Securing wood underwater in natural pool

[jneel213]

Hi there, I'm building a natural pool. I'd like to secure 6x6 in cedar beams underwater to create ledge. Anybody secured wood underwater?? If so how did you do it without having to puncture liner??

 

[Rashad]

Is the liner already in place? I would put them under the liner maybe? Otherwise just put some heavy rocks on them?

 

[j.w]

@jneel213

 

[combatwombat]

Are you trying to build a vertical retaining wall with these timbers to define the swimming area?

 

[gello22]

I had some logs in my stream when I first started. After about a month I had tea colored water. Removed the logs and it cleared back up.

Of course if your going for the Northwoods lake look that might be just what you want.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

 

[Jrosco34]

Hi there, I'm building a natural pool. I'd like to secure 6x6 in cedar beams underwater to create ledge. Anybody secured wood underwater?? If so how did you do it without having to puncture liner??

Yes I successfully did this last year when I built mine. Basically what I did was pour 2" footer on top of the liner that also had a geotextile fabric on top so the concrete was not directly on the liner. Then in the concrete pour I set J bolts like you would use in home construction when setting your sill plate. From there I attached the fist row of timber to the J bolts, then used long timber screws to attach each layer to the prior row if that makes sense. here is a couple photos of the finished results.

 

[Jagsfan]

Yes I successfully did this last year when I built mine. Basically what I did was pour 2" footer on top of the liner that also had a geotextile fabric on top so the concrete was not directly on the liner. Then in the concrete pour I set J bolts like you would use in home construction when setting your sill plate. From there I attached the fist row of timber to the J bolts, then used long timber screws to attach each layer to the prior row if that makes sense. here is a couple photos of the finished results.

That is amazing! I love that

 

[Phil k]

Yes I successfully did this last year when I built mine. Basically what I did was pour 2" footer on top of the liner that also had a geotextile fabric on top so the concrete was not directly on the liner. Then in the concrete pour I set J bolts like you would use in home construction when setting your sill plate. From there I attached the fist row of timber to the J bolts, then used long timber screws to attach each layer to the prior row if that makes sense. here is a couple photos of the finished results.

It looks like you went with the bubble pump method? Has that worked well?

 

[GBBUDD]

Yes I successfully did this last year when I built mine. Basically what I did was pour 2" footer on top of the liner that also had a geotextile fabric on top so the concrete was not directly on the liner. Then in the concrete pour I set J bolts like you would use in home construction when setting your sill plate. From there I attached the fist row of timber to the J bolts, then used long timber screws to attach each layer to the prior row if that makes sense. here is a couple photos of the finished results.

And you did dead men around the pond well done. That cost a few bucks in cedar .
Did you do pvc pipe throughout the stone area ?

Please share a complete build many come on asking . This from what I see is very well done would love to know more

 

[Jrosco34]

It looks like you went with the bubble pump method? Has that worked well?

Yes the bubblers have worked well. I did end up adding a skimmer with mechanical pump into three 55 gal filter barrels with bio media. I was looking for a combo method to skim and be able to hook in a vacuum for clean up

 

[Jrosco34]

And you did dead men around the pond well done. That cost a few bucks in cedar .
Did you do pvc pipe throughout the stone area ?

Please share a complete build many come on asking . This from what I see is very well done would love to know more

Yes I ended up using 4" perforated pipe under the rocks that connects to solid PVC for the up spouts. Six bubblers total, with a Danner AP-100 Air Pump. It's been running 24/7 for two years and has been a solid buy. My wife and I are working on putting the full build with hundreds of photos on a dedicated facebook page. It's a ton of stuff but will post the link when we have it up.

The deadman has worked well having put 40 tons of rock behind the wall, still holding as the day it was built. Actually ended up using Pine for the timber. I wanted oak but was not available at the time of construction. I struggled with that worrying about possible wood decay, but my research found that wood underwater gets preserved not having oxygen, mud, insects and other things. As long as it remains below surface it should be fine. I guess time will tell...

 

[zerogravitybambi]

Hi there. I am building my own natural pool. Did you treat the pine? Seal it or anything?

 

[j.w]

@zerogravitybambi

 

[zerogravitybambi]

Hi there, I'm building a natural pool. I'd like to secure 6x6 in cedar beams underwater to create ledge. Anybody secured wood underwater?? If so how did you do it without having to puncture liner??

Hi there. I know this is an old comment, but I am also building a natural pool And plan to use timber in my construction. I was hoping to source white oak but am not having luck. Just wondering how Cedar worked out. Thank you in advance for any insights.