Built in the summer of 2025, posted Sept 27, 2025. Quote in the title above from "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. YEats/
How I built my peaceful garden fountain, or as my kids call it , wishing well, from concrete, including making the patterns and forms for hand cast pewter spouts and poetry plaque.
The steps I took to build this concrete orchard fountain and spigot are written below in steps, and in a video, but first , some images of the finished concrete garden fountain I built. I wanted a spigot out in my orchard so I didn't have to run a hose across the yard, so I built this more permanent concrete garden fountain which includes a standard hose bibb on the back of it, in the middle of my orchard. The fountain aspect is designed to be a peaceful drip fountain, the water from which is distributed by a large solid flagstone into the surrounding ground. I designed and built the formwork with reliefs of celtic braids and knots and a stylized crocus pattern at the base.
First , some images of the finished concrete garden fountain I built. Then I will share the sequence of the project and a video of the steps below.
This garden fountain / wishing well is made of concrete with internal copper piping, handmade pewter spouts and a handmade pewter plaque. It is placed in the middle of my orchard and features a hose bibb on the back.
Handmade cast pewter fountain spout
Water slowly drips from the spout into this basin, making quite a peaceful sound in the orchard, and then flows out the lower spout onto the flagstone and soaks into the ground.
Near the top of the fountain is the plaque cast from pewter, with a line from W.B. Yeats.
Valves and a practical, functional hose bibb are just behind the fountain.
Video of the steps I took to build this concrete garden fountain with hose bib:
Steps to build a concrete garden fountain with spigot:
These steps are shown in the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d53oelevI0
1. Design your fountain. Mine has a 12" x 12" vertical column and a 12" x 12" basin extending out the front at the bottom. It is 4 feet tall and rests on a 4' deep post hole foundation with four 3/8" rebars extending from the foundation up into the structure. The internal piping is sweated copper pipe and fittings. I included celtic and floral relief patterns in my forms which transfer to the concrete finished product. My fountain is designed for a slow drip of water to fall from a high spout into a water basin below, and then the overflow waters the ground after being dispersed over a large flagstone. It would be common to recirculate the water in your fountain, and this can be fairly easily done by including a drain in your basin which returns to electric small volume garden pump which would return the water to the upper spout. Space for this pump would need to be planned into your formwork, with an access panel to access the pump. You could also dig a collection basin in the ground below your fountain and put a electric submersible pump in it and recirculate the water back to the spout. Or if you have a water feature or a stream, you could discharge the water into that.....there are quite endless possibilities. I went for a drip fountain that will seep water into the ground which will require me to have a quite slow drip indeed, and for that matter I don't need to leave the water on all the time. I also have a pitch to the flagstone that carries the water about 32" downhill away from my fountain, prevent water and soggy ground around the fountain if possible.
2. Pick a location and plan the plumbing. I am not a plumber so will not offer plumbing advice. I live in Wisconsin and the ground freezes solid here such that water lines and foundations need to be 4' below grade I think. I will dig the foundation that deep but I will not dig a 4' deep trench across my yard, there are too many rocks! I will cut a 18" deep trench to lay the water line in, and I will blow the water out of the line with compressed air before winter. I used copper pipe with sweated joints and fittings in the fountain, and in the ground in the trench I used underground PEX tubing. I included a shutoff valve at the house and another at the concrete garden fountain, and I included a functional hose bibb at the back of the fountain that I can use for watering in the orchard.
3. Build the concrete forms for the garden fountain. Visualize and keep in mind that concrete will need to be able to flow into the formwork and will need to be able to fill the form under gravity. Also keep in mind and design the fountain such that you will be able to pull the forms off after the concrete is cured. Any design elements should be slighted tapered and designed such that the formwork is not trapped in place by the cured concrete. Even in a small fountain like this, about 900lbs of concete is used, which creates quite a bit of pressure on the formwork, especially at the bottom of the fountain. I used 3/4" thick plywood with screws every 6-10". The screws at the bottom were holding on for dear life when I filled it up so, if I do it again I would put the screws mximum 6" apart everywhere. I would not use anything less than 3/4" plywood, and if you have a larger mass of concrete you may need to reinforce the outside of the forms with additional framing lumber. For this fountain, the 3/4" plywood did not bow out when filled with concrete.
4. Paint the formwork with gloss paint, I used rustoleum, to make as slick a surface as possible for easy removal of the forms from the concrete after the concrete has cured.
5. Preassemble the whole form assembly to make sure everything fits, then you can disassemble it for transporation and to be able to spray form release agent well on all surfaces prior to pouring concrete. I also needed to disassemble it to be able to fit the copper piping into mine.
6. Make all your plumbing assemblies for the water line and for the fountain itself.
7. Calculate the concrete volume needed and buy concrete....don't store it outside or let it get wet before you use it
8. Dig the trench for the water line from the water source to the fountain. Dig the foundation hole for the foundation, the bigger the better. I probably should have made mine larger and maybe had it extend out on each side of the fountain, time will tell if my foundation is big enough. I tied in place and set four 3/8" rebars from the bottom of the foundation up to near the top of the fountain, keep them a couple inches from the forms and tie them in place and to each other securely with rebar wire so they don't drift or move around when you pour the concrete.
8. Set your water line in the trench make your connections to the water source and run the water line out the fountain. Bury the water line.
9. Get everything ready at the jobsite, wheel barrow for mixing concrete, water hose for mixing concrete and washing tools, shovels, concrete vibrator and power for tools if needed.
9. Set plumbing assemblies in your formwork, spray all the surfaces of the formwork that will touch concrete with form release agent. your formwork over the foundation and brace it VERY securely with strong braces to the ground in all directions. The weight of the concrete will tip over the fountain if not well supported. Use a level to make sure it's all level and square.
10, When everything is set and level and stoutly secured to the ground, mix your concrete to a thick , not soupy, consistency and fill your formwork. In the case of my design, I filled the foundation then the formwork up to the top of the lower water basin. At this point, if left uncovered, concrete would just pour out of this lower section as I would have tried to keep filling the upper portion of the formwork, so I had designed in covers for this lower section of the form. I filled the formwork up to the top of the basin, set the basin form in place, vibrated the concrete, then screwed on the covers to this lower section. Then I filled up the form all the way to the top, vibrated the whole thing, topped it up, and then let it set for 5 days.
11. Remove the forms and scrub them clean for reuse in the future?
12. Drill mounting holes with a masonry bit and hammer drill, and mount spouts and plaque. There are many different concrete anchors to choose from, use one that will not put too much force on the concrete / crack it. I used expanding/compression plastic anchors.
13. Landscape as desired around the fountain
14. Turn on the water and enjoy the new addition to your lovely outdoor space
1. Design your fountain. Mine has a 12" x 12" vertical column and a 12" x 12" basin extending out the front at the bottom. It is 4 feet tall and rests on a 4' deep post hole foundation with four 3/8" rebars extending from the foundation up into the structure. The internal piping is sweated copper pipe and fittings. I included celtic and floral relief patterns in my forms which transfer to the concrete finished product. My fountain is designed for a slow drip of water to fall from a high spout into a water basin below, and then the overflow waters the ground after being dispersed over a large flagstone. It would be common to recirculate the water in your fountain, and this can be fairly easily done by including a drain in your basin which returns to electric small volume garden pump which would return the water to the upper spout. Space for this pump would need to be planned into your formwork, with an access panel to access the pump. You could also dig a collection basin in the ground below your fountain and put a electric submersible pump in it and recirculate the water back to the spout. Or if you have a water feature or a stream, you could discharge the water into that.....there are quite endless possibilities. I went for a drip fountain that will seep water into the ground which will require me to have a quite slow drip indeed, and for that matter I don't need to leave the water on all the time. I also have a pitch to the flagstone that carries the water about 32" downhill away from my fountain, prevent water and soggy ground around the fountain if possible.
2. Pick a location and plan the plumbing. I am not a plumber so will not offer plumbing advice. I live in Wisconsin and the ground freezes solid here such that water lines and foundations need to be 4' below grade I think. I will dig the foundation that deep but I will not dig a 4' deep trench across my yard, there are too many rocks! I will cut a 18" deep trench to lay the water line in, and I will blow the water out of the line with compressed air before winter. I used copper pipe with sweated joints and fittings in the fountain, and in the ground in the trench I used underground PEX tubing. I included a shutoff valve at the house and another at the concrete garden fountain, and I included a functional hose bibb at the back of the fountain that I can use for watering in the orchard.
3. Build the concrete forms for the garden fountain. Visualize and keep in mind that concrete will need to be able to flow into the formwork and will need to be able to fill the form under gravity. Also keep in mind and design the fountain such that you will be able to pull the forms off after the concrete is cured. Any design elements should be slighted tapered and designed such that the formwork is not trapped in place by the cured concrete. Even in a small fountain like this, about 900lbs of concete is used, which creates quite a bit of pressure on the formwork, especially at the bottom of the fountain. I used 3/4" thick plywood with screws every 6-10". The screws at the bottom were holding on for dear life when I filled it up so, if I do it again I would put the screws mximum 6" apart everywhere. I would not use anything less than 3/4" plywood, and if you have a larger mass of concrete you may need to reinforce the outside of the forms with additional framing lumber. For this fountain, the 3/4" plywood did not bow out when filled with concrete.
4. Paint the formwork with gloss paint, I used rustoleum, to make as slick a surface as possible for easy removal of the forms from the concrete after the concrete has cured.
5. Preassemble the whole form assembly to make sure everything fits, then you can disassemble it for transporation and to be able to spray form release agent well on all surfaces prior to pouring concrete. I also needed to disassemble it to be able to fit the copper piping into mine.
6. Make all your plumbing assemblies for the water line and for the fountain itself.
7. Calculate the concrete volume needed and buy concrete....don't store it outside or let it get wet before you use it
8. Dig the trench for the water line from the water source to the fountain. Dig the foundation hole for the foundation, the bigger the better. I probably should have made mine larger and maybe had it extend out on each side of the fountain, time will tell if my foundation is big enough. I tied in place and set four 3/8" rebars from the bottom of the foundation up to near the top of the fountain, keep them a couple inches from the forms and tie them in place and to each other securely with rebar wire so they don't drift or move around when you pour the concrete.
8. Set your water line in the trench make your connections to the water source and run the water line out the fountain. Bury the water line.
9. Get everything ready at the jobsite, wheel barrow for mixing concrete, water hose for mixing concrete and washing tools, shovels, concrete vibrator and power for tools if needed.
9. Set plumbing assemblies in your formwork, spray all the surfaces of the formwork that will touch concrete with form release agent. your formwork over the foundation and brace it VERY securely with strong braces to the ground in all directions. The weight of the concrete will tip over the fountain if not well supported. Use a level to make sure it's all level and square.
10, When everything is set and level and stoutly secured to the ground, mix your concrete to a thick , not soupy, consistency and fill your formwork. In the case of my design, I filled the foundation then the formwork up to the top of the lower water basin. At this point, if left uncovered, concrete would just pour out of this lower section as I would have tried to keep filling the upper portion of the formwork, so I had designed in covers for this lower section of the form. I filled the formwork up to the top of the basin, set the basin form in place, vibrated the concrete, then screwed on the covers to this lower section. Then I filled up the form all the way to the top, vibrated the whole thing, topped it up, and then let it set for 5 days.
11. Remove the forms and scrub them clean for reuse in the future?
12. Drill mounting holes with a masonry bit and hammer drill, and mount spouts and plaque. There are many different concrete anchors to choose from, use one that will not put too much force on the concrete / crack it. I used expanding/compression plastic anchors.
13. Landscape as desired around the fountain
14. Turn on the water and enjoy the new addition to your lovely outdoor space