Learn about AWS landscaping guidelines to help you complete your project.
Advanced Waterfall Systems (AWS) breaks each pool waterfall project into three components — the waterfall structure, the slide, and the landscape phase — and this video focuses entirely on the third. The landscape component covers everything off the pool beam: dry-laid boulder walls, compacted crushed stone fill, stone steps, planting terraces, rope railings, and planting beds. Chuck walks through key decisions including cinder block use under boulders, fabric placement behind walls, slide entry landing height (set one foot below the slide base for comfortable entry and grip), and how to balance rock coverage with lush plantings to avoid a pile-of-rocks look. These are flexible guidelines rather than rigid steps, and AWS recommends working with an experienced landscape or hardscape contractor for projects with extensive steps, landings, or boulder work.
What You'll Learn
- AWS projects have three distinct components: the waterfall/grotto structure, the slide, and the landscape phase — this video covers the landscape phase only
- The landscape component is everything off the pool beam — boulder walls, planting terraces, stone steps, rope railings, and planting beds, all dry-laid rather than mortared
- Crushed stone compacted in lifts provides the base fill under and around boulders and the slide structure; cinder blocks under large boulders bring them to grade while taking up less lateral space than stone fill alone
- Always install fabric behind retaining walls to prevent soil from leaching through mortar joints, and address drainage needs as a landscape professional would
- Build the slide entry landing about one foot below the bottom of the slide — this puts the user's feet and hand-grip position at a natural, comfortable level, especially for kids
- Avoid covering the entire slide with rocks; combine rock placement with lush plantings to naturally veil the slide and create a balanced, finished look rather than a pile of rocks
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the landscape component of an AWS system include?
The landscape component covers everything off the pool beam — all material that is not mortared directly to the pool structure. This includes dry-laid boulder walls, planting terraces, stone steps, rope railings, planting beds, and landscape fill such as crushed stone and topsoil. In the example shown, this also includes a railroad tie retaining wall on the backside of the structure.
Why use cinder blocks under boulders instead of filling entirely with crushed stone?
Crushed stone tends to slope outward on the sides, taking up significant space and pushing into planting areas. Cinder blocks support boulders at the correct grade while occupying a much smaller footprint, which is especially important in tight areas around the slide and grotto where space is limited.
How do I build the stone steps for an AWS slide system?
Build them like hardscape steps — set the first step at the correct elevation relative to pool coping (pitched away from the pool), compact crushed stone, level the next step, and work your way up course by course. Standard hardscape rise-and-run and pitch principles apply. The video references ten steps in the shown project but does not prescribe a specific step count.
How high should the landing at the slide entry be?
Set the landing about one foot below the bottom of the slide. This puts the user's feet at the right level when stepping up into the slide and positions their hands naturally on the slide entry for a comfortable grip. Setting the landing flush with or above the slide bottom creates an awkward lean-over posture and is less safe, especially for children.
Should the slide be completely covered with boulders for a natural look?
No. AWS intentionally designs systems so some of the slide remains visible before plantings go in. Covering the entire slide with rocks produces a cold, heavy pile-of-rocks appearance. The recommended approach is to use rocks to partially frame the slide, then use lush plants to veil the remaining visible sections — the combination of rock and planting creates the most natural and finished result.
When should I bring in a landscape or hardscape contractor for this phase?
If your project involves extensive stone steps, flagstone landings, significant boulder walls, or complex grading and compaction, AWS recommends working with an experienced landscape or hardscape professional who understands compaction, elevations, and has the right equipment. The landscape phase is flexible and can be done in different ways, but knowledge of hardscape fundamentals is important for a durable result.
Video transcript
Hello. This is Chuck from Advanced Waterfall Systems. Today, we're gonna talk about landscaping. Alright? So this video is sort of landscape guidelines to give you kind of an overview on what is involved in I would call the landscape component of a AWS system that has a deluxe slide.
This particular project has a corner grotto. Okay. It's a little bit more than five feet high and a 15 foot deluxe slide. Now watch our other videos for the grotto installation, the slide installation. This is more about landscape installation, but I will call it more of a guideline than an installation process.
Right? The slide in the Grotto is pretty rigid step by step. This is more guidelines and to give you an overview of what is involved and to guide you. With landscaping, it's a bit more flexible. People do different things different ways, that's okay.
Alright. So let's get rolling. I'll show you the details. So we have done an Advanced Waterfall Systems. We have broken down these projects into three parts.
Okay. The first part is the waterfall component. In this case, that grotto, that rockwork, and that grotto. Plumbing's built in, natural stone, custom design, engineered, preplumb, test it, the whole bit. The second part, the slide.
Slides can be a little tricky to install. We've systemized that process. Number three, the landscape component. Right? The third part, the third component is the landscape component.
So when I say landscape phase, I mean everything off the beam of the pool. Right? All that rock work on the beam of the pool is mortared in as part of the system. Everything off the beam is landscape material. So we're talking about everything from, like, this point, this rock, all this.
This is all, okay, all dry laid. Right? So, essentially, you've got boulder walls, planting terraces, stone steps, possibly rope railings, planting beds, more rock, and let me show you a little bit more on the other side. So we're standing on the backside. Right here is the back of the AWS system.
These are the concrete reinforced Grotto walls. So what's gonna happen is, you know, the slide gets put in. It will have a concrete footing in real life. We use wood just for show you know, it's a display, and, so we're not using concrete here. But in the real world, there will be a concrete footing here.
Watch the, Deluxe Slide training video for full installation on this. Okay. But essentially, what you're gonna end doing is this whole area is gonna get filled with crushed stone, okay, and compacted in lifts. And then you're gonna have you're gonna use cinder blocks under a lot of these boulders to get them up to grade. And another reason we use cinder blocks is so you can either use cinder blocks or crushed stone.
And a lot of times you use you cinder block here because when you use crushed stone, it slopes off on the sides and angles out. It takes up a lot of room. So the the the cinder blocks allow you to put to create support, but at the same time, doesn't take up as much room on the sides. Okay? So, ultimately, this is all gonna be crushed stone all through here, and then you're gonna create some planning spaces behind the Grotto.
Right? So you're gonna have a landscape plan that shows this and shows how everything lays out. This is more about what the construction details might look like. Right? Now right here, these are your stone steps.
Right? They come all the way up. This foam represents crushed stone just like you build a set of hardscape steps going up. You put some in, you compact it, put another step, level it, and you kinda work your way up. This is not terribly different than that.
Right? So you just wanna make sure that, you know, when you're installing this, you put fabric behind the walls. Okay? Fabric behind all the walls, and you make sure that all your mortar joints are mortared in real well so no dirt or anything leaches out through the front of the structure. So fabric behind the walls, if you need drainage for some reason, you would address that as landscape professional, but that's overall idea.
So and then what's gonna happen with this is that this one's gonna have a railroad tie wall that goes across the back. They're not using boulders on the backside because of, cost and space. That'll get built up to about here, and then this will get filled with some topsoil and some crushed stone from a landscape perspective. So come on back around front, and we'll kinda run through this whole process. Tell me the first thing we do after the the system's in.
You'll put the first rock here and put this rock. Right? And then you start setting your steps. Right? Now, obviously, any hardscape guy knows this, that you gotta keep you gotta make sure that the your step is set at the right elevation based on the pool.
Pool coping, you wanna pitch away from the pool, make sure you get your proper rise. I'm not gonna get into the details of hardscaping, okay, because you should know that rise and run and all that in pitch. You should know that. Right? But, essentially, that's the way you figure that out first, and then you set your first couple steps, okay, all the way up to here.
You put a step in, fill it with crushed stone, compact it, level it, put your next step in, same thing. Right? So you do that a couple steps, go up to here. And then over here, can you see them cinder blocks right there? Okay.
We got three courses of cinder blocks. You might have two. You might have one. But the idea is put at least the course in. Okay?
And then you sit your rocks on top. Okay? And what that does is the cinder blocks save you from having to use crushed stone. If you use crushed stone, that's gonna push into the bed and impact your planting bed, and you bring your boulder wall all the way around. You know, you'll see on your plan on this particular project, you set your boulder wall all the way around the back.
Now in this case, this project has a wall in the back. Now this one's gonna have railroad ties on the back, but it could be boulders or it could be a slope. So in this case, if you were, it was boulders or other kind of wall, you would run the wall all the way around and connect it onto the other side. Okay? And then you start to finish your steps.
Right? Bring in your crushed stone, and you start to finish your steps. Because then the crushed concrete will go up against the wall. Right? Then you come in, you finish your steps going all the way up, and then I'll show you around the backside on the, next steps.
Alright. So I'm standing on the backside here. And, although I'm I'm aware that every sometimes contractors do things different ways, and that's fine. This is one way to do it. So on the backside, these two by fours right here, okay, this is what represent the railroad tie wall.
So the idea was, like I was saying, is you put the wall in, you know, first, and then you can backfill it with your crushed stone and compact it. Right? It's gonna be crushed stone up to here. This wall is gonna be five foot high. So you then backfill and compact all this, get yourself up to grade, and then you could set the rest of your stones.
Right? Okay. So then once this wall is done, you're gonna finish crushed stone in this area. Right? You're gonna have a crushed stone base, build this up and lifts, right, as you're going and get it up.
And then if you take a level, there's 10 steps on this one. You take a level and bring it across, it brings you right to here. Okay? So the landing, there'll be a landing here. Then you would have a flagstone landing, put in a couple of piece of flagstone, and that'll bring you to a foot below here.
Now we do that on purpose. Okay? We do that so that your feet are a foot below the bottom of the slide. What that does is when you're standing up there, it puts your hands right here. Okay?
You kinda want that. It gives a good grip especially for kids. Right? So you wanna have that landing lower than the slide. You don't wanna bring the landing up here.
It puts you leaning over like this, and it's a little bit more awkward and less comfortable and not great for the kids. Right? You wanna step up into the slide is the idea. Right? So you got a landing here, and then you're the inside is where you look on your plan and there's planting beds.
Right? So you then you would fill all this with crushed stone. Okay? All through here, you would fill between the slide and the grotto with crushed stone, and you'll see on the plan where the planting beds are. You put fabric down, you know, behind the walls, fill them with, topsoil, and outside here, there's planting beds, and that creates all these really cool planting pockets.
Okay? These systems are designed they're not designed to cover the slide a 100% with the rock. When this is done before the plants, you're gonna see some of the slide. That's done on purpose. Well, why?
Because you don't wanna cover the entire slide with rocks. It'll look like a pile of rocks. It'll look very cold. It always looks good when you use when you use the rocks to cover the slide some, and then you finish veiling the slide with beautiful lush plantings. It creates a very nice balance, and that's what I would suggest.
Alright. So we're on this side. Again, on this side, more boulders, okay, along here, and the boulders step up as you are building the structure. Okay? And like I said before, this is designed like this on purpose.
Okay? This is designed to be a planning bed. Right? So you'd fill in under the slide with crushed stone as much as you can, and then you would fill this with topsoil, put fabric behind the walls, and this creates a real nice planning space. You put some nice plants in here, and it kind of veils this whole thing.
And I think it's a mistake when you put rocks up against the slide. Otherwise, you're gonna have just a lot of rock, and it's gonna, like, you tried to hide the slide with rocks. Right? So tends to look better when you have a landscape component incorporated into it. Okay?
So that takes care of this, that. Like I say, you fill it all in. That's So kind of an overview of, I would call, the landscape component of these AWS systems. This particular one is a Grotto, a Deluxe Grotto with a Deluxe Slide. Thank you for watching our landscape guidelines video.
The landscape component of the AWS system is the one part that can be done in many different ways. If your project has steps, landings, or extensive boulder work, you may wanna consider working with an experienced landscape or hardscape contractor that knows compaction, elevations, and has the right equipment. Give us a call if you have any questions. Thank you.