New found respect for 36"

[shanezam203]

I started digging one of the legs to my pond this weekend & I only went 8 foot by 2 & a little over 36 inches down. :yikesu: Boy do I have some work ahead of me to dig out the two 16x8 areas. (I'd like to go 4 feet down)

I started using just a shovel and a pick, I came across alot more roots than I thought I would. I think I'll take my friend up on his offer to bring his skid steer.

One question, I'd like to go 4 feet down in the center, my dad suggested I do a 12 inch or 20 inch lip along the edges for plants. Do I need to do that, I will if that is common.

My plan is to dig 4 feet down and then two concrete blocks ontop of eachother being at least another foot so 5 feet deep. Should I do some shelves in some areas making it less deep than others?

Thanks,
Shane

 

[shanezam203]

I started digging one of the legs to my pond this weekend & I only went 8 foot by 2 & a little over 36 inches down. :yikesu: Boy do I have some work ahead of me to dig out the two 16x8 areas. (I'd like to go 4 feet down)

I started using just a shovel and a pick, I came across alot more roots than I thought I would. I think I'll take my friend up on his offer to bring his skid steer.

One question, I'd like to go 4 feet down in the center, my dad suggested I do a 12 inch or 20 inch lip along the edges for plants. Do I need to do that, I will if that is common.

My plan is to dig 4 feet down and then two concrete blocks ontop of eachother being at least another foot so 5 feet deep. Should I do some shelves in some areas making it less deep than others?

Thanks,
Shane

 

[digginponds]

good to see another chi-town'er here......shelves are for those whom want plant life

you can make your pond as deep as ya want.Most diggers start with taking off 18in or so all around the pond,then another 18 inches ,sit back look at it,and dig some more ,but never start in the middle......hit me up with a pm

 

[digginponds]

good to see another chi-town'er here......shelves are for those whom want plant life

you can make your pond as deep as ya want.Most diggers start with taking off 18in or so all around the pond,then another 18 inches ,sit back look at it,and dig some more ,but never start in the middle......hit me up with a pm

 

[DrDave]

Good info, most would just did a hole without thinking.

 

[DrDave]

Good info, most would just did a hole without thinking.

 

[chilligirl]

If you want plants other than floating plants, you'll want shelves. My pond is six feet deep, and the shallowest shelf, which runs around the edge of the pond, is 2 feet deep (pond is 4 feet below ground, 2 feet above). While that depth really helps with predators, it's a PITA for plants. My lilies and cattails do just fine at that depth, but most marginals don't like more than 6" of water over their crowns. I had to stack crates on the shelf for things like canna, taro, forget-me-not, marsh marigold, etc. etc.

I've got a couple of floating planters, and a planter that is secured to the cap boards keeping it at water level, which helps, but the depth really limits my planting options.

On the upside, as I mentioned I don't have trouble with predators. Also, the depth means that my water is warmer all winter and cooler all summer

Yesterday it was 93 degrees out and my pond didn't get above 78!

 

[chilligirl]

If you want plants other than floating plants, you'll want shelves. My pond is six feet deep, and the shallowest shelf, which runs around the edge of the pond, is 2 feet deep (pond is 4 feet below ground, 2 feet above). While that depth really helps with predators, it's a PITA for plants. My lilies and cattails do just fine at that depth, but most marginals don't like more than 6" of water over their crowns. I had to stack crates on the shelf for things like canna, taro, forget-me-not, marsh marigold, etc. etc.

I've got a couple of floating planters, and a planter that is secured to the cap boards keeping it at water level, which helps, but the depth really limits my planting options.

On the upside, as I mentioned I don't have trouble with predators. Also, the depth means that my water is warmer all winter and cooler all summer

Yesterday it was 93 degrees out and my pond didn't get above 78!

 

[shanezam203]

Thanks for the info, I am on the fence about shelves & plants. IF I'd like to do 4 feet down + 2 feet in bricks (ground level) can I just place the bricks 12 inches back from my digging & have a ground level shelf?

That would make the pond 10 feet wide with the 12 inch lip on each side, will that work?

 

[shanezam203]

Thanks for the info, I am on the fence about shelves & plants. IF I'd like to do 4 feet down + 2 feet in bricks (ground level) can I just place the bricks 12 inches back from my digging & have a ground level shelf?

That would make the pond 10 feet wide with the 12 inch lip on each side, will that work?

 

[chilligirl]

Thanks for the info, I am on the fence about shelves & plants. IF I'd like to do 4 feet down + 2 feet in bricks (ground level) can I just place the bricks 12 inches back from my digging & have a ground level shelf?

That would make the pond 10 feet wide with the 12 inch lip on each side, will that work?

That's EXACTLY how my pond is - a 1 foot wide ground level shelf going around it. Only difference is I built mine up 2 feet using landscaping ties rather than bricks. If you're going to do it that way, I'd recommend making the shelf 18"-24" wide. Reason being once you put your liner and underlay in, it'll round off a bit both where it goes down to the deeper part, and where it goes to go up the bricks, making the shelf actually narrower than what it's dug out to. I dug a 6 x 6 hole, and set it inside an 8 x 8 frame of landscape ties. However, once the liner and everything was in, only my corners have a good deep shelf - the edges only offer around 8" of shelf. As I mentioned, most plants aren't happy with more than around 6" of water over their crowns (surface of the dirt in their pot), and 8" isn't really wide enough to stack a milk crate on to lift the plant higher.

On the other hand, if plants aren't important to you, that's okay too! You can also, if you're good about remembering to water things, set potted plants on the capstones, around the pond, etc. I'm not so good on the maintenance, so, for me, the plants need to be IN the actual pond lol.

 

[chilligirl]

Thanks for the info, I am on the fence about shelves & plants. IF I'd like to do 4 feet down + 2 feet in bricks (ground level) can I just place the bricks 12 inches back from my digging & have a ground level shelf?

That would make the pond 10 feet wide with the 12 inch lip on each side, will that work?

That's EXACTLY how my pond is - a 1 foot wide ground level shelf going around it. Only difference is I built mine up 2 feet using landscaping ties rather than bricks. If you're going to do it that way, I'd recommend making the shelf 18"-24" wide. Reason being once you put your liner and underlay in, it'll round off a bit both where it goes down to the deeper part, and where it goes to go up the bricks, making the shelf actually narrower than what it's dug out to. I dug a 6 x 6 hole, and set it inside an 8 x 8 frame of landscape ties. However, once the liner and everything was in, only my corners have a good deep shelf - the edges only offer around 8" of shelf. As I mentioned, most plants aren't happy with more than around 6" of water over their crowns (surface of the dirt in their pot), and 8" isn't really wide enough to stack a milk crate on to lift the plant higher.

On the other hand, if plants aren't important to you, that's okay too! You can also, if you're good about remembering to water things, set potted plants on the capstones, around the pond, etc. I'm not so good on the maintenance, so, for me, the plants need to be IN the actual pond lol.

 

[chilligirl]

Also, how are you going to make the sides really straight like that? If you're just digging, they have to be sloped a bit, or you risk collapse. With them being sloped, and going down so deep, your bottom is going to be much less wide than 8 feet.

In my case, the hole is 6 feet wide at the top, and even with very sharply sloped sides, going down 4 feet deep it's only about 18" wide at the bottom.

The advantage to that is all the muck and mulm slides down to one spot which makes a much smaller area to clean, and would work like a hot damn if I wanted to bother with a bottom drain, even a retro-fit one.

The disadvantages are:

- the pond gets very deep, very fast, which means getting IN the pond and swimming for some maintenance
- as I don't have a bottom drain, that muck can build up on the bottom quite quickly and get deep pretty quickly
- I can't stick anything in the center of my pond (fountain, lily plant, etc.) as a centerpiece - it's too deep, and with the steep sides and small bottom, there's no way to stack something as a base to put something on.

Now, if you have a way to make the sides straight down and NOT collapse, keeping an 8 foot wide flat bottom, then the last two points I stated won't apply. However, the first will. I'd be making sure you can get by without getting IN the pond during the colder months!

 

[chilligirl]

Also, how are you going to make the sides really straight like that? If you're just digging, they have to be sloped a bit, or you risk collapse. With them being sloped, and going down so deep, your bottom is going to be much less wide than 8 feet.

In my case, the hole is 6 feet wide at the top, and even with very sharply sloped sides, going down 4 feet deep it's only about 18" wide at the bottom.

The advantage to that is all the muck and mulm slides down to one spot which makes a much smaller area to clean, and would work like a hot damn if I wanted to bother with a bottom drain, even a retro-fit one.

The disadvantages are:

- the pond gets very deep, very fast, which means getting IN the pond and swimming for some maintenance
- as I don't have a bottom drain, that muck can build up on the bottom quite quickly and get deep pretty quickly
- I can't stick anything in the center of my pond (fountain, lily plant, etc.) as a centerpiece - it's too deep, and with the steep sides and small bottom, there's no way to stack something as a base to put something on.

Now, if you have a way to make the sides straight down and NOT collapse, keeping an 8 foot wide flat bottom, then the last two points I stated won't apply. However, the first will. I'd be making sure you can get by without getting IN the pond during the colder months!

 

[DrCase]

What kind of blocks were you thinking of using
Having a wider 2 ft deep edge around the pond like chilligirl suggested would give you a sturdier bank
And a way to clime out of the deep...
I would set the blocks back 18" to 24" from the deep water