Training: Corner Grotto

Thank you for your interest in Advanced Waterfall Systems. Welcome to our training video library. Important note. Before you attempt to install any AWS system, make sure that you watch all of our safety videos, especially our lifting and rigging safety video to ensure that all of your installations are safe. Today, we are gonna show you step by step how to install one of our Deluxe Grotto A System.

This particular grotto is three and a half foot high and seven feet off of each corner with a total of 14 linear feet and a five foot wide grotto waterfall cascading across the front. This particular unit is three panels, two side panels, and a top. So we have our lifting points here for this piece. When you lift it, you adjust the chains so that when you pick it up, you're picking it up level. Right this way, when you put it in place, it goes down nice and level in place.

So our systems, the plumbing is built in internally. So in this particular case, this plumbing line runs down through the center of the concrete, and it comes out the bottom. Okay. And as you're gonna see, this is designed like that on purpose, and there's a couple on the bottom. We're gonna put a pipe in the bottom of that.

We're have to cut the footing out and run a pipe down and out. Now why do we do that? Because the backside of this is veneered because there's ultimately gonna be a walkway on the backside, so you want the pipe to be below grade. Alright? So when you put the walkway in, it covers the pipe and the pipe's not visible.

So you don't wanna see the pipe. Right? So that's why we designed it this way to have a a coupler coming out the bottom. Okay? So the Grotto, got all set up, and our team is here, and they they're setting the first piece in place.

So the pins are in. Okay? You can see it. So what they're doing is they're gonna put this in place, and they're gonna bring it down, and then they're gonna locate it where they want it, and then they're gonna mark where those pins touch the gunite. You can see those six inch pins there.

Then they're gonna mark it and pick it up, and they're gonna drill the holes, and then they're gonna dry fit it, and then they're gonna mortar it in place. So that's the first piece. They started about a half hour ago. It is about it is 03:07PM, and we're starting to work on the first piece. That one side of the Grotto has lifting points.

It has two lifting points that were centered. So that's all you need on this one is the two lifting points. Okay. That seems to be, sitting pretty well. So they're getting ready to rock and roll.

They're gonna drop it down in place. So this is a pretty heavy piece. Right? And we're doing this on our display pool, and this is a vinyl liner kind of display pool. So it's got your typical vinyl liner setup with the track and the liner.

So you could see, just to be cautious, we put those little pebbles down, those little rock about one inch or so, and we put them down across the front behind the track. So when that rock sits, it sits on those rocks, and there's no chance that it will go down too far and pinch the track that holds the liner. Because you wanna be careful. That's an aluminum track. That's why they have those little rocks there as a precaution.

So when they put it down, it doesn't pinch that track. It would crimp the liner and then will cause a problem when you go to replace the liner in the future. So the pins that are in the grout in the panels are five eights. Right? They're five eights pin.

We're using a three quarter inch drill bit to drill the hole so the hole's a little bit bigger. You can use a little bigger. Having a little room's not a problem. Okay? But it is critical to have the right kind of drill.

Right? You wanna have one that plugs in. Okay? A masonry hammer drill that's got the right bit to drill through concrete. You'll see this drills through pretty quick, so you wanna have the right tool.

And you wanna be careful around a pool. You know, you don't wanna drill it from inside the water, a power cord in the water. Obviously, that's dangerous. So safety is paramount. So make sure you do the right thing, use the right tools, and keep the electricity out of the water.

So our AWS systems are real stone and concrete, and they are heavy. Each of these pieces could weigh up to three or 4,000 pounds. Therefore, you need the proper concrete footing to accommodate the weight of these systems. So as we mentioned before, every piece is weighed. This particular Corner Grotto is three pieces.

Okay? This is the right side, and, that piece weighs 3,180 pounds. Okay? So you wanna make sure you have the proper footing to accommodate that weight and the proper equipment to lift it and the proper lifting equipment to set it in place safely. Alright.

So we got the first piece in, put some cement down, and set it in place, put a level on it. It's level, so we are ready to set the next piece. Now when it comes to these pins and setting these, there's multiple ways to do it. One is the way Javier did it, is bring it over, put it in place, mark where the holes are gonna go, drill it, and then put it in. Okay.

You'll notice they dry fit it, so he did that. He brought it over, located it where he thought it where he wanted it to be, marked the holes, drilled them, moved it out of the way, blew it out, and then put them in, but he dry fitted it. Right? You wanna make sure that it works and that the, pins go in the holes, in and out, nice and smooth. Make sure it sits the way you wanna sit.

Then you take it out, and then put some cement down, and then put it back and slowly lower it very slowly and carefully. And then once you get it set, put the level on it. If it's out of level, give it a shot with the mallet, not a hammer, but a mallet, rubber mallet, get it level, and you should be good to go. Now the guys are going to cement this in. They're gonna point the front.

As you could see, it didn't damage the track. It looks beautiful, and now we're ready to set the next piece. Then we set it in place to make sure it fit, and then we lifted it up to put the cement under it, but we didn't lift it up high enough where the pins pulled out. We lifted it up just enough to get cement under there, but the pins were still in the hole, so it would stay plumb. So we just set the top piece.

We came in, we set the top piece, and, now we're going to level it. We're gonna put some cement down, and we're going to connect the plumbing. So when it comes to lifting these, you know, these heavy systems, they're heavy. Right? So we have usually, we have two main lifting points.

Sometimes two, sometimes three, sometimes four. But in this particular case, there's two, and they are kind of, you see the blue hinges. Right? They're the two main lifting points. They're located during the fabrication and they're kind of located in a way where you want it and they're in the center.

So you kinda it the idea is to pick it up sort of balanced. When you pick it up, as you saw, it's nice and level. Again, we're trying to make this simple, easy, and effective to create consistent product process and profitability. Right? So so depending on the unit, because everyone's custom, everyone's rock, everyone has different balances of weight.

Okay? We do everyone independent, but they are all tested. So at our fabrication facility, when we build these, we pick them up, we test them, we set the stabilization points. So when you get it on your job site, all the hard work is done. All you gotta you do is use a level, a machine, and a trowel.

Before beginning installation, stage all materials and confirm proper lifting equipment is on-site. Ensure all crew members have reviewed the AWS safety training videos. Every panel is numbered for easy installation. Immediately secure the panel using the stabilization brackets before disconnecting the lifting. Install the top plates between each Grotto wall panel.

Drill anchors in for each plate and bolt each plate down to connect each panel. Alright. So we anchored in some plates. Right? We supply these aluminum plates with the system, okay, and the anchors.

Right? You just lay the plate down, drill through the plate, tap in the anchors, and tighten them. Okay. Now in this case, this doesn't have to be perfect. Okay.

When it come to leveling these three units all the way around, you want to get them as level as you can. Okay. Because it's gonna be easier. But if they're off a little bit, it doesn't matter because you're gonna shim it anyway. The critical part is that the Grotto top is level where the water runs across.

That's the critical part. Okay. So in this case, we actually lowered this a little bit because the gap on the bottom was a little bit more than we wanted, so we decided to tap it down a little bit and minimize the gap between the tile on the bottom of the rock, which brought this down. But, again, not a big deal. Put a shim in, keep it level, run it straight across, you're good.

That one's closer to being level. The front's level, so we're pretty good. So the next step is the guys are gonna put the, back Grotto top on. So, again, to give you a little bit of a close-up, these are the main anchoring points. Right?

The lifting points, the blue hinges, they screw out. Okay? Then we'll just pull these out, put a little cement in them holes, call it a day. Once we get it set in place like this, we're gonna put a level on it, make sure it's level, and then relift it, put some cement down, and then set it back down. And then if you gotta give it a little love to level it with a mallet, not a hammer, but a mallet, a rubber mallet.

Because what'll happen if you hit it with a hammer? It'll crack the rock. Right? So we don't wanna crack the rock. So a rubber mallet to kinda level it out.

But again, there is a sheer descent waterfall inside here where the water comes out. You know, it'll make it simple to get a nice beautiful sheet of water across the front. The next we're gonna talk about is the plumbing in the back. So we're on the backside of this Corner Grotto. Right?

So you could see here all the plumbing's internal. Right? The plumbing from the the waterfall comes through here, and this is how we ship it. Okay? With a piece of pipe coming out.

The bottom piece okay. Now the walls of the grater were two pieces. Right? Here's the joint. Right here.

That's one piece. There's a joint. Here's the another piece. So on one of the pieces, the plumbing's built in. It's built inside the wall, so it just comes out here like that.

So you could see the plumbing connection is real simple. Cut this back, put a 90 on it, and connect it right into here. Boom. One connection point to connect the bottom to the top, and then on this particular one, there's a plumbing line coming out the bottom. Now, on the bottom, there's a coupler built in.

What we did is what we're gonna do here is we're gonna cut that footing and we're gonna put a piece of pipe on that coupler that's gonna go down and out. Right? Now, that one's going below grade. Well, why? Because the idea behind this particular unit is that there's gonna be a walkway back here.

Okay? Now, a lot of these might be landscaping this and that, but in this particular design, we designed this to have a walkway, and that's the reason we put a stone veneer on the back. You see a lot of the eight systems are bare concrete. Right? Well, because they're gonna be covered with dirt and rocks and landscaping.

There's no reason to spend the money on installing the veneer. Now this one, it's gonna have a walkway behind it. Right? So we finished the back in a stone veneer. Now there's gonna be a walkway going around.

Right? So you want the plumbing to come out below grade so it doesn't interfere with the walkway and so you don't see it. Right? So you're gonna see our guys are gonna cut that footing out. You might have to cut the footing out or if you're really good, when you pour the footing, you know where the plumbing's gonna be, and you form it out accordingly.

But for us people that aren't that advanced, we're just gonna cut the footing out. Again, it's only an inch and a half or a two inch line, so you gotta put a piece of pipe and a 90. So we'll cut that corner out, we'll glue it in, and then that'll get ran back to the equipment. And then when this gets plumbed in, we're gonna cover this with rocks. Boom.

Boom. Boom. Boom. And then it's all done. Turn it on.

You got yourself a Corner Grotto. So when you're working with a Corner Grotto, right, that's on a 90 degree corner. It has a veneer on the back that's finished. Okay? You wanna take your time, making sure that the pins are in the right spot.

Make sure that you measure, locate the pins. So when you put them in the holes and you lay everything out, all these corners line up. Right? They line up this way. There's the mortar joint like that.

They line up this way and that the walls are plumb. Right? So everything kind of flushes out. So you gotta take your time with it, measure twice, cut once to make sure that it all looks like this when you're done. If you do that, then it comes out nice and clean on the backside, and you are good to go.

Okay. So when it comes to bonding on these units. Right? The top piece has a bonding wire coming out of it. These bottom units have bonding wires coming out the bottom and coming out the top.

Right? There's one coming out the bottom and one coming out the top. So what you wanna do is you wanna connect this wire, is inside the top piece, to this wire, which is connected to the bottom piece. So now you have bonding that goes from the top through the bottom and then comes out the bottom on both sides. Then you can connect those bottom two pieces to your bonding loop, and therefore the entire thing is bonded, but it's also covered.

Right? You'll take this wire, you'll push it in, and then once this plumbing is done, then we'll fill this in. The system will come with rocks that are pre fitted to fit into here and cover this real nice with cement, and then everything will be covered and looking beautiful, and we'll be ready to roll. So we just got done wrapping up the project. We started yesterday around 03:00 in the afternoon, put a couple hours in, and then got an early start this morning.

And we wrapped up the project around twelve noon today. So it ended up taking around the day to install this project with our crew and a skid steer. So the job came out beautiful. The guys are going to add a stone walkway and some landscaping around the back and sides. Let me show you what it looks like when it's all done.