Hi from Malta

[scar]

Hello guys,

Name is Roderick, 35, from Malta and I have been browsing the forum for quite some time now since I know less than nothing on ponds and need all the help I can get.

My interest was generated when a building alteration in my house led to the removal of a glass skylight in our terrace, underneath which is my garage. We put in a concrete ceiling in the place of the skylight and due to building restrictions we were forced to lower this ceiling by about two feet below the terrace ground level. So basically now I have a rectangular depression, two feet below terrace ground - and instead of levelling it up with rubble and tiling it over, we decided that a simple small pond would be a welcome alternative.

However I must say that the pond is on the small side, and apart from that, I am also restricted by the weight of water it must hold. (otherwise it might cave in and flood the garage) :bowdown: It is 10 feet long x 3 feet wide and can only hold 10 to 12 inches of water depth.

I have a couple of questions which I plan to post in their respective sections. It's a pleasure to finally post something myself though!!

 

[addy1]

Welcome, we will do our best to help you. Where is malta? i could google it lol I guess. I did! neat an island in the Mediterranean sea!

Maybe you could put extra supports below it also to help with the weight, like gluelam beams running below it across the garage ceiling. We added support that way when we put a hot tub on our deck.

 

[hewhoisatpeace]

Welcome to the forum, Roderick. We'll do what we can to help you.

 

[scar]

Thanks guys. Feeling welcome already..

Thanks for the beams suggestion too - but it already has beams. In fact there's 2 iron sections running lengthwise on either side (underneath of course) and inserted in the supporting walls. The pond bottom or floor is made out of 6 inches thick concrete with 2 fully length metal mesh inserted in the concrete mix and all of this is supported on the beams. I really have no doubt of it's strength and am confident that it can withstand the weight of the water.
The unfortunate thing is that this isn't the case where if you want more depth, you can dig some more. I am totally restricted by the parameters set by the building alterations so have no choice! If I could get more deep, I'd definately do that. He-he.