Hamstermann's pond build

[GBBUDD]

Thats why a sump pump was suggested Place it in the deep end and as the water filled up it would trigger the pump. So now you have one tarp now buy another and you'll have the bases covered. Trust me the 30 or 40 bucks will save you that compared to trying to build in wet clay that will not compact nor will the sides hold. and if you try to place your liner and place rocks they could sink in the mud ripping your liner
.

 

[hamstermann]

Thats why a sump pump was suggested Place it in the deep end and as the water filled up it would trigger the pump. So now you have one tarp now buy another and you'll have the bases covered. Trust me the 30 or 40 bucks will save you that compared to trying to build in wet clay that will not compact nor will the sides hold. and if you try to place your liner and place rocks they could sink in the mud ripping your liner
.

Yeah, the tarp already ripped in a couple places. I definitely don't want to do that with my expensive liner.

I just can't bring myself to cough up money for another pump. They're so expensive and I kind of hate the idea of the float switches. I'll have to see if I can find something that has a different kind of sensor or on/off trigger and might be more affordable.

 

[GBBUDD]

rent one. You will want to mitigate the mud at all costs , your just asking for a nightmare. even with tarps and sump it is still a battle

 

[hamstermann]

rent one. You will want to mitigate the mud at all costs , your just asking for a nightmare. even with tarps and sump it is still a battle

That's a thought. I hadn't considered renting.

 

[GBBUDD]

Not sure why you want vertical sides at the patio i get it with the retaining wall block but for stacking stones like you have pilled up there youll want your sides angled back you have to keep those kids in mind that they will be climbing on everything. vertical sides can collapse potentially on someone and holding them under. I think i mentioned to make sure every space is filled with rock so kids catch shove the hand in after a frog and get their hand stuck while underwater

 

[hamstermann]

Yep, I'll have a slight backwards slope on both the vertical and horizontal planes for the stacked stones area. My thought was to try to get vertical and horizontal clean with the excavator and then refine from there with a shovel. Since that didn't happen, I'll just have to refine the mess.

The existing straight vertical walls are the bog area.

 

[GBBUDD]

Same scenario if the walls are straight up vertically . If your planning concrete retaining wall that can work but even that will need some sides that can keep the wall from falling over in one piece. You might think that's impossible but trust me it's not. And that pile of stone you have will disappear rather quickly once you start.

 

[hamstermann]

How long can EPDM be in the sun before it's damaged beyond use?

I looked into getting a bigger tarp and harbor freight wants around $140 for one big enough to cover the pond that I'd probably never use again after the pond is done. So now I'm thinking of just putting out the geotextile and liner to catch the rain that's coming this weekend and pumping the water off of it, then fold back the liner when I'm ready to dig. $140 in tarp is a lot cheaper than the cost of new liner, but if the liner will hold up in the sun for potentially a few months while I finish digging, I can save the cost of the tarp and put it toward rocks and boulders when I'm ready to start rocking.

Same scenario if the walls are straight up vertically . If your planning concrete retaining wall that can work but even that will need some sides that can keep the wall from falling over in one piece. You might think that's impossible but trust me it's not. And that pile of stone you have will disappear rather quickly once you start.

yep, I'm not going straight up and down in the pond area, just the bog. And I'm realising that the pile of rocks may be greatly diminished just by dry-stacking the rocks to help slope the land toward the pond, let alone rocking the pond in. Good thing I know where the nearby quarries are (and how to find free rocks on facebook marketplace and the local classifieds).

 

[GBBUDD]

How long can EPDM be in the sun before it's damaged beyond use?

45 years But it dries out over time becomes less flexible. Used as a roof on flat surface yea 45 years in a pond the less it's exposed the better you want it to stay as plyable as possible.

 

[Pablo]

You may find EPDM a little hard to handle. It is heavy and a little awkward to move around, a tarp is definitely much easier to manipulate. Of course you want to be careful moving it around to avoid tears if it catches on a small stone. It is tough but I would be nervous to move it around much like your plan. Totally understand the cost issue. Just be careful with it.

 

[GBBUDD]

Some advice is to place the fabric in the entire excavation. and then use the second layer around the pond where you'll drag the liner around trying to get it in place, Even your tap should be placed so you can easily slide the epdm over the fabric or tarp it is soooooo soooo much easier to move around on those than it is to drag on the dirt

 

[hamstermann]

Rain tomorrow and Monday. I've got a pump now and waiting for a hose to come today. Hopefully this tarp job and all of the weights do better than last time.

We overlapped the tarps a couple of feet. The white ones is thin enough to see through in places but hopefully it can still direct the water to the lower area covered by the blue.

 

[GBBUDD]

Good call!
Money well spent.

I get it , it is a good amount of what seems like extra work . but compared to working in the mud and trying to build on the mud . This was the only option.

A berm here or there maybe needed to keep runoff from getting under the tarps .

You have opened Pandora's box. I don't know if a pond is ever done! at least this is so in my case. I have installed Charlottes web above my pond making it far less large bird friendly. And by above my pond I mean between 12 to 20 feet above the pond.

 

[hamstermann]

installed Charlottes web above my pond making it far less large bird friendly. And by above my pond I mean between 12 to 20 feet above the pond.

I don't want to have stood on that ladder (or whatever you used to get that high!)

 

[hamstermann]

Well, the rain and snow continue and I have a hippo:

I'm guessing the water either came through the white tarp where it's thin or under a spot where the blue tarp wraps around the outlet post that's behind that larger round rock in the foreground. or both.

On the good side of things, my pump works great! as soon as it has power, the water shoots out of my 25 foot long 1.5 inch wide hose like it's a firehose. Not bad for $66.

The rough part is that the 25 feet is just enough to make it so that I have to flood either my patio (which will drain back into the pond and bog, possibly under the liner) or one of the neighbors. I need to buy a 50 foot long hose instead.

When I look at Amazon, I can get one of these that looks like my existing hose but is more expensive:

or one of these that is less expensive and may be easier to store once rolled up, but I worry about mold forming in it even if I roll it up tightly and I'm not sure if it will last since it's only four hundredths of an inch thick:

What thoughts and experience do you have with either of these kinds of hoses?