Emily's Pond Build Log

rainbowcharmer

rainbowcharmer

AC Members
Jul 30, 2007
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East Coast, USA
Ok, so I'm not ACTUALLY building yet. I'm in the planning stages. But I wanted to document, so here it goes:

This is the pond area, marked off with garden hose. The hose is actually marking the edge of the liner, not the edge of the pond. The pond itself will be in about 1 foot all around from the area the hose is marking.

A view from the patio (the dogs helped by dropping their toys in the pond):
September2010048.jpg


A view from the stairs of the patio:
September2010049.jpg


A view from the "narrow" end of the pond - this will be around 6 feet wide at the widest point INSIDE the plant shelf (plant shelf to be 1 foot wide):
September2010052.jpg


Another view from the 6 foot wide end:

September2010053.jpg


A view from the small hill below the pond (I may run a bottom drain here). Those shrubs are Variegated Weigela, which should eventually fill in to about 4' high and wide, but they're only a few months old right now - they will come about 2 feet from the edge of the rock line around the pond - enough room to have a walkway around the pond still:
September2010054.jpg


A view from the wider end (around 8 feet wide at the widest point inside the plant shelf). That top left corner here is where the filter/waterfall will go. We'll use the hill to help with the construction of the filtration/waterfall section:
September2010055.jpg


A view from next to where the filter/waterfall will be:
September2010056.jpg


I think the most expensive part of the project is probably going to be the electrician that we'll need to have run wiring from the front of the house (where the electrical box is at) to the edge of the pond. Hopefully we'll be able to do it without TOO much expense. I haven't started pricing that out yet. My filter will be a DIY filter out of a rubbermaid container that I saw on one of Lenny's links. I'm not 100% sure how best to make it accessible while still making it look like a rocky waterfall. But I'll worry about that later. :)

We are planning to start digging before the end of the year. It doesn't really start to get cold here until January, so we'll be digging maybe October/November if all goes well.

Any input, hints, suggestions, etc are always welcome. I want the project to go as smooth as possible, which is why I'm still in the planning stages. :)

And now I have bought myself a little time since Hermes (the rescued goldfish) has a suitable tank to live in for as long as necessary. I don't want to rush into this and make expensive mistakes.

Anyhow, I'll update on here as things progress. :)
 
I would start by taking a piece of iron re-bar and pounding it into your proposed pond area, every couple of feet, down to the depth you are planning... just to make sure you know what is down there. If you can pound the re-bar down to 3' deep in all areas of your pond, at least you know the digging will be a little easier. If you try to pound it down and run into solid rock formations a foot down, you at least will know that you might need some heavier equipment to help break it up. (I don't have that problem down here in N'Awlins... if I hit the re-bar too hard, it might end up in China. lol)

Also... don't forget to check with your local utilities to have them mark the area as safe. There is usually a one-call type phone number and the service is free. They'd rather mark areas as safe first than have you hit a natural gas line and blow up the neighborhood. Look at what happened in San Bruno, CA when that lady was digging a hole for a rose bush (just kidddiinnnnngggggg!!!).

Isn't there an electrical outlet somewhere on your back patio area or on the back wall of the house, that the electrician could tap into and run the conduit from there? Maybe run the conduit up from the light next to your back door, along the soffit to the left (when facing from the rear) corner of your house, then down to right below the patio, under the lip of the brick patio edge and then run the conduit around to near your steps and install a GFI outdoor outlet there, and then drop down conduit from that outlet to run underground to the edge of the pond where the filter will be and then use a 4" x 4" post to mount another GFI outdoor outlet there for you to plug in your pump, fountain, lighting, etc. They could also junction off of the first conduit heading to an outlet by your steps and run the conduit from that junction box to your pond filter area.
 
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We had all the utilities marked out when we put the fence in last year, so I'm confident that there is no issue with the pond area as far as that goes. Everything here is clay, but I'll try the rebar thing since that is not something I had thought of. :)

The plan for this pond is to be 3' deep at the 6' wide end and 4' deep at the 8' wide end, with a set of 2' wide/1' long tiered stairs going down in one section next to the waterfall so I can get in and out without too much issue.

I am ballparking the gallonage to be between 1500-2000.

There is an electrical outlet on the back patio, however I was thinking it would be safer to have the pond on its own circuit. Or is that not really necessary?
 
It is better for the pond to have its own circuit but MAY not be necessary.

Also check the slop of your land area it seems to slope heavy away from your house. That's OK just be prepared for some back filling on the low side or some kind of retaining wall on the high side.

Overall it looks and sounds like a realy graet plan.

Best wishes,
Wes
 
Thanks Wes. It is somewhat sloped, so we will need to do a little grading, but I figure most of that can come from the soil that we remove from the pond itself to build up the lower end. That area is not as sloped as the areas on either side of it, for the post part, so I'm hoping it won't be too difficult.
 
I ran electrical lines to my three mini-ponds (under 1,000G each) and tapped right into existing outlet on the outside of my home, when I had it prior to Katrina. The stuff you will be running will be relatively low amperage so it shouldn't be much of a problem but you could have your electrican check your outside outlet(s) to make sure.

As far as the utilities mapping things out when you put in the fence, are you sure they would have marked things in the proposed pond area? They usually just mark things in close proximity to the proposed digging, in my experience with them... they are utility company employees after all! You know... a six man crew with five watching while one is down in the hole doing the digging. LOL In my former career as a private investigator, I was taking pictures of an accident scene intersection and never really paid attention to what was going on in the background but the attorney who I was working for, when looking at my photos later on, called me up and was cracking up laughing as one of my pictures showed five New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board guys leaning on a barricade watching the guy down in the hole in the street. It was classic!

One other thing.. when pounding the re-bar down, wiggle it around every pound so the hole is big enough for you to be able to pull it back out. Since you mentioned clay, I wouldn't want you to have to dig out the re-bar to get it out. LOL
 
I would put more of a curve in it...over the length...narrow in the center...
 
I will call them and have them come mark again. Everything they marked (even though the fence was in the back yard) was in the front. Nothing went further back than the middle of the house. So I'm 99% sure there is nothing at all in the back of the house, but will call to verify.

Out of curiosity - why more curved?
 
Just asthetics..pleasing eye view...
 
Gotcha. I'll test that out with the hose and see how I like it. :)

I am planning the plants around it as well, to help with the aesthetics too. I had originally curved it in on both sides in the center, but kind of liked it more straight on the 'back' side, but may change my mind again. :)
 
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