Giving building a pond a go

[tom213]

Hi all, I've spoken to a few of you on different posts and thought I'd welcome you to my garden and where my pond will eventually be.



This is my garden of my new home. Not very big but that is the British housing system now. Where the pink paddling pool is is where the pond will be.



The pond will go up to the paving slabs by the bins. This is roughly 8 ft. It will come from the wall into the garden 5 ft and I'm going to build it up 3ft above the ground to stop pets swimming where they shouldn't be so this is the start hopefully I can keep updates coming in

 

[JBtheExplorer]

The yard may be small but it's what you make of it that counts! Turn it into your own paradise!

 

[CeeJayH]

Thanks for the photos Tom.

The UK housing policy stinks, doesn't it. Astronomical prices for ever smaller shoe boxes. I remember looking at some new properties a few years ago, and thinking I could sue them under the Trades Descriptions Act. We were shown a "dining room" that was only big enough for a round table with 4 chairs, and no other furniture.

I think you can make a lot of a compact space with forethought and proper planning.

Keep us informed of progress.

 

[tom213]

hi thanks for your replies,

jb, thats the plan hopefully it will come to term well.

ceejay, its awful, this house is brand new and as such is crammed into a space tighter than a sardine can, but no worries i can shoehorn it into what i want it to be.

what underlay should i use if using concrete blocks to build up the height? thanks.

 

[mgmine]

Building the pond 3 feet above ground is going to add problems and when all is said and done you probably aren't going to be happy with it. But this is just my opinion. A small space in some ways is better than a larger space so go for it and keep us up to date on your progress. For underlayment I would go with old carpet picked up at the curb.

 

[tom213]

Why do you think it'll create problems? Nothing is set in stone at the minute so things are able to change. I'll defintaley keep my eye out for carpet as I drive around.

So today was I had a bit of luck when scouring gumtree for some things for the pond I found a filter pump and waterfall

So here is the pump



The filter



And the waterfall

 

[mgmine]

This is just my opinion...from what you are describing it sounds like a huge chest freezer laying on the ground. "The pond will go up to the paving slabs by the bins. This is roughly 8 ft. It will come from the wall into the garden 5 ft and I'm going to build it up 3ft above the ground" I think that the scale will be out of proportion for a small space. What will it look like on the outside, wood, block? It would be difficult to make it anything other than a rectangle. Then there is the weight of the water pushing out so it has to be built very solid also in the winter when it freezes how will the sides hold up? Then there is water falls, how will that look sitting 3 feet above the ground on a platform? Is the pump powerful enough to pump the water that high? Doing it above ground will cost more than digging a hole and what will you gain other than keeping the critters out which could be done with a net covering or fence. Sorry I don't mean to sound lie a nay sayer.

 

[tom213]

I see where you're coming from and everything you have said is valid and so I'd like to expand on a few things you have said.

The winters here are extremely mild never really reaching lower than 2 degrees c it will be wood cladding aground the outside with expanding foam filling all holes and gaps behind.

It's only going to be that deep in the centre as everywhere else will have a shelf making the walls twice as thick which should easily take the weight.

The pumps powerful enough as I tested that last night and it was lovely

If the waterfall looks rubbish then it does it was something the honey wanted so she got I can only go down by a foot as below that are the drains for my row of houses

 

[cas]

Tom213, have you looked at the showcase items? CeeJayH has an above ground pond that might give you some ideas. The heading is "Chris's raised pond".

 

[Mmathis]

@tom213 I'm not an artist and I don't have sophisticated software for drawing things [but, boy, wouldn't both be fun!!], but is this a general idea of what you had in mind? I know the dimensions aren't accurate as I was just guessing. I'm a "visual" person -- I have to literally SEE something to know what it will look like.

Anyway, something like this can give you a rough idea of what you have to work with and you can play with it to fudge the dimensions, add waterfall, etc. And remember that you'll need to take into account the space that your filter set-up will take as well as the waterfall. And where are you electric outlets and water located?

Bummer about your underground pipes and stuff. It would be nice to go partially underground if you could, but you have to work with what you have.

 

[tom213]

@tom213 I'm not an artist and I don't have sophisticated software for drawing things [but, boy, wouldn't both be fun!!], but is this a general idea of what you had in mind? I know the dimensions aren't accurate as I was just guessing. I'm a "visual" person -- I have to literally SEE something to know what it will look like.

View attachment 85441

Anyway, something like this can give you a rough idea of what you have to work with and you can play with it to fudge the dimensions, add waterfall, etc. And remember that you'll need to take into account the space that your filter set-up will take as well as the waterfall. And where are you electric outlets and water located?

Bummer about your underground pipes and stuff. It would be nice to go partially underground if you could, but you have to work with what you have.

Thanks so much for this idea. It's pretty much exactly what I was after with the wood and all elec and water are to the right hand side of the door in the picture so easy to route. Taking to heart what @mgmine suggested I threw caution to the wind and started digging to find the pipe.



So far I'm two foot down and getting hopeful that I may not have to go too far up trying not to get too far ahead of myself but things are sort of going well

 

[Mmathis]

@tom213 Here in the US, we can call a number to have someone come out and mark where all of the utility lines/pipes are on a property.....Call Before You Dig! Do you have anything like that where you are? It would save you the hassle of hit & miss digging to locate them.

 

[tom213]

I was given drawings with the house and from what I've gathered is that the water pipe runs in line but to the left of the path by 1ft and the electric lines run along the fence to the left of the garden. So with any luck. As long as the contractors did their job properly I shouldn't have any problems. Another thing I found earlier is that by law all pipes and wires need to be at least three foot underground so if I do have them where I'm digging im not going to find them probably

 

[CeeJayH]

Tom,
are you leaving enough space between the pond and the wall/fence to walk around it? You'll need access for planting and maintenance.

 

[tom213]

Yeah looking at the drawings the footing for the garage go two foot out. Which for me as I'm only diddy is plenty leaving the same by the fence