New Pond Construction Query

[sissy]

yep everything settles .I know when building my house how high the dirt was backfilled around the foundation and then years later shifting and settling how low it is now .Even pond when I built it the ground that was back filled had not settled and pond liner sunk another 6 inches after a month .Lucky I did not cut the extra liner off .Then 2 years ago I actually raised the sides another foot and that extra liner came in handy .Extra is better .

 

[Waterbug]

If I say went down 24" instead of 12" on these in to the ground, would they help with the structural side of things? I am guessing that they wouldn't do much difference to it?

Depends. I'd prefer to have drawings so I know what you're talking about...but in general going deeper with verticals reduces the amount of movement...but also increases the risk of breaking. Depends on the materials.

Another thought was to use concrete between the upright slab and the fence (with a small amount down the front of the slab between the liner and the slab to fill in any gaps) which would obviously be stronger than the soil, but very little on the front edge.

Again, without drawings I only have my imagination to guess at what you're talking about, but this sounds more like a standard building method. Basically the verticals would act as concrete forms and you'd fill with concrete instead of dirt. Rebar should also be added horizontally. The poured concrete would be the structure. The vertical things could be added, or left in place as you like but wouldn't add much strength because I don't think you'd get a good bond.

You'd have to figure out some way to keep the verticals from blowing out as concrete is added. This could be done by pouring in say 4-6" thicknesses and allowing each to set up in between. You don't want to wait too long, 2-4 hours max, so you get a good bond between pours.

I am limited financially to what I can do, so was looking for the cheapest option that would give me the structural strength I require.

You can just try whatever you like. Worst case if you see stuff starting to bow and move you can just stop adding water. You'd just be out your time.

You could also lean both verticals in toward each other to form a kind of triangle. That would be very strong if you could find a way to bond the tops together. Kind of tricky but would be much strong. You wouldn't have to bury the slabs very deep either. The risk is the slab on the pond side snapping, so adding concrete would help. But a lot less concrete would be needed.