Concrete block pond/help!
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The manufacturer says it is safe for repairing ponds, so sounds good. Just looked up all the details. Sounds like great stuff. They also said it will hold up under water.
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How thick did you apply the rapid set?I found a picture of my concrete block pond/reservoir that I sealed with Rapid Set mortar. I checked and I built this eleven years ago and still no maintenance.
View attachment 124320
I'm not a pro. It was similar to applying drywall patch as a home owner for me. It's been a long time now, over ten years. To the best of my recollection my target was 1/2 inch. In many areas it probably ended up a little less than that. First a coat over the joints to even them up with the block. Then a coat over the whole pool/pond. Then a final coat over the areas that looked like they might need some more attention.
It will depend greatly on the type of rock you have in the wall. how absorbent they are and if they are similar in expansion and contraction to the mortar. i have never used pond armor so i have no idea if it is as they claim. i myself would look at it as product that could bail me out and could last several years it's worth a shot but i would imagine you would have to apply it to all surfaces. and that could get pricey.
It looks like from the pictures the wall was existing ? and you build to it? is there a way to cut through the wall and apply a mortar to the back side of the stone wall so in fact your not touching the stone on the face your looking at but water proofing the back
It looks like from the pictures the wall was existing ? and you build to it? is there a way to cut through the wall and apply a mortar to the back side of the stone wall so in fact your not touching the stone on the face your looking at but water proofing the back
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That’s correct... we built it into an already existing wall. The wall is two siding with a little patio on the other side opposite the pond, so won’t be able to mortar the other side. Good idea though.
The pond armor IS super expensive so thinking maybe I can just apply it to the joints of the rock wall or the the whole rock wall. Then use the rapid set mortar for the block walls. The question is, will I need something over that to keep the fish safe? Have contacted the company that makes it.
Oh, the rock is what they call riprap but not sure of the geological make up. Maybe granite? It comes out of the mines here in southern
excellent!
Arizona. The wall has been up now for many years.
After being a builder for many years.My advice your not going to like and i'll a=explain a little .. You are far better off abandoning your rock wall get a epdm line with underlayments and install that then build a new stone wall. and here is why . 1. the pond will not leak unless you make a mistake . 2. trying to seal stone to mortar and to an expansion joint/ concrete block wall is not an easy task especially in a climate that you can have 30 degree weather in the morning and have the temps climb 50 60 degrees very quickly.that size wall is a pallets worth of stone and to have a mason duplicate the stone wall you want to keep won't be all that expensive a good mason should be able to build that in a day two tops. all depends on the rock you get. ok looking at the pic again i see it's a two sided wall with a corner ok so 3 to 4 days. If you placed a mastic expansion joint between the walls and coated all walls i would do the pond armour onto the block wall by at least 2 feet then skim coat the block with the mortar the question is will the mortar stick to the armour unknown.Best to stick with one product and coat the whole pool and i would have to go with two coats i have never liked one coat of any products water proofing rock walls is not an easy task i have seen salt water pools with ledge sticking out where they always try to leave the ledge and seal up to it and i mean a lot of cash a lot of very expensive procedures and they never work for long. not to mention your rock wall is going to be green
once you add your water every rock will be the same color you will be lucky if you can see the detail of the rock in time.
Best of luck to you
once you add your water every rock will be the same color you will be lucky if you can see the detail of the rock in time.
Best of luck to you
I see what you're trying to do, but honestly you're going to a lot of work so you can "see" the rock wall under water - you won't see it. It's going to quickly get covered with algae... or it should, if you have a healthy pond. And in this case, the algae may even climb up the wall out of the water, as the rock is going to absorb water and be wet all the time... not to mention potentially be a source of constant water loss.
I think you'd be better off to add a block wall in front of the stone wall and then use EPDM in the whole pond. You'd see the stone wall above the water line and give the impression that it's continuing under the water. Just my opinion. The products you mentioned may work, but won't they also obscure the stone wall? I don't think they're a clear coat, are they? Just throwing some thoughts out there!
I think you'd be better off to add a block wall in front of the stone wall and then use EPDM in the whole pond. You'd see the stone wall above the water line and give the impression that it's continuing under the water. Just my opinion. The products you mentioned may work, but won't they also obscure the stone wall? I don't think they're a clear coat, are they? Just throwing some thoughts out there!
They have the support from the stone wall to hold back the water that not an issue, the new stone wall i mentioned was just if they had there hearts set on seeing one. a simple underlayment placed on the stone wall and block walls then the epdm will work fine.
One thing you could try to keep your stone cap is to saw cut into the vertical part of your wall above water level a few inches and tuck the top of the liner into the cut and secure the rubber with wedges and a good caulking . The other thing you want to make sure you do is to leave a little excess somewhere so as the rubber ages or is tugged for this that or the other reason you have some excess for it to move.