protection for pond during roof work

[bagsmom]

Hey everyone! My pond is still in my mind -- haven't dug the first hole. You were all so helpful in previous threads. Someone mentioned that a pond up near a front porch might be subject to damage from work on the house. This got me thinking... We are due for a new roof in the next 5 years. I'm almost 50 -- if I wait 5 years, I don't think digging and moving rocks would be as easy. (Arthritis and hip bursitis already bother me.) Anyway -- If I did do the pond that I want, It would be about 7 feet away from the house at the closest point. When roofers scrape off shingles and such, I know they just shoot them down wherever gravity takes them. The pond will be surrounded with a pea gravel "beach", so that would probably take the brunt of the falling debris. Have any of you had to protect a pond from construction? Any thoughts or tips? Thanks!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Do you have to lopcat3e the pond so close to the house?

 

[bagsmom]

Yes. If I didn't do it there, I would just scrap the idea entirely. We are not "out in the yard" people, but we are "sit on the screened in porch" people. The bugs here are horrid and it's just hot all the time. Sitting on the screened porch with the fan on is really the only time we are outside -- unless I'm mowing or doing yardwork.

Oh -- I went outside to measure where my rope outline is. It's actually about 10 feet away from the front corner of the screened in porch.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

That is enough distance to afford protection to the pond provided that the roofers are made aware of the existence of the pond and will be held responsible for any damage.

 

[bagsmom]

I figured we could put a tarp over the pea gravel beach, then maybe build a simply plywood platform to cover the pond. The waterfall and pump and such will be at least 15 if not 20 feet away. A platform cover would at least protect the rocks and plants and would keep debris from falling in the water. (I've saved about $500! I'm about a third of the way there, financially!)

 

[bagsmom]

Of course, I bought a lottery ticket today. By tomorrow, maybe I'll be able to do a roof right away, then the most fabulous pond ever! Ha Ha!

 

[mrsclem]

We had trees taken down around our ponds. 2x4 lumber and large tarps to cover everything will do. We had our roof done 2 years ago and they put down tarps to catch the debris.

 

[Tula]

We've had a lot of house work done in the past few years, including a new roof and tree work, right over the pond. I used the thick PVC pipes I use for my fall / winter, to support tarps to cover the pond.

BTW, we made sure to hire a roofer who was tidy, as I didn't wintry gardens, shrubs and pond, trampled

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks everyone!

 

[teeemkay]

We hired contractors who were very mindful of our landscaping and the pond when we had roof work done last year as well as some window replacements. Nobody wants roofing materials or nails on their lawn, driveway, gardens, or in their pond. It never hurts to specifically tell the contractors to be careful here or there when they are working. They were great when working around the pond... they replaced one of our really old basement windows that is about 2 feet away from the pond and were very careful with removal and clean-up in the first place as they were pretty sure the windows had lead paint on them due to their age. It all went smoothly.

 

[Mmathis]

I can't speak to roofers, but we did have 2 trees taken down recently. I was worried about the pond, but they said they were careful. And they were, but I still tarped the pond while they were there. I would think if you voice your concerns to the roofers, they will be on-board. And tarping the pond wasn't that big of a deal. I think I laid lots of PVC across, under the tarp, and made sure there was a gap for heat and air exchange. It turned out NOT to be the big deal I was worried about.