The beginnings of my dream pond

j.w · Jun 21, 2012

dakamp84

dakamp84 · Jul 3, 2012

buckry · Jul 3, 2012

That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I love it. Going to look amazing once the water is in it. Not sure the amount of work required is up my alley, but I cannot argue with the results.

Waterbug · Jul 3, 2012

Looks perfect to me. I'd be interested in why your mason friend thought it would probably not work.

More importantly how do you think it went?

dakamp84 · Jul 3, 2012

Waterbug said:
Looks perfect to me. I'd be interested in why your mason friend thought it would probably not work.

He said that without pulling the liner up and re-digging some "problem" areas, that stacking them on their sides would not work. The shelfs were not deep enough to hold the weight of the stone and the wall was not slanted enough. He said I could techinically do it but I would eat up alot of my pond space because the footer would have to be pretty far into the center (for gravity to keep the stone laying against the back wall). Although you will notice that there are some on the bottom done this way. We had to make a footer to keep them from sliding out. They are also helping to support a portion of the weight above as an added countermeasure during freezing.

Honestly, at first I was a little timid to try mortar. But once my friend showed me the technique and methodology, it was super simple. Getting the mix right was the hardest part but even that was easy after he told me the portions (we used non premixed). Hand busting those 4" stones consumed most of the time.

addy1 · Jul 3, 2012

Very nice, that is going to look great!

j.w · Jul 3, 2012

Looks great to me!

Waterbug · Jul 3, 2012

dakamp84 said:
He said that without pulling the liner up and re-digging some "problem" areas, that stacking them on their sides would not work. The shelfs were not deep enough to hold the weight of the stone and the wall was not slanted enough. He said I could techinically do it but I would eat up alot of my pond space because the footer would have to be pretty far into the center (for gravity to keep the stone laying against the back wall).

He is right, that is how it would be done professionally. Reputation for a professional mason is important. But DIY is different, it's all about the learning experience. Hopefully the foundation holds, but if it doesn't you will learn a lot. It's one thing to hear something, another to see the results.

dakamp84 said:
Honestly, at first I was a little timid to try mortar. But once my friend showed me the technique and methodology, it was super simple. Getting the mix right was the hardest part but even that was easy after he told me the portions (we used non premixed). Hand busting those 4" stones consumed most of the time.

That sounds about right. Pretty cool mixing your own instead of premix. Just like a pro. Looking at what you've done I just can't imagine trying that with foam or glue.

My biggest problem is always losing skin as I just can't keep my fingers out of it and I hate wearing gloves.

dakamp84 · Jul 16, 2012

j.w · Jul 16, 2012

Looking nice!

postmandug · Jul 17, 2012

Dumb question here, what do you do down the road if you have leak in the liner??

Doug

addy1 · Jul 17, 2012

postmandug said:
Dumb question here, what do you do down the road if you have leak in the liner??

Doug

pray you can find it! You can patch if you can find it, but sometimes it is impossible to find the leak. Usually you let the water level keep dropping until it is done, then search and search and search until you find the hole.

One of the reasons to invest in a good liner. It would take an extreme hit to rip mine, I don't want to ever deal with replacing it or finding a leak.

dakamp84 · Jul 18, 2012

I agree with addy 1.

I packed the dirt (mine was red clay), put 1.5" of sand (packed), then 1" of loose sand on that, covered with underlayment and used Firestone 45 mil EPDM liner. Then created mortar bases and footer to protect the liner from any damage. It would take a pretty hard hit to damage mine (knock on wood that never happens).

sissy · Jul 18, 2012

never say never as I thought since i had red clay and it was hard digging and then earthquake and one side of the pond caved in ,The part that was up towards the side walk part and side walk sunk

dakamp84 · Jul 19, 2012

Update:

Put a mock up of the setup to see how it all looks together (without filter). Liking it so far.

And yes sissy, I can never say never. But I can hope for never.

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2239-20120717-142754/

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2238-20120717-142748/

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The beginnings of my dream pond

j.w

I Love my Goldies

dakamp84

buckry

Waterbug

dakamp84

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins

j.w

I Love my Goldies

Waterbug

dakamp84

j.w

I Love my Goldies

postmandug

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins

dakamp84

sissy

sissy

dakamp84

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