Here we go -- FINALLY! A pond for wildlife...

[GBBUDD]

Never realized you had it so close to the home looks incredible and a great design and location.

I know your getting close to leaving it filled but think about this . when you see a wall in an excavation and theres rocks sticking out the rocks are locked in by the soils. That look can be achieved using pond foam, a quick shot of foam between the rocks and then let the foam expand. don't worry about if it pushes out to much once it dries it is very easy to dress. i used the new multi tool with a scraper it shaped the foam to rock to rock . and this does another thing it will help keep the rocks from shifting. i did this in dead pool and it has withstood myself walking on the and so far so good. don't get me wrong it's not mortar but it is doing the job and makes it look like i'ts part of a wall not like rocks placed on a grade.

Love the last shot and what are you talking about you fought a good fight with those big boulders. Bigger than i man handled. your days of hunting and coming up with the layout sure paid off

 

[bagsmom]

Wowser, it looks fantastic and I can't believe you've done all this rock work yourself......"you rock"....pun intended

Thanks, Tula. I used the same method YShahar did - flopping the rocks end over end or getting them up on their side and rolling them like a wheel. The biggest one is 20" x 19" x 5" thick. So most of them are sort of beefy but basically flat. I had some good bruises going when they got out of balance and fell over on me. But slowly but surely, I got them in place.
There are parts I am not totally happy with - but I really think they will get filled in with plants and I won't even notice them anymore!

 

[bagsmom]

Never realized you had it so close to the home looks incredible and a great design and location.

I know your getting close to leaving it filled but think about this . when you see a wall in an excavation and theres rocks sticking out the rocks are locked in by the soils. That look can be achieved using pond foam, a quick shot of foam between the rocks and then let the foam expand. don't worry about if it pushes out to much once it dries it is very easy to dress. i used the new multi tool with a scraper it shaped the foam to rock to rock . and this does another thing it will help keep the rocks from shifting. i did this in dead pool and it has withstood myself walking on the and so far so good. don't get me wrong it's not mortar but it is doing the job and makes it look like i'ts part of a wall not like rocks placed on a grade.

Love the last shot and what are you talking about you fought a good fight with those big boulders. Bigger than i man handled. your days of hunting and coming up with the layout sure paid off

Thank you! Coming from you - The Pondmaster - that is high praise and very appreciated! Yes - I have about 8 cans of foam and a professional applicator gun waiting for me! I am definitely locking things in place with smaller rocks and tons of foam. I will be draining all the water out and starting the foam stage - hopefully soon! Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have wasted so much water and money filling the pond -- but it was already 2/3 full from rain. I couldn't resist!
I would like your opinion on something: See the rock on a roll to the right side of the bog spillover picture? I am planning to plant a juniper there and it should hide the RoR. I didn't want to risk putting too much stress on all the flex pvc with a bunch of rocks. I know it is super strong but still tried to avoid it. If I did not use the RoR, I would have more flat gray rocks in a jigsaw arrangement and I wasn't sure how much of that would look good. And it would ultimately add weight to the bottom edge, which is where the main pvc runs. For the safety of the plumbing, RoR is a better choice there. But aesthetically, it isn't fabulous. So rocks or RoR? I do intend to have plants pretty much everywhere!
I guess some of it will determined by how many rocks I am able to afford today - and how quickly I run out of them! Maybe I can do a mix - keep the RoR and add a few more rocks over the top.

 

[GBBUDD]

I have never spent the cash for ror i prefer to get creative with moss and fabric. however one thing you may consider is to use some of the pl caulk and glue some smaller rocks onto the ror and even throw some sand on the exposed caulking while its still wet . or do the same with foam and some peastone make it look like a beach running into the water like an erosion area it will help break up the ror .
your pond is really coming along nicely.

trust me as cw and myself have found out while the big boulders look great they are also once they are set they become monsters . so the cobbled pond has a lot to be said for it as well .

while your pond is full check for leaks mark the level and leave it be a few days before you foam and lock everything up

i forgot to add once you foam an area and its still wet throw some sand , pea stone or even crushed rock remnants on the foam. this is a nice detail but in the pond its a lot of work you'll only see now and then as the peach fuzz algae will cover most but its more a uniformed color. i can see the gravel and differences in the colors

 

[GBBUDD]

Thanks, Tula. I used the same method YShahar did - flopping the rocks end over end or getting them up on their side and rolling them like a wheel. The biggest one is 20" x 19" x 5" thick. So most of them are sort of beefy but basically flat. I had some good bruises going when they got out of balance and fell over on me. But slowly but surely, I got them in place.
There are parts I am not totally happy with - but I really think they will get filled in with plants and I won't even notice them anymore!

If you didn't have that , you wouldn't have a work of art. . I cant tell you how much when folks just stack slate straight up uniform width and drops AND waterfalls how those just make me wonder where is the creativity. You will be asked what pro built yours, It is coming along great.

 

[Jhn]

Looking great, and love it up by the house like you put it.

 

[GBBUDD]

@bagsmom I have to ask why you chose to use baseball and softball sized rocks on the shelves and not just place 3/4 or 3/8 gravel on them even just a spot here or there will make it more natural looking.

the best rocking job can't beat sporadic and a mix of different sized rocks and gravels.

IN AND POND STREAM OR WATERFALL you will usually find lager rocks close to the source and the finer will be further away and at the bottom or on shelves. its like a wash out at the end its usually sand and as you travel to where it started its cobbles

 

[bagsmom]

@bagsmom I have to ask why you chose to use baseball and softball sized rocks on the shelves and not just place 3/4 or 3/8 gravel on them even just a spot here or there will make it more natural looking.

the best rocking job can't beat sporadic and a mix of different sized rocks and gravels.

IN AND POND STREAM OR WATERFALL you will usually find lager rocks close to the source and the finer will be further away and at the bottom or on shelves. its like a wash out at the end its usually sand and as you travel to where it started its cobbles

I ran out of gravel! Gravel is going everywhere and the idea is that the softball sized rocks will just end up peeking out of the gravel - for size variety. Anywhere that is currently exposed overlay will be covered with gravel! I was so bummed out. I went to the rockyard this morning and they are closed until TUESDAY!!!! Oh well, I have plenty to do until then...

 

[bagsmom]

As I said above, I was disappointed to find that the rock place was closed for the holiday - but I found plenty to do. I only had a few really big rocks left to play with, so I decided to try something I had been thinking about. I used a small tree trunk as part of my edging. I think it will look really good when all the edging is finished and complete. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts. It is the trunk of the redbud we cut down and I have a couple of very cool forked pieces to have half in/half out of the pond.
I am really rarin' to go - but I will have to focus on the rest of the yard now - until Tuesday, when I can go buy the rest of my rocks!

 

[GBBUDD]

certainly works for me you know i love wood in my build

 

[bagsmom]

certainly works for me you know i love wood in my build

I am excited to get to the stage where I can place the rest of it! I have a big forked Y piece. My dream is that it will lure in a turtle!

 

[GBBUDD]

even though i have a pond across the street no turtles have found the pond that i am aware of

 

[combatwombat]

That log is going to look great. The one I have with straight cuts I’m going to saw a bunch of slots into the flat end and bash it up with a hammer to try to make it look like more of a natural break than a sawn edge.

 

[GBBUDD]

That log is going to look great. The one I have with straight cuts I’m going to saw a bunch of slots into the flat end and bash it up with a hammer to try to make it look like more of a natural break than a sawn edge.

burn it then clean it up. that will give you a jagged end . or dont clean it at all.

 

[bagsmom]

A couple more pictures. I have a small water outlet that I will use as a jet at the furthest end of the pond - just to keep water pushing in the direction of the intake bay. The last of the big rocks had a perfect notch in it that allowed it to sit flat and solid, while not putting any weight on the pipe or elbow. It does a great job of hiding it!