Foundations and Fixings for Outdoor Sculpture
The base plate and the anchor pattern cause more delays on site than anything else. They are also the easiest part to get right in advance.
Garden Decoration Sculpture
Modern 304 316 Mirror
Modern 304 316 Mirror is a mirror polished 316 stainless steel water feature built to order in our Shenzhen workshop.
Product Overview
What This Piece Is
Modern 304 316 Mirror is a mirror polished 316 stainless steel water feature built to order in our Shenzhen workshop.
A water feature adds sound as well as sight, which is what makes a courtyard feel separated from the street beyond it.
316 stainless steel carries molybdenum, which is what makes it hold up in salt air and around chlorinated water far better than standard grades.
The minimum order is one piece, the size is set by your drawing rather than by a catalogue.
Modern 304 316 Mirror produced by Xinhengda Sculpture in Shenzhen
Key Benefits
Why Buyers Specify This Piece
- Specified in 316 stainless steel for coastal, poolside and fountain positions where salt and chlorine attack ordinary steel.
- The mirror polished surface picks up sky, planting and passing people, so the piece changes through the day instead of reading as one fixed object.
- Height, width and base detail for this water feature are set from your drawing, so it is proportioned to the space instead of being the nearest standard size.
- One water feature is a full order. A single project in gardens and courtyards does not have to wait for a container quantity.
- A water feature adds sound as well as sight, which is what makes a courtyard feel separated from the street beyond it.
- The crate is built around the finished geometry of this water feature, with foam contact on every mirror polished face.
- Because the 316 stainless steel is worked and finished in the same building, one team owns the surface from the first cut to the last pass.
Application Scenarios
Where It Is Installed
Set on a lawn, in a planting bed or on a courtyard paving grid, on a concrete pad or a levelled base plate.
Who It Is For
The People Who Order This
- Facility and estate managers replacing a tired feature in gardens and courtyards with something that needs no repainting
- Landscape architects specifying a mirror polished water feature as the focal piece for gardens and courtyards
- Property developers placing a 316 stainless water feature in gardens and courtyards to anchor an arrival point
- Hotel and hospitality groups adding a water feature to gardens and courtyards without closing the space for a refurbishment
Problems It Solves
What This Piece Removes From the Project
- Sculptures near the sea or over a water feature pick up pitting within a season if the wrong grade is used. 316 is the grade that answers that.
- A poorly polished mirror surface shows the weld lines and a wavy reflection. Grinding the seams flat before polishing is what removes both.
- Suppliers who subcontract the finishing cannot answer for the surface. The 316 stainless steel here is cut, welded and mirror polished under one roof.
- Getting a water feature into gardens and courtyards is usually harder than the design assumed. Access is checked before the piece is built, not on delivery day.
- Off the shelf water features are never the size gardens and courtyards actually needs, so schemes end up compromised. Making this one to the drawing removes that compromise.
Technical Features
How It Is Constructed
- Internal pipework, pump chamber and drainage detailed into the form rather than added afterwards
- Mirror polished by hand through successive grits until the reflection is undistorted across the whole surface
- Fabricated throughout in 316 stainless steel with matching filler where the material is welded
- Edges and arrises detailed for the contact a water feature gets in gardens and courtyards
- Internal frame sized to this water feature rather than taken from a standard section list
Specifications
Recorded Specification
| Material | 316 stainless steel |
|---|---|
| Finish | Mirror polished |
| Form | Water Feature |
| Category | Garden Decoration Sculpture |
| Size | Made to your drawing |
| Minimum Order | 1 piece |
| Placement | Outdoor |
| Packing | Foam lined plywood crate built to the finished geometry |
| Origin | Shenzhen China |
Dimensions, weight and lead time for this water feature are confirmed with the quotation, because it is built to your drawing rather than to a garden decoration sculpture catalogue size.
Materials
What It Is Made From
- 316 stainless steel
- Stainless or galvanised fixings sized for this water feature and supplied with it
Manufacturing Process
How It Is Made
1
Laser cutting of 316 sheet to the developed pattern
2
Cold forming of each panel over shaped bucks
3
TIG welding with matched 316 filler wire
4
Weld dressing and levelling across every seam
5
Polishing or texturing to the specified finish
6
Pickling and passivation to restore the passive layer after welding
Quality Control
What Is Checked and When
- Mill grade verified on the incoming sheet
- Filler wire matched to the parent grade and recorded
- Welds dressed and checked for undercut before polishing
- Passivation completed after all hot work
- Drainage points on water-facing pieces checked to be clear
Customisation Options
What Can Be Changed
- Overall height, width and depth of the water feature set from your drawing or from the dimensions of gardens and courtyards
- Proportions adjusted so the water feature reads correctly from the approach distance in gardens and courtyards
- Finish changed between mirror, brushed and coloured coating on the same water feature
- Base detail changed between a flush plate, a plinth and a direct planting bed fixing
Comparison
How It Compares With the Alternatives
Compared with 304 stainless steel
304 is the sensible choice inland. Within reach of salt spray or chlorinated water, 316 is worth the difference because it resists pitting that 304 will eventually show.
Compared with Buying through a trading company
A trader passes drawings along and adds a margin. Here the water feature is drawn and built by the same people you are talking to.
Compared with An imported gallery piece
A gallery water feature arrives as it is. Working direct with the workshop means the size, the mirror polish and the base for gardens and courtyards are decided before anything is cut.
Use Guide
Looking After It Once It Is Installed
- Rinse down with fresh water after storms or pool servicing
- Wash with a neutral detergent, then dry to avoid water spotting
- Inspect drainage holes on water features twice a year
- Avoid chloride based cleaners of any kind
- Fingerprints show on a mirror surface. A neutral detergent wash and a dry microfibre cloth is all it takes.
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Guides That Apply To This Piece
Installation Guide
Design Guide
Planning a Sculptural Water Feature
Water turns a sculpture into a system. Decide the effect, the grade and the plant room before the form is finalised.
Design Guide
How to Choose the Right Size for a Garden Sculpture
The single most common regret is a piece that is too small. Here is how to get the scale right before anything is fabricated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this be made in a different size
Yes. Modern 304 316 Mirror is made to order, so the height and width are set from your drawing or from the dimensions of the space. Send the position and the height you have in mind and the quotation follows those figures.
What is the minimum order quantity
One piece. There is no container minimum, which is why single projects in gardens and courtyards are a normal part of the workload here.
Why 316 stainless steel rather than something cheaper
316 stainless steel carries molybdenum, which is what makes it hold up in salt air and around chlorinated water far better than standard grades. Sculptures near the sea or over a water feature pick up pitting within a season if the wrong grade is used. 316 is the grade that answers that.
Will the mirror finish show the welds
Not if the seams are ground level before polishing starts. Every weld on a mirror piece is dressed flat first, which is why the reflection stays undistorted across the joint.
How is a water feature this size packed and shipped
A plywood crate is built around the finished geometry with foam on every mirror polished face. Large water features are split into sections at joints chosen during design, trial assembled in the workshop, then marked so they go back together in the same order on site.
What do you need from me to quote
The position, the height or overall size you want, and any drawing, render or reference photograph you already have. For gardens and courtyards a photograph of the space is often enough to start.
What is the lead time
Lead time depends on the size of the water feature, the mirror polish and how much design work it needs, so it is confirmed with the quotation rather than promised in advance. Send the brief and the schedule comes back with the price.
Quote This Piece for Your Project
Send the position, the height you want and any drawing you have. The quotation comes back against your figures, not against a catalogue size.