Building pond in Israel by a Granny!

[cas]

Oh my gosh, I love the build story so far! You had me giggling at places and amazed at others. Keep the pictures and stories coming!

 

[YShahar]

Way to go! Did the dove come back home?

Indeed it did! But alas, it had a piece of old pond underlayment in its beak... I'll have to keep digging!

 

[brokensword]

Indeed it did! But alas, it had a piece of old pond underlayment in its beak... I'll have to keep digging!

as long as it wasn't a fish...

 

[YShahar]

Here's today's wrap-up (part of which was already posted in the discussion about liner protection):

Exhibit A: One giant rock!

Once I got down far enough to see daylight under part of it, I decided to give it a few tugs with the come-along, just to see if there was any motion at all. So I rigged up the come-along to my "go to" sturdy tree, added a flat concrete paver and some underlay to prevent the cable snagging or fraying, and put a bag filled with rocks over the cable (so if anything snapped, it wouldn't fly up and hit me).

Here's the setup prior to moving the paver into place under the cable:

And here's the rock...

Now, my come-along, webbing, etc. is all rated at 2000 kilo, and I gave it all I got, and...

Nothing.

Well, that was pretty much expected, but I had to try. Had there been even the slightest bit of movement, I would have tried rigging up a hoisting tripod. But from past experience, anything that solidly imbedded must be a whole lot bigger than the part that I've unearthed. I dug down on the sides to see if I could see how deeply it's buried, and sure enough, it goes way, way down!

So I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that my giant rock is going to have to be The One That Got Away. My goal now is to get out any of the somewhat more manageable rocks that I can pull with the come-along (or just roll up the incline). At the same time, I've gone to work on The One That Got Away with a hammer and chisel, figuring that I can at least slice off the top of it so that it will provide a flat surface.

Here's where things stand on that front as of stop-of-work today:

Not too bad! I managed to chisel the top off the thing so that it won't stick up so far out of the deep end. Check out all the rock shavings around it!

The other giant rock in the photo probably will also have to be left in place. I hate to do it, because I would dearly love to have those huge beasties up on top of the liner, where they would really do some good. But I'm pretty sure that, like Giant Rock #1, the part that is showing is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg... Meanwhile I've chipped away at the wall where the intake bay will go. To dig that out, I'll have to go in from the side, which means I'll have to rebuild the wall between it and the pond. The reason I have to dig from the side is because of the way the sediments work: it's easiest to pickaxe from the side and lift up the layers than it is to try to pickaxe down through them. So once I've gotten out as many of the manageable rocks as I can from below the overhang, I'll put down a tarp and collapse the overhanging material on top of it so I can then drag it out of there. Then I'll refill the hole around Giant Rocks #1 (and probably Giant Rock #2, alas) and finish up the shallower end. That will come last, as I need to keep the gentle slope there in order to pull the wagon-loads of rocks up out of the pond to dump around the steam area.

For now, the digging is proceeding one rock at a time, plus single bucket-fulls of the gravel that comes out around them. So I'm actually working with a small pickaxe and, believe it or not, a garden spade(!) rather than a shovel. Which means it's going very slowly! I can't help thinking of all the great Aquascape videos with folks scooping out excavator buckets the size of my whole pond! And here I am digging a pond with a garden spade!

Nevertheless, I'm making progress. Today I pulled out around 15 melon-sized rocks as I've enlarged the deep zone, plus around 20 buckets worth of gravel. Plus one or two larger ones.

Getting there!

 

[GBBUDD]

I admire your tenacity, But im starting to wonder if a raised pond along your excavation is not the way to go. I. m betting your don't have a very deep frost line out there and a simple footing is all you need. you have very dense soils so thats a help if you down 16 inches and you build up two three rows of cinder block that will get you a 30" depth which should suffice for a deep enough pond that won't boil in the summer
i get the stairs i do but going down hill isn't so bad to haul some block

 

[YShahar]

I admire your tenacity, But im starting to wonder if a raised pond along your excavation is not the way to go. I. m betting your don't have a very deep frost line out there and a simple footing is all you need. you have very dense soils so thats a help if you down 16 inches and you build up two three rows of cinder block that will get you a 30" depth which should suffice for a deep enough pond that won't boil in the summer
i get the stairs i do but going down hill isn't so bad to haul some block

Well, in a sense, this already is raised. The yard slopes down toward the cliff at the back of the property, so in order to build the pond I've built up the far end of it by about 45 cm. So I won't really have to do any digging at all in the shallow end, other than to terrace it a bit to make it safer to walk in and out of.

Theoretically, I could just go ahead and line it at its current depth. After all, this started as an addition to a Japanese style landscape, and all I really need for that is a shallow reflective pond with some flat rocks in strategic locations. But I know that I'd regret not giving myself a place to sit in the water in summer, so it's worth taking an extra week or two to have that extra room. I've already decided that come April 1st, I wind up the process and start lining it.

 

[GBBUDD]

your definitely the most determined visitor to this site in the 5 years i've come here

 

[YShahar]

your definitely the most determined visitor to this site in the 5 years i've come here

In other words, I'm stubborn as a donkey (and sometimes have the temperament to match!)

 

[addy1]

Well, in a sense, this already is raised. The yard slopes down toward the cliff at the back of the property, so in order to build the pond I've built up the far end of it by about 45 cm. So I won't really have to do any digging at all in the shallow end, other than to terrace it a bit to make it safer to walk in and out o

I had to dig down the upslope side of my pond by 4 feet and raise the down slope edge by around 7-8 feet to make a level spot for the pond. I know what you mean!

 

[brokensword]

I had to dig down the upslope side of my pond by 4 feet and raise the down slope edge by around 7-8 feet to make a level spot for the pond. I know what you mean!

hey Boss; we planning on any GPF meetups in the Med this year? Does the budget allow for getting yer lil kubota on the ship with us? Could, you know, park it somewhere near a cliff, where a bunch of broken stones are probably piled and hoist it on up to Y? I'm sure she'd make good use out of it! And think of all the malt she'd repay the CAstle with? Or maybe a boatload back of olives??? Oh CamMaltGurl, that a deal yer willin' ta see happen???


heh heh. Nawww, I think it's obvious from all her posts, she LIKES doing things the hard way. What would the fun be in busting stone out with a machine when you can hammer and pick it to death??

 

[GBBUDD]

In other words, I'm stubborn as a donkey (and sometimes have the temperament to match!)

polish here darlin , tell me about being stubborn and a plow................. look at my build ....nothing gets in the way.... will find a work around...

 

[YShahar]

hey Boss; we planning on any GPF meetups in the Med this year? Does the budget allow for getting yer lil kubota on the ship with us? Could, you know, park it somewhere near a cliff, where a bunch of broken stones are probably piled and hoist it on up to Y? I'm sure she'd make good use out of it! And think of all the malt she'd repay the CAstle with? Or maybe a boatload back of olives??? Oh CamMaltGurl, that a deal yer willin' ta see happen???


heh heh. Nawww, I think it's obvious from all her posts, she LIKES doing things the hard way. What would the fun be in busting stone out with a machine when you can hammer and pick it to death??

You kidding? Give me a big machine to play with and I'll be the happiest little granny you ever saw!

Theoretically, one could get a little bobcat-type widget in here, if the owner were willing to get it down a rather steep incline in the vacant lot next to us and then over a low wall and onto some steps through a break in the garden wall. But it just isn't in the budget!

My dream would be to get in and excavate under the entire porch and make that a huge rainwater catchment basin, which would also serve as a negative edge for the pond. It may happen one year, but not this year!

Right, you guys get ready for a vacation in the Med! We have two guest rooms, plus a sleeper sofa downstairs, plus room to camp out on the porch. I'll lay in a supply of arak, wine, and Ardbeg. You folks just have to get yourselves over here. Oh, and have I mentioned that my other hobby is off-road jeeping? You would get to see parts of the country that the tourists never see!

Onwards. Coffee. Breakfast. Pickaxe....

 

[Dimelius]

You kidding? Give me a big machine to play with and I'll be the happiest little granny you ever saw!

Theoretically, one could get a little bobcat-type widget in here, if the owner were willing to get it down a rather steep incline in the vacant lot next to us and then over a low wall and onto some steps through a break in the garden wall. But it just isn't in the budget!

My dream would be to get in and excavate under the entire porch and make that a huge rainwater catchment basin, which would also serve as a negative edge for the pond. It may happen one year, but not this year!

Right, you guys get ready for a vacation in the Med! We have two guest rooms, plus a sleeper sofa downstairs, plus room to camp out on the porch. I'll lay in a supply of arak, wine, and Ardbeg. You folks just have to get yourselves over here. Oh, and have I mentioned that my other hobby is off-road jeeping? You would get to see parts of the country that the tourists never see!

Onwards. Coffee. Breakfast. Pickaxe....

ALL grab a pickaxe and go to Israel!

 

[j.w]

ALL grab a pickaxe and go to Israel!

Me too and I'll take a guest room and the king can sleep out w/the snakes and grizzly type beings. Dime you can have the porch so as to keep an eye on things around the village. Make sure Mr Kingy doesn't eat all the olives, we need some for the Pineappleless pizzas

 

[brokensword]

Me too and I'll take a guest room and the king can sleep out w/the snakes and grizzly type beings. Dime you can have the porch so as to keep an eye on things around the village. Make sure Mr Kingy doesn't eat all the olives, we need some for the Pineappleless pizzas

what you keep missin' Missy, is that since you refuse to go on scheduling duty, YOU don't get to assign sleeping arrangements no more; since you've fobbed THAT job over to my section, I gets ta do the dirty work; I already claimed the loft, Dime is in the big room by the kitchen (in case he wants to whip up some foccocia (sp??) and the patrol dogs need letting out), YOU get the hammock by Y's jeep, and the Boss stays in her throne room on the Yacht. The rest of the doofs have to play rock paper scissors lizard Spock to see who ends up sleeping in Y's puddle hole with the snake repellent gun. The mongooses are on their own.

Now, about that pineappleless pizza...