New pond Build

[Les]

Hi every one,

I'm building a pond, having dug a large hole 12 x 8 x 4 approx by spade ( only took 2 years or so!!! ) Time for construction methods.

Looking at a concrete base and blockwork and brick outer. feel that it would cost too much.

What would be your views on using concrete posts and panels as a wall ( like a fence ) but with a 6 - 8in back fill with concrete? Plus base.

Would that hold the water pressure of 11,000 ltr? There is so much rubble, glass, slate, sharp metal etc that a liner in the hole would be of no use!

I welcome your comments and experience.

Very best wishes

Les

 

[dieselplower]

I'm sorry but all that sounds crazy. You are going to eat up half your depth just lining the pond. Can you just throw down some scrap carpet and use a liner? I've seen so many empty concrete ponds its sad. They all leak over time.

 

[slakker]

Why's there so much garbage in the the pond? Was it used as a dump over the last 2 years of digging?

But I suggest raking it out then using old carpet or other underlay then liner.

Also posted before on another thread, the water pressure in a pond is not a function of the volume of water, but the depth. I always mess up the units... so won't post the formula without looking it up...

 

[Les]

Hi Guys,

The house I live in is on the site of an old pub, and instead of clearing the site they covered most of it with soil! So 18" down up comes the rubble! Hard Work!

Anyway the finished size of the pond is going to be 12.6ft x 8.6ft x 5ft deep. the hole is approx 8" bigger all round. The water level will be 18" above ground. The total volume of water will be 15000 ltr

I know the water pressure is not a function of the pond, it is the pressure to constrain it. Therefore instead of concrete block work, + bricks, would concrete panels and posts

backfilled with concrete be as strong? I am going to use a liner inside the pond. I am no bricklayer! Its not just the base, its also the sidewalls that have nasty sharp things in!

And I wondered if anybody else has used this type of construction?

 

[Waterbug]

I don't know what you mean by concrete panels and posts so have no idea if it would work. Detailed info would be required if you want a serious guess. I can at least flag areas that I'd be concerned about so you could research further.

I know the water pressure is not a function of the pond, it is the pressure to constrain it. Therefore instead of concrete block work, + bricks, would concrete panels and posts

I don't follow. Not sure what you mean by "pond"...I consider the water in a pond to be part of the pond. Water pressure is a function of the amount of water and gravity. Other terms are used to describe how things are constrained, never pressure.

The constraining structure has pressure on all of its sides, but in a pond we never consider the pressure exerted by soil for example to be a consideration because it varies by time of year and soil conditions. Certainly not something you want to depend on. Water is the only pressure we normally consider.

backfilled with concrete be as strong?

1/4" thick? No. 10' thick steel reenforced? Yes.

I am going to use a liner inside the pond. I am no bricklayer! Its not just the base, its also the sidewalls that have nasty sharp things in!

I'm confused...are you using a liner or not?

 

[VanDiesil]

The logical solution (in my head anyway so don't take it as gospel!) would be to backfill the sides with a few inches of sand and old carpet/thick underlay to protect against the side obstructions. The way I would do would be to fill the pond slowly and have people backfilling with the sand as the water level rises. It would give the protection to the sides of the liner that you require, but will decrease the width & length of the pond slightly (a foot or so each way).

Another way would be to build a frame and pour concrete in as a barrier then lay the liner over underlay and sand on top of the concrete.

I am no way a professional at this but either of the offered ideas would do the job (in my head anyway!).

Good luck with whichever solution you choose.

The other, more expensive, option is to turn that hole into a tiled swimming pool and to build a raised pond somewhere else in the garden (if room permits!!!) LOL

 

[Becky]

Hello from Altrincham! I hope you manage to find a solution, the carpet suggestion is a good one

 

[addy1]

I would just use a few layers of carpet, we have a ton of rock. I put carpet pad between the rock and the liner, it is doing fine.