Design advice please

[EricV]

I'm probably a year or more away from starting construction, but I wanted to solicit some early advice. I've got a tree next to my patio that has to come out and I want to use that space for a garden pond (plants and mainly gold fish).

Here's a drawing of what I've got now. Big black line is the house, the brown shape is the patio.


Here's my idea for a pond with a 3-4' cascading waterfall (red) and supporting berm (green). There is a slope to the yard and the waterfall end is where the lowest part is (probably 18" below the surface of the patio and intended water line).


Here's some actual photos where I've placed a chair at the approximate position of the waterfall in the plan above. From the far corner of the patio.


From the back door


From the "back" side near the property line


And this is the closest I can get to an overhead shot. You can see the chair if you look carefully through the leaves.


So any comments on my plan, what I should pay attention to as I think about this, etc? I've had JULIE out and the entire area is clear of utility lines (they run very close to the neighbors' fence).

Cheers,

Eric

 

[sissy]

so guessing the stump will ne removed so means less digging for you and thinking you neighbors will enjoy the pond also and you may see a neighborhood pond explosion .How deep are you planning the pond to be .Are you also thinking ahead of your winters there

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Too bad you are planning on removing the tree. Based on the photos, it would supply the only shade that the proposed pond would receive.

 

[DrellDrell]

Curious why the tree would be removed. Perhaps the roots would endanger the house foundation or patio soon. Otherwise, the tree would be a good visual and shading as mentioned. Would look fantastic with the pond below, IMO.

Seems the waterfall would be at the lowest point of the pond. Likely planned for that location due to the view from the house or patio - would be great for a morning coffee!

However, unless you use a bottom drain, your skimmer (assuming you use one and would be a great idea if you keep the tree) will be working against gravity. If this is the case, you may want to build up the area around the waterfall to make the over pond level with the waterfall end being level with the highest part of the pond.

Also, since you essentially will have a walk-up pond, think about young kinds, raccoons, and other guest having easy access. Perhaps the wall noted in your drawings is the barrier.

I am very new to ponds, but have done a ton of research. I am also an avid DIY-er and have some experience with little of lot of the things. I hope this helps with the overall planning process.

 

[Mmathis]

What a lovely yard!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

your skimmer (assuming you use one and would be a great idea if you keep the tree) will be working against gravity.

Please explain!

 

[EricV]

Thanks all for the advice. So the tree.... Unfortunately this tree is doomed regardless of a pond. It's currently a 30' cherry tree that will grow to 60' and placed just 10' from the house. It's also been pruned in a way that it is starting to split it's trunk. So either due to that or to the patio (2-3 years old) construction that took out some of its roots, the tree is already thinning out. It's growing into the house and basically I've done all I can. The next time it needs to be trimmed away from the house, it will be too high and a pro will have to do it. Yes, I plan to have as much of the stump and root system ground out as I can manage.

This is the north side of the house, so there is partial shade over the "pond" area, but a lot is in full sun. Fortunately that 2nd, smaller tree is a maple that 5-10 years from now will generate some real shade.

 

[EricV]

What a lovely yard!

Thank you! I am trying to reshape it in my vision, a little bit more every year.

 

[DrellDrell]

Response to M Jordan: The poster said the waterfall end (or spillway into pomd) would be at the lowest part of the yard. The post said 18" below intended water line. Assuming the skimmer is on the opposite side of the waterfall, it will be 18" above the waterfall end point. Water going towards the skimmer would be going uphill so to speak. Water would be working against gravity on its way to skimmer. Would think the skimmer should be at or close to lowest point to help water and surface particles more easily flow downward - using gravity to a degree - for collection.

 

[EricV]

Seems the waterfall would be at the lowest point of the pond. Likely planned for that location due to the view from the house or patio - would be great for a morning coffee!

[snip]

Also, since you essentially will have a walk-up pond, think about young kinds, raccoons, and other guest having easy access. Perhaps the wall noted in your drawings is the barrier.

The "wall" is intended to be a short edging wall similar to the ones in the photos (I calculated the length so I could buy the material now in case it goes out of production).

The waterfall location is chosen to be visible from the patio, the kitchen, and the master bedroom (where the overhead is from). As far as safety, while I'm planning to have something 3+' deep in the center, my thought it to have it no more than 2' deep at the edges which seems to satisfy local rules. And just out of frame over a berm on the overhead shot is a 2-3 acre pond maintained by the park district.

I intend to have a skimmer near the patio between the pond and the house. Seems the logical place for the plumbing and such since there is water and power there.

 

[EricV]

Response to M Jordan: The poster said the waterfall end (or spillway into pomd) would be at the lowest part of the yard. The post said 18" below intended water line. Assuming the skimmer is on the opposite side of the waterfall, it will be 18" above the waterfall end point. Water going towards the skimmer would be going uphill so to speak. Water would be working against gravity on its way to skimmer. Would think the skimmer should be at or close to lowest point to help water and surface particles more easily flow downward - using gravity to a degree - for collection.

I'm sure if I figured out a way to get water 18" uphill lots of people would love to know the secret. Obviously the yard has to be leveled to take out that 18" slope.

 

[DrellDrell]

I'm sure if I figured out a way to get water 18" uphill lots of people would love to know the secret. Obviously the yard has to be leveled to take out that 18" slope.

Haha. Agreed. I thought you would build up the lower end. Regarding the tree, a buddy of mine had a similar problem. The roots were damaging his garage foundation and approaching his house (small Chicago lot sizes). We cut down the tree last year. He is still pulling out dead roots since he was too cheap to hire a professional.

Sounds like it going to be a great looking pond - you have a great sized yard. You are better than me in terms of planning. I have no patience. Once we thought about the pond again this year, after thinking it would be a great idea years ago, we dived in and did it quickly.

 

[EricV]

Haha. Agreed. I thought you would build up the lower end. Regarding the tree, a buddy of mine had a similar problem. The roots were damaging his garage foundation and approaching his house (small Chicago lot sizes). We cut down the tree last year. He is still pulling out dead roots since he was too cheap to hire a professional.

Sounds like it going to be a great looking pond - you have a great sized yard. You are better than me in terms of planning. I have no patience. Once we thought about the pond again this year, after thinking it would be a great idea years ago, we dived in and did it quickly.

I'm sure I will be cutting out lots of smaller roots myself. I've been following your thread with interest.

 

[EricV]

Are you also thinking ahead of your winters there

I'm trying. I'm hoping to find a way to keep water circulating, if only through the skimmer, without super-cooling the whole thing. I will have a stock heater standing by in case we get a cold snap like we've had the last two years (-10 F for a few days).

 

[sissy]

Remember to factor in power outages and emergencies like that .That tree was really not thought out when planted .I see a lot of that here they want shade on the house but never look at damage it could cause .My father was always cutting down trees on peoples property when i was a kid because of that reason .Siding damage roof damage and foundation damage .You can always plant another tree .I live in VA so not the same extreme cold but I keep my pond heater right over the top of my pump .