CW's Back Yard Water Garden Begins!

[addy1]

Any recommendations for other products in this category I can try?


I Use marine goop and 3 m for repairs sealing on the boat both work very well.

Can get black or white

3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 - Permanent Bonding and Sealing for Boats and Marine Applications - Black - 3 Ounces​

1. 
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y89JC8/ref=ppx_yo_tab_ap_asin_title_o01__s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#
3. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y89JC8/ref=ppx_yo_tab_ap_asin_title_o01__s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#
4. 
5. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y89JC8/ref=ppx_yo_tab_ap_asin_title_o01__s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#
6. 
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y89JC8/ref=ppx_yo_tab_ap_asin_title_o01__s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#

Or I use this

Amazing GOOP 170011 Marine Adhesive, 3.7 Fluid Ounces​

 

[j.w]

I was wondering if he said the whole liner has holes everywhere? Is it just the top edge or all over? If all over than wouldn't it have to be a problem w/the liner itself in the way it was made? I would put some water on the bottom and see if it all leaks down there also.

 

[GBBUDD]

am definitely going to cut my excess liner now and not look back.

I don't know if I'd go that far yet
The way I see hdrpe is the woven is the weak link and when it is cut it allows the strands to loosen or separate.

What if you simply folded it over and secured it to the section of liner that's holding the water so you have a loop that is now also seamed to the liner and is now controlling the leaks

 

[addy1]

I don't know if I'd go that far yet
The way I see hdrpe is the woven is the weak link and when it is cut it allows the strands to loosen or separate.

What if you simply folded it over and secured it to the section of liner that's holding the water so you have a loop that is now also seamed to the liner and is now controlling the leaks

I have not had it loosen or separate when cut. Zero frayed edges. Have some pieces kicking around the yard, still in great shape.

Maybe they make theirs differently, bend tarp and liner. They do huge containment ponds.

 

[combatwombat]

Love all the feedback. Appreciate it so much. Trying to channel my inner growth mindset and keep my spirts up so I can work towards a solution. My biggest frustration right now is that even if I get the liner all patched up, I now have a liner that probably won't last nearly as long as I expected it. But who knows, maybe I can patch it forever.

Catching up on replies now:

So sorry to be reading all of this @combatwombat and hope there is some kind of resolve w/either the company or a fix for this.

Thank you. But what could they possibly do to rectify? Replace the liner? It has 60 tons of rock and gravel over it? Give me my money back? I'd have about $2k more in my bank account and still have a leaky pond.

I guess they might have a repair recommendation I haven't thought of yet, but the industry standard repair seems to be to heat weld a patch or use a repair tape.

Guess I'll reach out to them anyway as it can't hurt. I just have low expectations for a meaningful response. I'm an Eeyore today!

I Use marine goop and 3 m for repairs sealing on the boat both work very well.

Thanks. Will try to pick up a tube of the stuff today to test.

I was wondering if he said the whole liner has holes everywhere? Is it just the top edge or all over?

Unknown at this point. The leaks are all "seepers." Very slow drips through the membrane. Almost like it's porous. Not really feasible at the moment to try to find them further down until I've dealt with what I already know I have. I have little faith that it's contained to only the top, though. The little shred of hope I have is that I never noticed any leaks/seepage when the pond was full before. But I wasn't really looking or measuring, either.

I would put some water on the bottom and see if it all leaks down there also.

Can you expand on what you mean here? The pond is completely full.

The way I see hdrpe is the woven is the weak link and when it is cut it allows the strands to loosen or separate.

It could see it fraying a bit after some time if you don't make a clean cut, but I don't have any fraying on my liner and all my leaks are currently far from the existing edges.

What if you simply folded it over and secured it to the section of liner that's holding the water so you have a loop that is now also seamed to the liner and is now controlling the leaks

I like that idea, but I have little faith that rest of the liner at the edge is not just as leaky as the part that's currently under water. And there are lots of bends and folds and whatnot that achieving a good would appear almost impossible.

 

[rubyduby]

Love all the feedback. Appreciate it so much. Trying to channel my inner growth mindset and keep my spirts up so I can work towards a solution. My biggest frustration right now is that even if I get the liner all patched up, I now have a liner that probably won't last nearly as long as I expected it. But who knows, maybe I can patch it forever.

Catching up on replies now:


Thank you. But what could they possibly do to rectify? Replace the liner? It has 60 tons of rock and gravel over it? Give me my money back? I'd have about $2k more in my bank account and still have a leaky pond.

I guess they might have a repair recommendation I haven't thought of yet, but the industry standard repair seems to be to heat weld a patch or use a repair tape.

Guess I'll reach out to them anyway as it can't hurt. I just have low expectations for a meaningful response. I'm an Eeyore today!


Thanks. Will try to pick up a tube of the stuff today to test.



Unknown at this point. The leaks are all "seepers." Very slow drips through the membrane. Almost like it's porous. Not really feasible at the moment to try to find them further down until I've dealt with what I already know I have. I have little faith that it's contained to only the top, though. The little shred of hope I have is that I never noticed any leaks/seepage when the pond was full before. But I wasn't really looking or measuring, either.


Can you expand on what you mean here? The pond is completely full.


It could see it fraying a bit after some time if you don't make a clean cut, but I don't have any fraying on my liner and all my leaks are currently far from the existing edges.


I like that idea, but I have little faith that rest of the liner at the edge is not just as leaky as the part that's currently under water. And there are lots of bends and folds and whatnot that achieving a good would appear almost impossible.

 

[j.w]

@combatwombat sorry I didn't know it was full of water. If only pin prick holes guess it would take forever to see if it leaks on the bottom too. I don't think those holes should be there around the edge tho. Like @addy1 says she has some that gets abused and it works fine still. I just don't understand how strong stuff like it's supposed to be and brand new how it could have those holes. Has me puzzled as I'm sure it does you. Reach out to the company, see what they think.

 

[j.w]

I read this on their site: – HDRPE has 5-10-15-20-30-40 years manufacturer limited guaranty.

 

[combatwombat]

I’ll give them a call. Guess it can’t hurt anything but my feelings. Ha.

Had another thought while working on different project today. I don’t feel comfortable field welding patches, but what it I could just heat these little seeping spots enough to close the microscopic holes? Just flash the spot with some heat and rub the area to work it closed.

Might work.

 

[combatwombat]

Meanwhile, I replaced some very poorly installed downspout drainage pipe in the front yard with offcuts of schedule 40 from the pond build. Installed a wye in the new line to accommodate overflow from a future pondless falls. So I haven’t given up on water features yet.

And had test heat bending 3” pvc. Worked great. Wouldn’t do it on a pressure system. But for yard drainage? Better than going back to the plumbing store for a fitting you forgot.

 

[combatwombat]

1. Flashing with heat is not going to work. Actually, it might work, but it's fragile and not going to risk it in the field. Tape or caulk/adhesive will be the answer.

2. Patched a small gusher yesterday, and pond now appears to be losing about 100 gal/day instead of 250. So... that's cool. Need at least another 12 hour period without rain to confirm.

3. My dad—who has an answer for everything including things he doesn't actually have an answer for—is adamant that these little drippers can't be leaking that much and that there's probably another bigger leak somewhere I've yet to find.

4. Maybe these really little ones will just plug themselves with sediment over time? I replaced a hose bib on our ancient galvanized plumbing system a few years ago and had a little drip at the fitting I tied into. No matter what I tried, I could not stop it. It was in the basement and just a very slow drip, so I just left it and kept an eye on it. About a month later, it self-healed and hasn't leaked a drop since. Going to patch everything I can see anyway, but maybe these tiny seepers will just self heal.

5. I can't give up because there are now 10 million frog colonists in the back yard. I hope my neighbors don't hate me.

 

[addy1]

Never give up! I bet they will plug up, it does not take a lot to stop a tiny drip. Do you have hard water, that helps.

Our water here is very very soft. Our well has a ton of sediment, that does a good job of plugging up things. We triple filter our house water. The pond gets direct feed sediment filled water, just a x amount of very fine dirt.

 

[Jhn]

Agree, with addy1, never give up. Like I said I had a leak in my pond addition, last spring, initially was thinking what the hell did I just do (should I have just left my initial pond as is) had all these large rocks in the pond, am I going to have to tear the whole pond apart to find this leak. It took a bit to relax and Calmly think about it as just a problem to solve. Took me a week or two to locate the leak and that was it. If I remember right @GBBUDD had a to find and patch a leak during his initial build as well, it happens.

No doubt you will figure it out, it may be as simple as those little weepers may plug themselves, like addy and you are thinking.

 

[GBBUDD]

@GBBUDD had a to find and patch a leak during his initial build as well, it happens.

sure did and i got beyond lucky as i was in a unflattering position looking around one boulder for the leak i happened to look across the pond and saw under a 4 foot x 6 foot by 8 inch thick cap rock to the fish tunnel i saw something that caught my eye it was the shadow of the tear from placing the boulders alone.

so yes i too know the gut wrenching feeling you have after all that work to find you have a leak. another problem to solve.

 

[combatwombat]

More thoughts:

One of the seepers I’ve been monitoring is “kind of” self healing? When I check it each day, nothing is seeping. If I rub the spot, it starts right up again, but then must close up at some point overnight.

2PL-S30 on its own is probably not a great long term solution for patching. Definitely works and is super flexible, but is kind of easy to remove even after several days of curing and sanding the liner for better adhesion.

Will try marine adhesive sealant next.

All my problems around here are related to water right now. My old gutters that are rusted out and I’ve bonked like 4 times with the excavator are a mess. Thank God for extra liner.