LZ's pond supplies the waterfall's water source. If you're building in your backyard without a natural water source, you'll need to first create your own water reservoir and then build the rest of the waterfall. The easiest way to do this is to purchase a rigid pond liner that you can get at most home improvement stores or many gardening/landscaping stores -- and of course, on trusty ol' Amazon.

Then, at your chosen location, you'll mark and excavate to fit the pond liner. Level the liner using sand or gravel beneath as needed. Fill any gaps around the edges with sand to keep the liner securely in place.

Alternatively, for a less structured and more custom look, you can also use 20 mil black plastic pond liner. Dig the pond, add a 1-2 inch layer of sand at the bottom of the hole, and lay out the liner. Secure the liner around the edge of the pond in a few spots, then fold the pond liner to fit the profile of the pool you dug. As you build the waterfall, you'll add rocks to hold the pond liner and you can trim the excess as needed.

Begin by mixing your concrete, and coloring it if you'd like.

Make sure to read and follow the directions on the cement color bottles first.

After your cement and color is thoroughly mixed, placed it within the mold, smooth it over (we used a piece of wood we had on hand) and then immediately remove the mold.

NOTE: Use a tarp when accomplishing this step. This way your new rocks will not stick, and will be easy to remove when they have completely dried.

We ended up using three bottles of cement color (each with their own bag of cement), and then an additional two more bags of concrete with their usual color without a mold. They were created by just making large square-like sections on the tarp to resemble flagstone or slate.

Also, just remember these little guys take a long time to thoroughly dry. They will be extremely fragile for the first 24 hours.

To make the water flow and "fall" out of the rock instead of shoot out at the top of the waterfall, we divided the supply line 4 ways with some 1" T-fittings and 1" elbows. We pre-cut 2" long pieces of 1" PVC to connect all the fittings (male connectors).

After priming all the pieces to be connected we started with one T-fitting and two male connectors, then added two more T-fittings to that. From those two T-fittings four more male connectors were used to add the the four, 90 degree elbows.

As you can see in the picture this will be your end result. Don't worry, this will not be seen! This is just merely the fountain head that will be underwater.

Next, assemble the framework. For our long cascading waterfall, we built three staggered boxes that measured 24" by 36". For small spaces, you'll likely want to stack the boxes to build a taller waterfall and create the frame (and stack the rocks later) in accordance with your space.

The first box was made from 2X6's and the other two from 2X4's. For extra durability, use pressure treated lumber or redwood -- but since this frame will be covered with concrete, we just used regular construction grade lumber.

The most important step here is to make sure the wood frames are level (to avoid water running over the sides). We screwed them to each other with 3" screws.

Where the last box hung off the edge we used some cut 2X4's to brace it up and hold it level (see picture below).

Temporarily place your fountain head inside the top of your waterfall structure to see where your supply lines need to be run.

For a taller and more compact waterfall, you'll likely need to run some additional tubing or copper pipe to place the fountain head where you want it. You can also use a durable container, like a flower pot, to help hold the structure and protect the tubing, if needed.

Next, cut and fit the 2" foam insulation to fit in the boxes.

Cut and connect some 12" PVC extensions to come up through the foam.

When we pressed the foam to the top of the fountain head, it left an impression which enabled us to cut holes for the pipe to protrude from. Again keep calm, this will all be hidden later.

Install 1x2 supports for the foam sheets. You could also use rebar here if your waterfall structure is taller.

Secure the foam into place with some screws. Don't drive the screws all the way through, just enough to hold the foam in place.

Use some 1X4's to create a "lip" around your boxes (see next two pictures for examples).

Connect your water supply line to the fountain head and bury it as necessary. Fill some of the voids with leftover foam and those homemade "rocks". Our water supply line is on the far right side of the below picture.

Mix your final bag of concrete and apply liberally to all the boxes making sure it fills in all the little gaps and cracks.

Also, ensure that it is approximately 1" thick in all areas, and then slope it up to the lip with a scrap piece of wood (or your hands, if you dare!). This creates a nice trough for the water to fill in and run out. However, waterfalls aren't troughs so we added some more of our homemade "rocks" to break it up. Do this while your concrete is still wet to ensure they adhere.

Mix the mortar and apply to the outer sides of the structure, and place your "rocks" into the mortar to break up the edges and make it look more natural.

Allow plenty of time for concrete to thoroughly dry and harden. I highly recommend a minimum of 24 hours and 48 hours is pretty standard for manufacturers to recommend. The longer, the better! (The concrete will take several weeks to fully cure, but you can work with it once it's dried 24-28 hours.)

After everything has thoroughly dried , it's now time to hook up the water pump and test it out!

BUT FIRST: Prior to turning on your water pump for a test drive, ensure that your concrete has indeed hardened, and then go ahead and trim off those PVC extensions approximately 1/4" above the concrete. We used the reciprocating saw to do this (prior to turning on the water), and then tried it out!

Connect your water pump. Make sure to follow the instructions on your water pump since each one is a little bit different. If you're not working with a pond like ours, now is the time to fill your pond liner with water.

Since we already had the pump in place we just had to connect our PVC pipes from the island to its location.

The distance for our pond is a little bit of a hike and required a lot of PVC. A small backyard installation will require just a length of tubing to get from the water to the pump.

Last, but not least, we gathered up some "found rock" and placed them around our new waterfall.

Ask your own family and friends (or maybe even a neighbor) if they need help getting rid of these rock "hindrances". To date, I've never been told no.

There's really no perfect way to add rock. Just start off by testing them out. Place them all around your waterfall on both the inside and around it.

Add a few flowers and mulch, and voila you've created your own little oasis! Not to mention, if there is a part of your structure that isn't as appealing to you (for whatever reason) just add your found rocks, mulch and plant life close by to cover it up.