Edging pond-- again

[Dave's pond Indiana]

One pond I saw had overhanging stone on the edge and drove steel rods in the ground at the back of the stones with a steel plate welded on top of the rods to keep the stones from tipping.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

That may also work~ any pics Dave? Thanks!!!

 

[Lisak1]

Lisak, those are neat ideas! But noticed those are UK addresses -- wonder if there is anyone in the US that carries that type of edging equip. It makes for a nice, neat edging, and might be what Kristi is looking for! Thanks for finding and sharing!

It is indeed available here - that's the type of edging that is used to install concrete pavers. Our patio is built with pavers and this edging (it's heavy duty plastic) goes all the way around. Stakes are driven in about every 6-8" to hold the whole thing in place. The pieces can be straight or curved, depending on the contours of the edging, so your design options are unlimited. The work is guaranteed for life, so I'm pretty confident that the edging will last as well.

As for construction... this is the part where I show my husband the picture and say "hey! Figure out how to build this, will you?" And then he does. I showed him the double stacked flagstone and he guessed it would have a sand base underneath to stabilize the stone. But it might be tricky to find stones that would stack without any wobble if you were hoping the edge could be walked on. (And I'm a big believer that ALL pond edges should be stable for walking on.)

I wonder if you could install the paver edging, lay your flagstone in a pattern that was pleasing to you and then fill in the gaps with small pea gravel/sand to provide a stable edge? It would be less formal than a brick edge because the stones won't line up at the edge... you would still have that straight edge but it would be broken up with the small gravel fill, if that makes sense.

Check out Unilock and Belgard for some ideas of what is available in man made "stone" if you haven't already. Concrete pavers have come a long way toward looking more natural and they are easy to work with as the sizes and shapes are very uniform. I'm not sure what your patio plans are, but we had a paver patio installed and have been very happy with the look and durability.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Lisak1 thank you and please tell hubby thanks also!
I like the idea of the pavers under flagstone, with the pavers set in sand. Then I assume the flagstone is mortared in place over the pavers. The pavers will be held in place with the plastic edging you noted. I will check that out also~ also Unilock and Belgard.
Sounds easy on paper-- I need to experiment with the actual pond liner tomorrow to see how that would look. Hoping no rain!
Thanks again~
K

 

[callingcolleen1]

I don't know if this will help, but I glued all my rocks in place with this stuff from the hardware store called "Great Stuff" "Big Gap Filler" and it is the same as the black waterfall foam glue, but at a fracton of the cost. I like to have my rocks all glued down so they don't fall into the pond and hit the fish in the head. I did his a while back and never took pictures of each steps cause it was before I was involved in this garden pond forum. I used different materials to build up the edges (landscaping ties screwed together) and rounded everything off with stones and this glue... here is what it looks like now... (this glue dries yellow and then I stuck moss in the edges and cracks) (use good gloves as glue is messy but dries super fast)

Last summer I also hand cobbled stones all around the pond for a path too....

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Oh wow! Colleen that is BEAUTIFUL! I only hope I could do HALF as well in my efforts!
Was your pond level with the ground or above ground?
Could you please possibly post the steps you took to get your pond edging done?And how you did the path?
I am so amazed at this I can't even tell you.
Thanks!!!

 

[Mmathis]

It is indeed available here - that's the type of edging that is used to install concrete pavers.

Well, I thought that's what it looked like, but wondered if this was a special, more "heavy duty" kind just for ponds. Interesting!

Liking this thread! Lots of ideas!

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Colleen also do you have flexible liner-- and did you glue the rocks directly to that?
You mentioned a frame in your album pics~ I only have a large hole in the ground with flexible liner in it. I would love to have a small rock wall like you seem to have on the back side of my pond-- but on the front side by the house and patios I would like to have it low-- so that the flagstone sits out over the water and people can sit or stand on the flagstone (no wall.)
Do you have ideas on how to do that?

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Lisak1 I LOVE the Belgard site and the ideas there for flagstone....I have a Victorian house so that "Victorian" flagstone would be so beautiful. Thank you ALL for the wonderful pics and great ideas!!!!
I love this group.

 

[pecan]

Here is a little sketch I put together for edging. Option C you could lay the flag stone on the top and it could hang over the water with the water disappearing under it.

 

[Dave's pond Indiana]

That is VERY nice looking you have a lot of time invested in your landscaping. I'm glad that Great Stuff worked for you, I tried it to save money but were it came in contact with water it didn't work very well. I had to bite the bullet and use the black in some areas. Beautiful pond and landscape !

I don't know if this will help, but I glued all my rocks in place with this stuff from the hardware store called "Great Stuff" "Big Gap Filler" and it is the same as the black waterfall foam glue, but at a fracton of the cost. I like to have my rocks all glued down so they don't fall into the pond and hit the fish in the head. I did his a while back and never took pictures of each steps cause it was before I was involved in this garden pond forum. I used different materials to build up the edges (landscaping ties screwed together) and rounded everything off with stones and this glue... here is what it looks like now... (this glue dries yellow and then I stuck moss in the edges and cracks) (use good gloves as glue is messy but dries super fast)

Last summer I also hand cobbled stones all around the pond for a path too....

 

[Kristi Kelty]

FANTASTIC!!! This helps me so much, Pecan! It looks like I have Option A right now, with water surface being about 3" below ground level. So to do Option C I would need to:
1) Layer of rocks around pond at edge that are glued to liner which is stiing on top of the ground
2) Run liner up behind each rock in first layer (above) by placing another layer of rock behind the liner, glueing that row to the liner
3) Add flagstones on top of the two rows and glue it down to the rocks below
Is this correct???

 

[Dave's pond Indiana]

If it were me I would not glue anything because I'm sure you will be making changes in the future.

FANTASTIC!!! This helps me so much, Pecan! It looks like I have Option A right now, with water surface being about 3" below ground level. So to do Option C I would need to:
1) Layer of rocks around pond at edge that are glued to liner which is stiing on top of the ground
2) Run liner up behind each rock in first layer (above) by placing another layer of rock behind the liner, glueing that row to the liner
3) Add flagstones on top of the two rows and glue it down to the rocks below
Is this correct???

 

[pecan]

FANTASTIC!!! This helps me so much, Pecan! It looks like I have Option A right now, with water surface being about 3" below ground level. So to do Option C I would need to:
1) Layer of rocks around pond at edge that are glued to liner which is stiing on top of the ground
2) Run liner up behind each rock in first layer (above) by placing another layer of rock behind the liner, glueing that row to the liner
3) Add flagstones on top of the two rows and glue it down to the rocks below
Is this correct???

If I were you I would either build up the outside of the liner using dirt sloping down to ground level or anything else you have that will hold the liner edge straight up. Put a rock on the inside of the liner sandwiching the liner at the 90 degree angle then lay the flagstone on top. I also probably would not glue anything just so you can easily make changes if you want.

The nice part about doing option b, c or d or a combination of any is that it gives you a couple more inches in pond depth without digging, it also helps to not get runoff from your yard in the pond.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Thanks Pecan! So it looks to me like you are describing Option C.....and then lay the flagstone on top of the two rocks below?
I'm just wondering what would hold the flagstone in place so that it doesn't wobble --or could someone possibly step on it and it would fall into the pond.....? Along with the person! ?? Sorry~ I am not good at construction and visualizing things.
I do plan to add a small stream and small 1 ft. waterfall at the west end in the next month... But for the most part it seems that if I added a stream I would just lay down the liner for that so that it overlaps the original liner, right?