pond building

[sissy]

here the only thing they use adhesive for is retaining wall block and believe it glues nothing .I used that stuff(expensive too) and it did not hold the retaining wall cap stone on at all .I did everything the tube said like making sure you use enough and making sure the block was dry and clean .Money not well spent but at least the company after I complained for awhile e-mailed them the receipts gave me some money back but not much .never again use it .maybe others have had it work but no luck here ,

 

[shakaho]

When DoDad, who has actually built a pond of this type, tells how he did it, people who haven't done so make fun of him. Is that right?

 

[sissy]

Who's making fun of anyone I just stated about construction glue and it did not work for me .I have never built a pond like that thats why I said he should check with others who did .I dug a hole put the liner in and other countries do it so different as I saw Africa a lot of ponds seem to be cement and I could not build that either .Everyone has there own way of building and filtering you have to chose whats right for you .I used 2 types I saw here for filters to see which works in the state I live .Even state to state is different .

 

[DoDad]

I really don't care if no one believes me or not or thinks I'm full of s**t. . Before filling the cells with concrete there was a wall around the skimmer that I didn't like so I took a sledge to it and the blocks broke on most of it and not the joints Everything you see in the pics was glued before concrete was pumped into them.

 

[DoDad]

I have waterfall wall that is not finished but has been up about 6 weeks with no concrete fill yet. I'll go take a pic of the glue joints.It's had over 10" of rain on it and winds up to 45 miles per hour.

 

[scottb]

Yes i will be using solid concrete blocks in the build and by what i have read so far from what all you folks are saying a single cousre will be strong enough for this size pond

 

[sissy]

I bought my construction adhesive at Lowes because where I bought the block they had none is there a difference as with everything else there is in construction adhesives .They told me where I bought the block to go there get it it was the same they use . Some held but after the first winter they all came loose .I did the cap block in the early fall here because it was cooler .I guess the tar is some type of waterproofing like they put on basements and is the white stuff the same but fish safe .After it is dry can it be scraped off or damaged in any way .sorry just wondering how this works .I never actually saw one built like this reminds me of my basement in a way minus windows of coarse .Hmmm wondering you could put a view window in this couldn't you .

 

[sissy]

Thats why I would not answer on his build never saw one built before saw them done already but not in building process .I saw the one on the internet that had gunite on it it was heart shaped with a heart shaped island in the middle Also is this normal build for your area and would salt harm it and could it maybe deter algae growth

 

[mogsie]

@ shakaro, i also am NOT making fun of anybody, just offering my opinion relating to my experience, may not be pond building experience but founded on my experience of wall building, dodad i didnt incinuate that i didnt believe you, dont take it personaly i was just saying that i (in my opinion) dont think he will need to use rebar, building techniques differ in differant countries, you in the US do things differant from here in the uk, we dont use any sort of adhesive on concrete blocks ! all block courses are bonded with cement/mortar, and that is in compliance with local government building regulations , for the safety and life of the wall solid concrete blocks are far superior, and we would only use hollows on internal partition walls within domestic dwellings, not for heavy duty purposes, so ime not saying that what you have done is wrong itsjust we have differant methods than your country, and your pond build looks very good,

 

[sissy]

I really never realized how different building anything was from country to country and here in the US we have so many different building codes but most of the way they build is similar well except if you live in hurricane areas earthquake or flood areas .This kind of build for a pond I have never seen from the ground up ,only ever saw them done already .

 

[DoDad]

This is just used on ponds. My house and garage are foundation are poured 8" walls thick These type of walls are much stronger than mortar laid block.
The house foundation gets its weight from the house straight down. Where a pond gets its weight exerted on the walls by water. The Deeper the pond the more pressure there is
I also used 3 rows of bond beam blocks with 2 rebar that go completely around the pond.

that sounds like eastern european building style to me dodad !! the wall is only 2ft high above ground level i dont in my (15 yrs construction industry) opinion think he will need rebar !! and would be much better to build with solids instead of hollows ! the hollows we use in uk are not designed for infill concrete pouring ! adhesive ??? all rows should be laid on cement/mortar !oh and i agree that the footer/ foundations should be 6" deep minimum,

 

[DoDad]

Here are the glued joints.

 

[mogsie]

yes thats all very well, but what i am saying is that we dont use those techniques here in the uk, our hollow blocks are not designed for concrete pouring, the large hollow blocks you have used are available in uk but are not used very much,and are filled with concrete and rebar but mainly on major construction projects,
i know what you mean i have seen those methods used in slovakia, but we build with solid block and cement, what do you mean by construction adhesive ?? do you mean the instant grab adhesive? used for diy ??

 

[mogsie]

these are the usual hollow blocks we get in the uk, 4"

 

[sissy]

I used one from lowes our hardware store here that says made for concrete block and retaining wall block .But I guess there are different types in different countrys and places .What he used do not know but it must be stronger than what I used .Interesting way to build it thats for sure .Here in VA for basement walls they have to be 12 or 16 inches by local code and since I am on a hill had to go to 16 and footings had to be 48 inches deep for my house .I cannot explain it but other house here don't have basements just concrete on footings ,but then they are not up on a hill like I am .They sell those here but you can't use them to build a basement maybe a pond but have seen none around here built like these are .talk about building to last