is they do not need electricity to run them since they are solar-powered, so all they need is to be placed in a sunny spot on your patio or in your yard.
Products needed
Solar fountains
[amalinkspro type=”showcase” asin=”B085TH7DN4″ apilink=”https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085TH7DN4?tag=gardeningtidbits-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1″ new-window=”true” addtocart=”false” nofollow=”true” sc-id=”4″ img-sizes=”500:500″ imgs=”https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51CG6RXnxxL._SL500_.jpg” link-imgs=”false” specs=”The solar birdbath fountain only needs 3 seconds to operate automatically in direct sun, with a spray height of 50-70cm. ~~~No batteries needed~~~4 nozzles, which allows you to choose different water fountain patterns easily.~~~~~~MONEY BACK GUARANTEE AND WARRANTY: We provide 30- days money back and 1-year warranty, if there is any problem with the item, please feel free to contact ” btn-color=”#ff9900″ btn-text=”Check Today’s Price” alignment=”alignnone” hide-prime=”0″ hide-image=”0″ hide-price=”0″ hide-button=”0″ width=”750″ banner=””]Mademax Solar Bird Bath Fountain Pump, Solar Fountain with 4 Nozzle, Free Standing Floating Solar[/amalinkspro]
These fountains range in size and cost but I will provide you with information on the two we have purchased and built.
Bowls for the water fountains
The small bowl cost $3.00 and was a clearance in the garden center.
The large bowl for the fountain at 24 inches was made for a water heater tray we purchased for $12.99 (There are many sizes of water heater trays to fit your needs). We had to purchase a PVC plug ($1.50) and PVC glue which will be used for many things so I did not include the cost of the glue which was $7.50.
The trays come in black plastic like the one we purchased or metal, either option works well for the fountain bowls.
[amalinkspro type=”showcase” asin=”B00838J9DA” apilink=”https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00838J9DA?tag=gardeningtidbits-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1″ new-window=”true” addtocart=”false” nofollow=”true” sc-id=”4″ img-sizes=”500:500″ imgs=”https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31jG8LOm9hL._SL500_.jpg” link-imgs=”false” specs=”~~~Water heater drain pan includes (1) drain pan and (1) 1 Inch PVC fitting for a drain pipe connection~~~DURABLE AND HIGH QUALITY~~~” btn-color=”#ff9900″ btn-text=”Check Today’s Price” alignment=”alignnone” hide-prime=”0″ hide-image=”0″ hide-price=”0″ hide-button=”0″ width=”750″ banner=””]Eastman Aluminum Water Heater Drain Pan with PVC Fittings, 20 Inch ID x 22 Inch [/amalinkspro]
Rocks
If you have decorative rocks there is no cost, if you purchase them it can be done for very little our rocks for the large fountain cost $9.45.
For our smaller fountain, we used rocks we had already.
PVC Plug for Water heater tray
See pricing above
Stand for a small Fountain
The cost was $6.95 at Walmart and you could easily find other ways to build a stand for less.
Stand for a large Fountain
$0.00 We found this in the trash bin that someone had thrown away.
PVC Glue
Not included since it took very little to secure the plug.
Small Fountain Cost
$18.90 for the 16-inch fountain we made and comparable costs for the ones we saw were nearly $100.00 and more.
Large Fountain Cost
$41.93 for the 24-inch fountain we made and comparable costs for the ones we saw were several hundreds of dollars.
Both of these fountains are a great DIY project that you can do in an afternoon to add to your yard and garden they do not cost very much and are fun to build.
I would recommend you put kits together to give as gifts to your family and friends after you have built some for your own enjoyment.
I hope this post on How to Build a Fountain & Birdbath Inexpensively with a DIY project to beautify your patio and garden will encourage you to build one yourself.
