Custom fountains, pondless waterfalls, scuppers, and sheer descents — designed and built by Edward Steve Bencomo and the Amberstone crew. Built for the East Valley climate, licensed and bonded under Arizona ROC #311384.
A backyard water feature changes how a yard feels — the gentle splash of a pondless waterfall, the steady glass of a sheer descent, the dry-laid stone of a retaining wall scupper. We design each one for the space it lives in: small patios get a wall fountain or scupper; larger yards get a full pondless waterfall recirculating into a basin; estate lots can carry a koi pond with proper filtration and shade.
Edward consults personally on every water-feature bid. Material options, pump and basin sizing, electrical routing, and how the feature will sit with the rest of the hardscape — pavers, retaining walls, lighting — get worked out on-site, not over the phone.
Start a project →Seven recurring builds. Each one engineered for Sonoran heat, hard water, and the dust and pollen the wind moves through the East Valley.
A stacked-stone or boulder waterfall that recirculates into a hidden gravel basin — no exposed pond, less evaporation, lower maintenance. The most popular AZ build.
Self-contained, bubbling, or column fountains in cast stone, basalt, or carved travertine. Fits small patios, courtyards, and entry yards.
Water spilling from one or more spouts built into a hardscape retaining wall. Pairs the wall and the feature into a single structural element.
A clean, single-spout architectural pour from a wall or planter face into a basin or pool. Modern, quiet, and a strong companion to contemporary patios.
A wide, flat sheet of water falling from a fixed lip. Sheer descents land in pools; rain curtains land into a basin or planter bed for a soft visual wall.
Larger water bodies with proper biological filtration, aeration, and shade planning. Built with liner, skimmer, and a service-friendly equipment vault.
The pieces that decide whether the feature still runs in five years — or sits empty waiting on a repair call.
Pump GPH matched to the spillway width and head height. Basin volume sized so the feature can run an AZ summer without dropping below pump-protection level between top-offs.
Skimmer and pre-filter sized for the basin. Biological filtration on any pond holding fish. UV clarifier optional on sunny installs where algae pressure is highest.
GFCI-protected, code-compliant low-voltage or 120V routing run by a licensed sub. No extension cords across the yard. Auto-fill plumbing offered where a hose-bib is reachable.
A water feature in the East Valley loses water — to evaporation, to splash, to the wind. A 4-foot pondless waterfall in July can drop a quarter-inch of basin level a day before you've measured anything else. Sizing the basin and planning a top-off line at install is the difference between a feature you enjoy and a feature you babysit with a garden hose.
Hard water and dust are the other two enemies. Mineral scale builds on spillways and rocks; pollen and palm-tree debris settle in the basin. Every build we hand off includes a written maintenance schedule sized to that specific feature, and an equipment vault sized to make the maintenance actually doable — not a buried pump nobody can reach.
Ask Edward about your yard →In peak summer, expect a pondless waterfall to drop 1/4 to 3/8 inch of basin level per day, and a small open fountain to lose roughly a gallon a day to evaporation and splash. We size the basin so the feature can run several days between top-offs, and on most builds we run a discreet auto-fill line off a nearby hose-bib so you're not topping it off by hand. Winter loss is a fraction of summer's.
Three layers: keep the basin shaded or covered where the design allows, run the pump 24/7 during warm months so the water never stagnates, and on full-sun installs add a UV clarifier sized to the pump GPH. For koi or larger ponds we also spec biological filtration. We hand you a written maintenance schedule that tells you when to brush spillway stones, when to swap pre-filter pads, and when to do a partial water change.
The East Valley sees a handful of overnight freezes most winters and occasionally a longer cold snap. Pondless waterfalls and most fountains can keep running through a typical freeze because moving water resists icing. For harder freezes or extended trips, we install a service-accessible shutoff and a drain-down point on the basin so the pump and plumbing can be protected without tools. We walk you through it before you sign off on the install.
Amberstone is a licensed Arizona general contractor (ROC #311384), bonded and insured. Electrical work is run by a licensed electrical sub on permit where required — GFCI-protected, properly conduited, and not an extension cord across the yard. Low-voltage features get a transformer in a code-compliant outdoor enclosure. The cost of doing it right is in every bid; no surprises later.
A self-contained stone fountain on a finished patio is a one-day install. A pondless waterfall with a basin, stacked-stone build, and pump vault is typically three to five days on site, plus the design and material lead time before. A full koi pond with filtration and lighting is two to three weeks. Every bid carries a written schedule before the deposit.
Yes — and it's often easier than the original install, because we already know the yard's grading, drainage, and electrical layout. Water features pair naturally with our retaining walls, paver patios, fire features, and landscape lighting; many of our projects add the water feature in a second phase once the rest of the hardscape is finished.
Edward will walk your yard, talk through options on materials and feature type, and put a fixed bid in writing — licensed, bonded, and insured under Arizona ROC #311384.
Gas fire pits, custom fireplaces, and fire-and-water combinations for year-round outdoor use.
See fire features →Low-voltage lighting that brings a fountain or waterfall to life after sundown — the most impactful pairing.
See lighting →Stone and block walls that can carry a built-in scupper or waterfall as part of the structural design.
See retaining walls →