When I traveled to Morocco in the spring, I bought a few gorgeous brass spigots. One looked like a deer and was perfect for this project. Now that summer is here, it’s time to build a DIY wall fountain in my backyard! A fountain instantly feels high-end, brings soothing water sounds, and adds amazing ambiance.

DIY Wall Fountain: How to Create a Stunning Backyard Feature

But I had a lot of questions before starting:

Do you need plumbing?
Nope! You’ll just need to fill the fountain every few days with a hose or pitcher as the water evaporates.
Does it need electricity?
Maybe. Some fountains use solar panels, but I didn’t love that look, so we placed ours near an electrical outlet that is inside our shed.

Once those logistics were figured out, it was time to get creative!

SUPPLIES You’ll Need for a DIY Wall Fountain

Brass Spigot (mine was a travel find, but you can order online)
Wall Pocket (vintage or new)
Cement Board (cut to size for backing)
Gold Tile Edging
Tile Adhesive & Trowel
Un-sanded Grout (Bone color)
Sticky Mesh for Mosaic
Plates or Tiles (for mosaic- I used 30 plates from the thrift store)
Wheeled Tile Cutters
Miter Saw with Diamond Blade (for cutting tile edging)
Plumber’s Tape
½” Coupling & PEX Female Adapter
Pump/Motor

step 1- Plan Your Fountain

To begin, decide where the DIY wall fountain will go. I mounted mine on a shed wall near an outlet for easy access to electricity. If you prefer solar-powered, choose a sunny spot. For me, I wanted a spot that’ll add to the ambience of the yard, be a great focal point, and is close to an outlet.

Since I already got my spigot (which you can buy online, unless you need an excuse to go to Morocco), I next needed to figured out the bowl that the water will be poured into and hold the motor.

I had a wall pocket that I’d purchased at a vintage market that we decided to use. You can get a vintage one or here’s a link for one that is affordable and would be perfect!

step 2- Build the Base

Next create the backer board for the fountain. I’m using cement board that’ll be the base behind my mosaic. This will also work if you’re tiling your fountain.

Cut a 24”x36” piece of cement board for your fountain backing. We used a grinder to cut ours.
Position your spigot and wall pocket to plan spacing.

Then mark the mosaic mesh where the spigot and will pocket will go. To create the tiling/mosaic, I’m using sticky mesh squares. Each square is 1′ square. So I marked the placement of the spigot and the wall pocket on those and on the cement board.

step 3- Create the Mosaic

And now, create the mosaic that’ll be the focal point of the fountain. Instead of mosaic plates, tile could also be used here. This was my favorite part!

Use sticky mesh squares to lay out your design. Cut them with scissors so they’re the correct shape to be the backing on the fountain.

Break plates with wheeled tile cutters for a unique, colorful pattern. I like to cut the plate edge off and then cut around the center design of the plate.

Stick pieces on the mesh, mixing in plate centers and flat-backed ceramics for texture. Then fill in the open areas with plate edges that have a fun pattern on them. Note, make sure to wear gloves the pieces are very sharp.

I’ve made a mosaic where each piece needs to be glued in place. The mesh is SO nice because it’s sticky so each piece can be placed right where it needs to be and then it stays there.

If I had to cut and place the plates in place outside, this would be a miserable project. The mesh made it so I could work inside and then move the mosaic where it’ll be mounted.

It took 3 days to create all the mosaic pieces. I think I could have done it in two days, but this is a slow painstaking process.

step 4- Mount the Backer & Add Tile Edging

For the next step, mount the backer and add tile edging.

Mount the cement board to the wall with screws.

Add gold tile edging to frame the outside (cement board edges can look rough).
- Pro Tip: Use a miter saw with a diamond blade to cut the edging for clean corners.

Use tile adhesive to attach the edging along the border.

Let it dry before moving on.

step 5- Prep the Spigot & Test the Fountain

For this step, it’s important to test the spigot and motor to make sure we can get water flowing before moving forward.

Mark and cut a hole for the spigot on the cement board.

Mount the wall pocket onto the cement board as well.

Drill two holes in the bottom of your wall pocket: one for the pipe and one for the cord. We drilled a small hole for the cord. Which meant we had to cut the cord and then repair it once it’d be pushed through the hole. Plug the motor into the outlet.

Wrap the spigot threads with plumber’s tape.

Connect spigot → to the coupling → to the adapter → to the pump hose.

Attach the pump inside the wall pocket and fill it with water.

We only cut a small hole for the plug. So we cut the cord, pushed it through, and reconnected it with nuts and electrical tape.

Plug it in and test to make sure the water flows before moving on to the tiling stage. It is very exciting to see the water flowing!

Seal all holes with water proof silicone.

Here’s a picture of the back of the fountain. The piping is going from the pump at the bottom to the spigot at the top. We ended up adding PEX piping at the top so we could crimp it to the coupling. We used hose clamps to connect the pipes.

step 6- Attach the Mosaic & Grout

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Seeing the mosaic mounted to the fountain!

Trowel the tile adhesive onto the cement board.

Apply your mosaic mesh panels piece by piece.
Allow to dry for 24 hours.

Grout the mosaic using un-sanded grout in Bone color. Note, we put plastic wrap over the bowl during the tiling process to keep debris out of the pump.
- Wear gloves and use a sponge to wipe away excess grout.
- Use a toothbrush for tight spaces and a microfiber cloth to remove grout haze.

step 7- Finish & Style

Finally, the fountain is done and it’s time to turn on the water!

Reconnect the spigot and fill the wall pocket with water.
Plug in the pump, wait a moment, and watch your DIY wall fountain come to life!

after

I’m so excited to show you the finished fountain! It creates such a sweet spot in my backyard!

The water adds such a soothing sound to my garden. And quiets down any street noice.

Mostly, it feels like an expensive addition that is only in expensive yards. But it’s in mine! I love it! And, with the mosaic, it feels like my art is on display too.

price breakdown

I thought I’d do a price breakdown for this project. I bought the Brass Spigot while traveling for $15. Gold Tile Edging is $23 each ($46 total), Sticky Mesh for Mosaic $22, thrifted plates $40, Wheeled Tile Cutters $17, ½” Coupling $3, PEX Female Adapter $3, and Pump/Motor $10

For these items, I had them on hand so I didn’t spend money on them- Wall Pocket, Cement Board, Tile Adhesive, Trowel, Un-sanded Grout, Miter Saw, and Plumber’s Tape.

Total spent- $156

This DIY wall fountain project was a labor of love, but the results are amazing! It brings serenity, charm, and a personal touch thanks to my Moroccan spigot and thrifted plates. If you want a high-end outdoor feature on a budget, this is the perfect project to try.

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