Tamping Bottom of Pond

[Big Lou]

There are several areas in our pond where the bottom slopes up to the vertical sides. Sand or soil is behind and below the 45mil EDPM liner and standard liner pad.

On selected areas of the slope and bottom I would like to use a rubber mallet to tamp the liner in order to create flat depressions for use as plant shelves.

Opinions please.

 

[DrCase]

Hmmmmm it might work

 

[tbendl]

2 things I thought of after reading this. 1st is the damage to the liner but if you had any extra laying around you could give it a few whacks with a rubber mallet and see what happens to it. The 2nd things is even if that works, and you tamp down a ledge from a previously sloped area, what happens to the sand/soil above the ledge? I think you would cause a mini landslide.

 

[Big Lou]

Good idea about a trial run. Other work on the pond now gives me a place for a test tamp. Fingers crossed. The sand/soil behind the liner has been there long enough for it to be well compacted. I'm not making an entire shelf just a few places to sit a plant pots. Hopefully no landslides.

 

[tbendl]

Good. I hope it works out! I wish I had ledges in mine but have had to do the concrete blocks instead.

 

[morewater]

Stack flagstones on the bottom and create your shelves from them. Larger slabs on top of smaller give the fish a place to hide.

 

[Mmathis]

I guess it would depend on how much of what's down there is sand vs clay or regular soil. Sand is just going to slip its way back down. As will clay if it stays wet. I would suspect that the problem will come back -- it's like what gravity does to our bodies do as we get older -- we sag, then we are forced to add support, LOL! Also, I would be afraid of damaging the liner.

When we first made our pond [2012], I made our shelves, or rock ledges -- some were cut into the soil and some were manufactured by stuffing, packing, and stacking layers of clay upward. After a year, I could look at the liner below and tell that my shelves were slowly shifting downward as was the clay [see drawing]. I've spent the past 6+ months repairing all of that -- not fun, but worth it if it holds.


How much of an area are you talking about? Would be possible to drain or partially drain the pond so you could work directly on the soil?

 

[tbendl]

So what did you decide to do Big Lou?

 

[Jeff Zimnisky]

Waiting with baited breath.

 

[Big Lou]

Sorry for the delay.

During spring cleaning there will be a large amount of water drained from the pond. Such a drain is possible because we do not have decorative fish. With that said tamping using a rubber mallet will be used to create several shelf like spots. Thank you for your interest. Questions and comments welcomed.

 

[timvz]

If you've got spare liner, put it on top of the actual pond liner to protect it while you're hitting it.

 

[Big Lou]

Thanks for the suggestion. I plan to use piece of rubber pad. Will provide photos when done.