this is why we sandwich epdm between Non woven needle punch polyethylene the epdm is water proof the fabric is not and the fabric is tough and the epdm is not unless your squeezing it. place fabric epdm and another layer o fabric and place 10000 pound boulder on it an its going to be fine
I did have the underlayment under the epdm but not on top of it yet, though I do have some to put in when I get everything dried out and I can build again. My mistake I guess. Though looking at the underlayment that I put on top of the liner and under the block wall trench, the liner that isn't covered by road base and sand is trying to float, so I'm not sure I could put more in without having to weight it down and that would make it hard to find a hole in the liner if it was covered, so I guess I just need to be less clumsy.
I know what you mean, as I also live in a desert climate. Water is expensive! On the other hand, @GBBUDD is right that it will help you know if you have any holes. That said, when I was building mine, I waited to fill until I had the inner layer of geotextile in. Then I filled it, checked the levels, and made sure it was water-tight.
yep, water can be expensive and I'm part of the generation that was raised when recycling was becoming more widespread, the movie "Ferngully:The Last Rainforest" came out, and environmental awareness was being taught a lot more often in schools, so I feel guilty with wasted water anyway. I'm glad you can sympathize! (Empathize?)
And then--and this is where the water comes in handy!--I started rocking it in while the water was still in it. This made those heavy limestone boulders much, much easier to move into place. It also allowed me to get the boulders and gravel clean as I worked. Even better, having the water in the pond allowed me to see how I wanted to finish up the edging, and to rearrange things along the way.
That's an interesting thought! How deep is your pond again? How did you get the big ones over the edge, into the water, and placed without poking any holes? Did you have a ramp to get the bigger/heavier boulders down to the bottom with a dolly somehow? I worry that if I try to roll them over the edge of the pond and into the water that I'd puncture the liner somehow. Some of mine feel like they're hundreds of pounds and they're not even that big - maybe a couple of feet wide by a foot or so high.
How did you get the boulders and gravel clean in the pond and not turn the water too murky to see? A pre-wash, I'm assuming?
After I'd gotten most of the biggest rocks in, I put a sump pump at the lowest spot in the pond (which I'd over dug for this purpose) and used all that mucky water in the garden. It certainly prolonged our short blooming season!
I'm hoping to use my centipede trench for that same purpose. And I'll try to put the end of my hose on the front lawn and let the water cascade down the lawn and to the flower beds. Hopefully I don't wash anything away! :-D
The longer you can leave that first filling in there, the more convenient it is. Here, I was limited by the fact that mosquito larvae started appearing within about four days.
The mosquitos are a concern here too - there are ponds a mile or two away that, as far as I can tell, don't have a lot of flow and do have a lot of bog areas. I think they're the breeding places for the mosquitos that always herald spring here. When I start swatting, I know spring has arrived and warmer weather is on the way.
Thanks for your encouragement and sharing your advice and similar experience!
As far as time to fill my pond - I ran the hose for 7 hours yesterday and got it maybe 3/4 of the way full. I turned the hose on again this morning to do the last bit. should be interesting to see how long it takes.
