Big Rock For Waterfall

[ShawnLimy]

Purchasing a big rock for a waterfall, it weighs over 3 ton, they are going to drill a 1.5" hole for me, and also deliver.

Next step is, to get it from the driveway to the backyard where the pond is, maybe rent a loader backhoe.
I will have to get this right the first time, to heavy to move around after it is in place.

Any ideas on how to get a water line to the bottom of this rock, should i dig underneath and just run it up through the hole?
also, should i put gravel on the sand for a base?

It doesn't look very big from this picture, but it is a pretty good size 68" x 57" diagonally, 92"x 78"

 

[sissy]

put the rock on concrete blocks this way if there is ever a problem with the hose you can easily run a new hose .I had a big rock and hose got a hole in it and had to replace it in my big fountain pond and had it on concrete block and block that the hose ran up through I broke the front of it off .My son and his friends put the rock in place but it was a flat one and was not as heavy as yours but still took 8 people to move it and set it on 4 concrete blocks so it was really easy to shove the hose up in the hole

 

[dieselplower]

I would run the water line through a larger metal pipe that you lay under where the rock will go.. If you just use a water hose if the area settles it could crush the line and you will have no flow.

 

[ShawnLimy]

I would run the water line through a larger metal pipe that you lay under where the rock will go.. If you just use a water hose if the area settles it could crush the line and you will have no flow.

That is a very good idea, thanks for that diesel.

 

[addy1]

My drilled rock is a lot smaller! and heavy...... I ran 1in pvc up the 1.5 in hole, sealed around the pvc with some pl roofing goop so all the water would go up and out of the hole.



Good idea about the metal pipe, rocks can settle esp a huge one like that.

 

[ShawnLimy]

put the rock on concrete blocks this way if there is ever a problem with the hose you can easily run a new hose .I had a big rock and hose got a hole in it and had to replace it in my big fountain pond and had it on concrete block and block that the hose ran up through I broke the front of it off .My son and his friends put the rock in place but it was a flat one and was not as heavy as yours but still took 8 people to move it and set it on 4 concrete blocks so it was really easy to shove the hose up in the hole

Sissy, would you partially bury the blocks, and would you put gravel underneath the blocks to help?

 

[ShawnLimy]

My drilled rock is a lot smaller! and heavy...... I ran 1in pvc up the 1.5 in hole, sealed around the pvc with some pl roofing goop so all the water would go up and out of the hole.



Good idea about the metal pipe, rocks can settle esp a huge one like that.

addy1, that is a beautiful rock, i love the ornaments on there.

Yes, i thought about what diesel had metioned about the metal pipe, and, it just makes perfect sense, basically, conduit for water lines.

 

[addy1]

Those lizards and the sun thing I hauled from arizona. Had to repaint the lizards they were rusting here in wet maryland, compared to dry arizona.

The rock was the biggest we could get that we could haul through the house via a cart to the deck and then lift up into the deck pond. A gut wrencher, but we made it

 

[sissy]

Mine was in a large concrete fountain with a liner under it and reason I put the rock there is we had a big storm up there that knocked the top off the fountain and broke it .Fountain
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was like this but base was bigger.I actually bought it from them here in VA and son hauled it home on his trailer and it came in several pieces .I want the gator bench next for this house
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they have some great stuff at concrete world and they are cheap also

 

[Waterbug]

If you want the 1.5 ton rock to stay level, in place and at the same level it requires a proper foundation. For Ontario Canada that would be about a 4' deep concrete structure, just like they build for houses. You can check the local building department for actual depth and footer size. Or just pour a pad at the proper depth for a footer and block up from there.

It's impossible to predict how a 1.5 ton rock set on the edge of dirt pond will react. It could stay still for 100 years. It could collapse the wall and fall into the pond the minute you set it. Could fall into the pond after the first good rain. The smart money would be on having lots of problems.

The foundation thing was invented to reduce those risks.

 

[ShawnLimy]

Sissy, i love the Gator bench, and those bears, that fountain looks quite large, sorry to hear it broke on you.

 

[ShawnLimy]

If you want the 1.5 ton rock to stay level, in place and at the same level it requires a proper foundation. For Ontario Canada that would be about a 4' deep concrete structure, just like they build for houses. You can check the local building department for actual depth and footer size. Or just pour a pad at the proper depth for a footer and block up from there.

It's impossible to predict how a 1.5 ton rock set on the edge of dirt pond will react. It could stay still for 100 years. It could collapse the wall and fall into the pond the minute you set it. Could fall into the pond after the first good rain. The smart money would be on having lots of problems.

The foundation thing was invented to reduce those risks.

Thanks for your reply Waterbug, it actually weighs over 3 ton, my wife and i decided on not getting it, it is just to big and heavy, and not worth the risks of the damage it could cause.

We are going to use the money that we were going to use for that big rock on some nice border rocks.

I have lots of flat rock that i can make a waterfall out of.

 

[sissy]

get a big flat one it will not weigh as much .It was just the top tier of mine that broke and bottom was larger .My sons friend had the rock on his property and drilled it for me also .2 drill bits and 6 hours to drill it and it was 6 inches thick .New drill bits they have out now are better .I drilled rocks to hold down air hoses .Just slipped the hose through the hole and done .Took me about 15 minutes for each rock but bits were 30 dollars for 2 .I saw the bits advertised at the national hardware show and had to get them . :cheerful: JUST HAD TOO .

 

[ShawnLimy]

get a big flat one it will not weigh as much .It was just the top tier of mine that broke and bottom was larger .My sons friend had the rock on his property and drilled it for me also .2 drill bits and 6 hours to drill it and it was 6 inches thick .New drill bits they have out now are better .I drilled rocks to hold down air hoses .Just slipped the hose through the hole and done .Took me about 15 minutes for each rock but bits were 30 dollars for 2 .I saw the bits advertised at the national hardware show and had to get them . :cheerful: JUST HAD TOO .

I am a tool guy, and i can't turn down a good deal on tools, even if i already have a certain tool, if it is a good price, i can't walk away from it.

 

[sissy]

I have done 5 house in my lifetime and made ugly pretty .Last one I bought for son 2 years ago while he was going to college and paid 5 thousand at auction and I remodeled it myself and put 25 thousand into it to make it energy wise and pretty and he sold it in January after my hubby's heart attack and got 98 thousand the first day he put it on the market 50 people visited realtor was shocked .It was only a couple of blocks from the college and only 2 bath (it had 1 when I bought it )and 2 bedrooms.I did all the work myself .Super insulated and rewired ,even building inspector was impressed ,code plus .So after buying my first house in NJ back in 1973 I have collected my fair share of tools .A women with tools was not really what people expected back then .Places kept saying maybe you should ask your hubby first .Yeh sure .I am my fathers daughter and proud my dad made me learn to do it myself . :cheerful: