Water Feature Bottom

[onecrazytrain]

For those of you who have done water features, do you think this would make a good bottom for a lake ( color wise) ? http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/eastpadave1/LakeBottom.jpg

[Eric97123]

I never thought of using one of those tiles for a bottom.. great idea.. The only thing I would do if you are not tinting your water is to maybe give the tile a wash of some brown paint to take off some shiney and give the bottom a more blended look.

[doctorwayne]

I think that it'd work just fine as-is:  after all, once you put "water" over it, it'll be shiny anyway.  You could tint your "water" brown, but only very slightly - the variations in bottom colour suggest plant growth, which often creates very distinct patches of colour, rather than blended shades.

 

Wayne

[BATMAN]

I think you could be on to something. Using various colours of tiles and tints, it could turn really turn out nice. I have a bunch of left over tiles in the crawlspace and am looking forward to seeing your results.

 

                                                                            Brent

[Motley]

Very interesting. But... tiles are square and flat, and lakes are usually round and concave. How do you plan to form the tile to create the bottom of the lake?, and is this only the bottom, what about the banks? How would you blend the tile with the banks of the lake?

[onecrazytrain]

My table has 1 inch foam on top, the lake bed is cut out of this. If I decide to use the tile it will be for the bottom only, it is actually a vinyl tile which is very easy to cut.

 

Doctorwayne, I was looking at one of your posts that had some pics of your water, it looks awsome!! any tips you have would be greatly appreciated!!

[doctorwayne]

Thanks for the kind words regarding my "water", although any "tips" regarding it are unlikely to be of use with the tile.  Basically, the water is patching plaster over a plywood riverbed.  In some scenes it's only an eighth of an inch thick, while in another area it's over 1".  The still-wet surface is worked with a drywall knife to get the effect wanted (ripples, waves, etc.), then, after the plaster has fully hardened, is painted with interior latex house paint, brushed on unthinned.  I add any white-water effects using PollyScale Reefer White, then the entire surface gets three coats of water-based high gloss clear urethane, applied with a brush.  The colour(s) and surface texture determine the type of water represented.

Other than minor streams meant to represent water less than a foot deep, when you use a clear "water" product the shape of the bottom is generally inconsequential:  after all, a person viewing a clear body of water can seldom tell whether the bottom is flat, concave, or sloping.  You may think it is of a certain type, but that's usually suggested by the colours and, sometimes, by shadows that may be present.  Often, what appear to be shadows are simply colour variations.  It's also difficult to be certain of the actual depth.  I can think of several areas not too far from my home where the bottom of the lake (both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie) look very similar to your tile.  The bottoms in those locations are mostly flat rock (not rocks, but continuous rock, with perhaps fissures in the surface).  The colour variations are due to plant growth, and, in some areas, collected sediment.  Your water, regardless of the material used to create it, doesn't need to be deep, it only needs to look deep.  I think that your tile will work well.

 

Wayne

[HarryHotspur]

That looks terrific to me.  What kind of tiles are they?

 

[onecrazytrain]

They are Armstrong Terraza that I got from lowes http://www.lowes.com/pd_193411-61-A3238051_4294934373+4294965421__?productId=3019217&Ntt=vinyl+tile&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Armstrong_4294934373%2B4294965421__s%3FNtt%3Dvinyl%2Btile&facetInfo=Armstrong, it was leftover from the floor under my train table. I may go see if they have one that is just a little darker.

doctorwayne, thanks for the info on your water, it is a big help. I do not have to use this floor tile, just want to make my water look as good as I can.

[CTValleyRR]

Motley

Very interesting. But... tiles are square and flat, and lakes are usually round and concave. How do you plan to form the tile to create the bottom of the lake?, and is this only the bottom, what about the banks? How would you blend the tile with the banks of the lake?

Motley,

The bottom of every water feature on my layout, past or present, has been dead flat.  As, I'll wager, are most everybody else's.  The idea is to trick the eye into thinking it's concave.  I do this with a wash (or airbrushing) of black paint over the center of the water feature, getting progressively darker as you go towards the center, which suggests depth.

As for the squareness, the number of options is staggering.  First of all, you can cut tile.  Yes, straight edges are easier, but curved is also possible.

Far easier, though, since a lake would be below the level of the terrain anyway, would be to cut out an area in your foam base (square) and plop the while tile in.  The build the shore up with Scuptamold, plaster, or your modeling material of choice, covering the corners and creating the rounded contours.  Pour water material of choice in the bottom of the "bowl" thus created.

 

[GARYIG]

You got something here!!!!   This could be the way to go.  With little work it could really get some great results.  Goody another excuse to go to Lowes yeah!!!

 

[Hamltnblue]

As far as tiles being square that's not a problem. Just put it down and build the banks over it to any shape you want.  A few rocks for boulders and you're good to go.

[St Francis Consolidated RR]

         Combined with the other scenic elements in and around a lake, this could be brilliant, really brilliant; it already looks like a lot like a Colorado lakebed just in your picture.

          I can't wait to see your results, and if I manage to get to the river/lake end of my freight yard before you post pictures, I am going to incorporate this idea and I'll let you know how mine goes.

          And thanks for eliciting a succinct and understandable explanation from Wayne about how he does his water; I agree with you, he's a genius at that.

[Coquihala and Rock Creek]

It looks good and I'm interested to see what the finished project looks like.  One word of caution (or really something just to think about) is that colour variations in lakes are usually caused by the depth of the water and not differences in lake bottom.  Something like a big rock or a showl will show up as a different colour (or shade) but the actual bottoms are "usually" quite homogeneous.  My fly fishing side coming through here.