coping shelf

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how level does it need to be? mine is level from one side of the pond to the other, but there are a couple spots with small dips/rises (like 1/4" over 5 feet or so) because the ground was hard clay that was a pain to keep from crumbling and ruining my smooth flat surface. is this something i can just fix with sand beneath the liner to correct level as i install the stone edging?
 
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I found the coping ledge didnt have to be perfect....reason being, when you stack rocks on your ledge, you are going to be off bc rocks arent perfect squares. You'll be good as long as the last rocks level, or cap you use is conistnet level at the top..then your good!
 
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that's what i was thinking! i'll be doing a stack of maybe 2-3 pieces of flat flagstone/slate (which are never very level) before i get to the water level, so i figured i would be doing piece by piece corrections anyhow.
 
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exactly! As long as all the rocks are under the water line by a few levels then your good...b/c you'll never see that bottom level of the rocks , and you'll never be able to tell tht one section was 1/4 inch off. but on the top level, you want to make sure the rock level is at least a few inches over the water level so tht in a rain there is no chance the bond would over flow and water go over the liner.

I jsut finished my pond project this wekeend, and my rock coping ledge goes down about 10 inches

closeupfinished.jpg
 

addy1

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Damian, that is one of the reasons I have a layer of rocks just below water line around my pond. It was impossible, with the clay, shale, slope to make mine perfectly level. Every time I leveled one spot a rock would have to be pulled out and viola, unlevel again..........lol.
You can not see the difference with the rocks there. The water level as it rises and lowers either exposes the rocks almost down to the liner or covers them about 1/4 of the way.

You can see the rocks on the far side of the pond they are on a 12 inch + - wide shelf The rocks on the far end are on a 20 inch shelf. The water is never more than 1/2 inch up over the bottom of the rocks.

DSC01571.jpg
 
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addy1 said:
Every time I leveled one spot a rock would have to be pulled out and viola, unlevel again..........lol.

this is pretty much what happened to me. I started off with my ledge about 2" below water level, and after repeated corrections it's now at about 5" below water level. I'd rather quit while i'm ahead.
 

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yep is why my liner comes up onto the ledge then up 6 plus inches above that on the slope. Rocks hide the liner well, and there is a lot of room for the water to go up and down in level and keep the liner hidden.

Otherwise I would still be trying to make it level! Some use concrete to make a shelf, I didn't want to do that our ground is hard and rocky.
 
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Hey addy. is that a walkway in the bog? Was thinking of doing something like that too. Just wasn't sure how steady it would be. Would be great walking threw the bog area since it stays so lush.
 

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KennethO said:
Hey addy. is that a walkway in the bog? Was thinking of doing something like that too. Just wasn't sure how steady it would be. Would be great walking threw the bog area since it stays so lush.


Yes it is and very stable, the rocks are right on the pea gravel. I need to get some more flat ones, ran out. Just make sure no rocks are under even a little bit of water it gets slimy and slippery.
 

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