INSTALLATION INSIDER: Great Falls

CONTRACTOR: Blue Creek Landscape/Aquascape by Blue Creek of Ellensburg, Wash., acted as the water feature lead of the project.
Jay Wolff served as the project manager.

LOCATION: Yakima, Wash.

PROJECT SCOPE: The customer desired a park-like setting with large waterfalls and koi ponds on an undeveloped 120- by 180-foot corner lot adjacent to his residence. The water feature installation included a “small” pond (18 feet in diameter and 3-feet deep) with a 7-foot waterfall dropping into the pond and a 20-foot stream; a “large” pond (54- by 40-foot and 3-feet deep) with a 9-foot waterfall from 4-feet of converging stream from three sources above. The large pond features a 16-foot outflow over a rock weir to a 35-foot by 16-foot by 8-foot constructed wetland filter reservoir/pumping station. 

SQUARE FOOTAGE:  Water feature – 4,500 square feet;
 Total project – 20,000+ square feet

HOURS OF LABOR:  Water feature – 3,200

SUBCONTRACTED SERVICES: Excavating

KEY MATERIALS:

Water feature components
 Grande BioFalls (4) Grande Skimmers (4)
 Standard BioFalls (4) Standard Skimmers 8.0 (1)

Constructed Wetland Filter Components
 Snorkel Units (3)
 Centipede Units (3)

Pumps
 Aquascape 7,500 GPH (16)
           Aquascape 10,000 GPH pump (1)

 4-inch PVC Pipe (1,080 feet)
 3-inch Flex PVC Pipe (Spa Hose) (150 feet)
 2-inch Flex PVC Pipe (Spa Hose) (100 feet)

45 Mil EPDM Liner (13,500 square feet)
Geotextile underlayment (13,500 square feet)

Stone
 265 tons machine-placed boulders
 225 tons ¾-oversized washed rock

KEY EQUIPMENT: Mini excavator and loader provided by project manager Jay Wolff

FINAL PROJECT COST: For the water feature, Blue Creek Landscape billed and was paid $168,000 (not including rock and machinery – those were provided by the customer/project manager) on a time and materials basis over a two-year period with stoppages due to weather.

Q: How was the job sold?

A: We were selected by the project manager Jay Wolff as a result of his past work experience with Blue Creek on a different job.

Shared values and philosophy along with attitude towards the work as well as experience and workmanship were noted as the primary reasons for hiring Blue Creek.

Q: Describe any special client requirements.

A: “Build it well. Make it beautiful and move lots of water!” We relied on our status as a Certified Aquascape Contractor.

Q: What were the installation challenges?

A: The large scope of the project and coordinating installation of the water features with the installation of electrical service, irrigation system, availability of equipment and operators, construction of foundation for large presentation stones on the falls.

Q: Did you have to accommodate any change orders during construction?

A: No. The owner left the entire project in the hands of the project manager. Changes were made towards installing the highest quality feature and landscape without consideration of cost.

Q: Looking back on the project, what  would you have done differently?

A: I would have approached the work without an attitude of “scarcity.” It was difficult for me to grasp that the client wasn’t as interested in saving money as they were in having the best possible, highest-quality, most aesthetically pleasing installation possible – cost was not an issue to them.

This was a new paradigm for me as I was relatively new to the world of business at the time and my experience had been that everyone wanted things done as cheaply as possible.

I believe we could have done an even better job had I grasped that the customer’s primary interest of quality and beauty far out weighed their concern over cost of installation.

Q: Since completion, has the client had you back to add to the project? If so, what?

A: Yes. We eliminated the skimmer in the pond/wetland/receiving basin and installed a third snorkel and centipede to house the pumps and increase filtration.

The project continues to function as a beautiful, low-maintenance, ecologically balanced water feature.

Q: What was the greatest lesson your company learned during this project?

A: Cost is actually not the greatest concern for some customers. There are clients who have the means to pay for what they want with regard to scope and quality in their landscape.

I learned and am still learning to listen to what the customer actually says with regard to project restraints or limitations.  PLD