| Bob & Jane's Waterfall Rebuild |
| The Finished Waterfall |
First let me say that I DID NOT BUILD THIS POND. It is only
18" deep at the deepest point, and it is filled with pea
gravel. The gentleman who DID install this pond had a good
vision of a beautiful finished product, but no pond
construction knowledge whatsoever. Unfortunately, I
don't have any pictures of the waterfall before we started
work, because when I set Paula to the task of demolishing
it, she had it done in an afternoon!
The guy who originally installed this had taken excavated
dirt from the pond and built up a big hill at the far end of
the pond. He then hollowed out a hole in the top of the
hill and lapped the liner up over it. Then he proceeded to
cover the liner topped hill with sand, then pea gravel, then
large boulders.
18" deep at the deepest point, and it is filled with pea
gravel. The gentleman who DID install this pond had a good
vision of a beautiful finished product, but no pond
construction knowledge whatsoever. Unfortunately, I
don't have any pictures of the waterfall before we started
work, because when I set Paula to the task of demolishing
it, she had it done in an afternoon!
The guy who originally installed this had taken excavated
dirt from the pond and built up a big hill at the far end of
the pond. He then hollowed out a hole in the top of the
hill and lapped the liner up over it. Then he proceeded to
cover the liner topped hill with sand, then pea gravel, then
large boulders.
Needless to say, the excavated dirt settled and the boulders rolled
down the pea gravel and sand into the lawn. What started out as
a 5' tall waterfall was only 2 1/2' within a year. You can still see
remnants of that pile of dirt in the picture above, where the liner
is marked, which is the location of the collapsed hill. We had to
level all this dirt down to grade and build up the future waterfall
with concrete block to get the desired drop for the run. We also
had to elevate the filter box with more concrete block and create
an upper pool boarder with a concrete block edge. When
originally constructed, this pond had virtually NO filtration. As I
mentioned, it is only 18" deep, and you could not see the bottom
because of all the filth. When the new waterfall was finished,
Bob had to clean the filter media out every 3 days for a month
until all the filth that was floating around in the water was
removed.
down the pea gravel and sand into the lawn. What started out as
a 5' tall waterfall was only 2 1/2' within a year. You can still see
remnants of that pile of dirt in the picture above, where the liner
is marked, which is the location of the collapsed hill. We had to
level all this dirt down to grade and build up the future waterfall
with concrete block to get the desired drop for the run. We also
had to elevate the filter box with more concrete block and create
an upper pool boarder with a concrete block edge. When
originally constructed, this pond had virtually NO filtration. As I
mentioned, it is only 18" deep, and you could not see the bottom
because of all the filth. When the new waterfall was finished,
Bob had to clean the filter media out every 3 days for a month
until all the filth that was floating around in the water was
removed.
This is the view as you enter the yard. In full bloom the pond is
breathtaking.
breathtaking.
We brought in two loads of black dirt to slope the back birm down from the waterfall all the way out to the edge of the pond
area, increasing Jane's planting area, and reducing Bob's mowing area in the tight spaces behind the previous waterfall. You
can't tell from either of these pictures (which is a GOOD thing!), but we added a new skimmer box with a stronger pump under
the bridge and made a hatch door in the bridge for easy access.
area, increasing Jane's planting area, and reducing Bob's mowing area in the tight spaces behind the previous waterfall. You
can't tell from either of these pictures (which is a GOOD thing!), but we added a new skimmer box with a stronger pump under
the bridge and made a hatch door in the bridge for easy access.
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| Write me at: pondgal@gridcom.net |
Because the previous nim-rod contractor had taken a substantial amount of excavated dirt off the site, we had to bring in
several loads of black dirt to fill in and around the waterfall support blocks and the upper pool. Under normal circumstances,
this wouldn't have been much of a problem, except for the fact that the entire yard is landscaped and fenced. All the dirt had
to be wheel-barrowed in through the gate, one load at a time. Yeah, I know, normal is so boring!
several loads of black dirt to fill in and around the waterfall support blocks and the upper pool. Under normal circumstances,
this wouldn't have been much of a problem, except for the fact that the entire yard is landscaped and fenced. All the dirt had
to be wheel-barrowed in through the gate, one load at a time. Yeah, I know, normal is so boring!
A view from the back of the yard.
A view from the top of the waterfall back towards the pond.
In 2007, Bob and Jane decided they were tired of never
being able to see their fish and having all their rocks slide in
on the sides of the pond where previous nim-rod had sloped
all the edges inwards. At that point, they said "Just get it
done right, so we re-excavated the whole pond. Those
pictures are around here somewhere . . . .
being able to see their fish and having all their rocks slide in
on the sides of the pond where previous nim-rod had sloped
all the edges inwards. At that point, they said "Just get it
done right, so we re-excavated the whole pond. Those
pictures are around here somewhere . . . .