WATER ELEMENTS

COURTESY PHOTOS Among the more vertical waterfalls available, this Tropical Pools product fills a whole corner of the pool. Jim and Jane Gasaway don't have far to go for a special nighttime treat.

The Cape Coral residents retreat to their swimming pool, take a seat underneath the poolside waterfall and let themselves drift in the sights and sounds.

Tropical Pools-Cape Coral, Inc. installed the modular product — equipped with color changing lighting — when the Gasaways decided to add a free-form pool to their home a year ago. "I think a waterfall is somewhat like a fireplace up North," says Jim Gasaway, 70. "It's very serene and relaxing. We've been very happy with it."

Homeowner interest in waterfalls has become common during the past three years, swimming pool builders say. "Seventy-five percent of our properties have some type of water feature," says Jack Willard, owner of Tropical Pools. "At least two-thirds of our market now is renovating old swimming pools."

Some people even add waterfalls to boost the home value if they are trying to sell, says Scott Laine, owner of Aquascape Creations.

This Tropical Pools product accented with plant life is among the wider waterfall versions and features streams of water originating from separate spots. COURTESY PHOTOS Waterfalls of 2 feet to 4 feet are especially popular, pool experts say, although others reach 6 feet to 8 feet. Higher-end homes, some with oversized pools, have multiple waterfalls, including a grotto.

Low-end waterfalls can cost $500, experts say, and one of average size can cost $3,000 to $6,000. Particularly complex arrangements total many thousands more, says Brian Manke, owner of Burlington Builders Inc. in Cape Coral. Simple waterfalls can be installed in a day, elaborate ones over several weeks.

Laine's company specializes in natural rock waterfalls. He calls moss fieldstone and Alabama fieldstone, the light tans and browns, the preferred rock types. "Natural rock has been around for millions of years," says Laine, who has been installing a 4-foot-tall grotto of Alabama fieldstone at a Cape Coral canal home. "Natural rock lasts forever."

Cape Coral residents Jim and Jane Gasaway had a swimming pool with waterfall and grotto added to their home last year. Made of artificial rock in the mold of real rock formations, the waterfall features a sitting area for three people underneath the cascade. Other companies use preformed artificial stones designed to resemble real rock.

The Gasaway grotto is made of RicoRock and was erected in the rear left corner of the pool, near a hand rail on the rectangular-patterned deck. According to the RicoRock, Inc. online site, "All RicoRock products are molded from real rock formations for realistic detail and character and are constructed of fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) to be both lightweight and strong."

Gasaway says the formation, which he notes has about 11 pieces to it, is one of a kind because rocks are stacked differently for each waterfall product. The grotto sits where the Gasaways can see and hear the waterfall from the area nearest to the home's back entrance, where they allowed ample space to accommodate guests.

"When we're entertaining guests, it adds a lot of ambiance," Gasaway says. "I think because of its uniqueness, they're all pretty wowed by it."

The Gasaways use the pool and water feature four to five times a week and invested in a heater to maintain regular use when it's not peak season.

For a rectangular pool, the waterfalls usually are placed at a corner of the short side, at the opposite end of the stairway, pool experts say. But if the pool has multiple waterfalls, the tall one goes near the short end of the pool and the short waterfall along the long side. "Most of them want to look at it while it's operating," Manke says. "They just like the sound and the ambiance of the running water."

Because the sound is such a perk, homeowners can choose the type of cascade. "It can be as quiet and soft as you want or as noisy as you want," Willard says. "The soft or subliminal water is so they can carry on a conversation. The subliminal or soft water running is very soothing for the majority of the customers."

The Gasaways' grotto features earth tones, not as bright as the rusts and golds of the pool deck. Willard says the earth tones are popular and "blend with about anything."

Maintenance of the waterfalls is minimal because pool water circulates through them. Gasaway takes a sample of the pool water to be tested by experts monthly but says, "The waterfall really doesn't create any additional maintenance."

.. Waterfalls

>>Have someone who is experienced with installation complete the project to avoid having to contact an expert to correct the faulty system, the latter of which occurs too frequently. "If they don't do the preparation right, it could be a leaking problem," Jack Willard says.

>>Though maintenance is minimal, sometimes mold occurs in areas where there is constant shade. Experts recommend using a pressure washer to remove the growth.

>>Even when there isn't an outbreak of mold, rinsing the system at least yearly does not hurt.

Sources: Scott Laine, owner of Aquascape Creations; Brian Manke, owner of Burlington Builders Inc.; and Jack Willard, owner of Tropical Pools-Cape Coral, Inc.