Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam here goes .. dam going in

I'm really anxious to see what you come up with for your waterfall. I've had a similar idea for my bigger pond when I get around to revamping it one of these days. Given what you've done so far, I'd say the odds are pretty darn good that I'm just going to steal your ideas and work and replicate them at my place as closely as possible!

Mike:

You don't have to drain the pond at all to put in the pier. Just wait 'till there is enough hard water to stand on and you are good to go. Ready made level as well! I've put a couple in thru the ice and the tools are much easier to retrieve when they fall on top of the ice vs. plop in the lake. Easier to run power out to the end of the pier as well when working on it.

Ok .. so today was moderately successful .. building the discharge area for the dam .. hoping to make a cascading waterfall effect ..

One of the big rocks for the waterfall



The bottom drain (discharge pipe)being covered by the rock for the waterfall



Bottom Stone placed .. placement was critical to the rest of the project .. and extremely hard to manage because of the size, weight, and distance to reach .. bottom rock weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of between 3 and 4 tons



about midway to the top



Top rock being placed



Each stone had to be placed .. then leveled side to side with the correct pitch front to rear .. All in all very happy with the results.

And lastly pond level after 1 week of filling .. and I have had no significant rain in well over a month

Man, that will be beautiful when it's done. Not that it isn't pretty now, that is!

This project has been amazing to follow. Seeing that waterfall idea and the placement of the rocks all along the edges shows the creative approach you've taken to your pond. Well done. Soon mother nature will find this new body of water and all forms of life will converge on it to the delightment of you and your family. may you enjoy this beautiful place for many years. Remember to take the time to stop and think about what you have accomplished, there will always be things that need doing. You've put a lot of hard work into it and it shows, thanks for sharing it with us Mike

Tremendous job on the waterfall, Mike! One question - will you do anything to try and prevent erosion on the sides of the rocks? I'm wondering if you might not run into a problem with water running off the sides of the rocks and gradually eroding the supporting soil and causing a collapse. In any event, with your rate of water accumulation, I'd guess you're going to be able to post pics of the waterfall in action within the week!

Thanks for all the comments .. To answer your question Todd .. yes .. we only had enough daylight to finish the main spillway .. there will also be smaller emergency spill ways to catch and divert excess runnoff on either side of the main spillway .. there just wasn't enough time to get them in today .. the idea will be to cover all of the clay with geotextyle fabric and stone so as not to have erosion problems .. I do expect some seepage so you may notice I elevated the first rock over the bottome pipe .. I will fill this void by hand with stone to allow for drainage without loosing the base soil above ..

I will also strategically place smaller flat stone by hand to keep the waterfall contained so that it does not run off the edges .. It should look pretty cool if my plan comes together.

I am running on borrowed time up here in Northern NY as the weather has been unusually warm and dry for this time of year .. My plan is to make sure the pond has sufficient drainage ability for rain, snow and a significant thaw in the spring .. then bring all the equipment inside for service work this winter

Mike:

FWIW, I found out that they use black expanding foam when building decorative waterfalls and ponds near houses to keep the water from going between two rocks when they are set on top of each other. I don't know if you would want to do something like that with the smaller rocks to keep the water where you want it. The cans of black expanding foam are $10-$12 each, but I think the expanding foam that you'd use on a house to seal voids would be almost the same thing, except it might not have all of the UV protection (paint would offer UV protection, you could brush the exposed surfaces). Locally, Lowes has a sale on the house expanding foam. Hi-expansion cans are $2.00 and change, the Low-expansion cans are right around #3.00 each. That's down from $5-$6/can a month or so ago.

Great idea Esshup .. will have to fiddle around with coloring as I know the house foam is a yellowish material .. don't know if Rust-Oleum gray spray cans would cover and stay .. will experiment .. Thanks for the idea

Had our "Pond Christening Party" today .. was cold but certainly nicer than other years on Nov. 15th .. was fun and had a good turnout ..
A few pics

getting ready to champagne the pond .. got a bunch of rubber ducks as a christening gift and they are the yellow things in the water .. kids loved it



There she blows



My wife and I in the pond



my wife and youngest daughter on the waterfall



some of the crowd that braved the cold

The more that I see pics of the pond, the better that I like it, and I liked it from the beginning!

So .. not being a water expert .. I will ask all you seasoned pond veterans out there ..

One of the questions I got today .. ALOT .. is why does the water have a blueish/green tint to it .. my answer was the minerals in the rock .. but that was just a guess

Also it is crystal clear .. can still see the bottom at six feet full.

Any thoughts on the coloration? .. good or not good for fish?

Mike:

I see that frequently the Michigan ponds. I'd guess but that's all that it would be. I have an idea, but I don't want to throw out a wrong answer.

Mike, sounds like a great plan and I'm anxious to see the finished results. I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of the others here - what a tremendous project you've undertaken!

Great pics of the party today, as well! Glad it turned out well for you.

Wish I could help you on the coloration issue, but I am too new at pond ownership to really grasp the reasons behind that sort of stuff just yet. I'll be very interested to hear the experts' take on it.

Best wishes!

Mike,
The place is great. The expanding foam cant be painted with a spray paint it will desolve it. You will have to use a none petroleum base paint.

All that rock is really amazing. Quite a unique project and well executed.

While I attempt to wipe up the pond envy drool, I just want to say that you've done a fantastic job Mike! As for your question on water color, my little BG pond took on that same blue/green tint during its initial fill. At the time, there was not one rock in the pond. What type soils do you have? Is your water source mostly runoff from the surrounding area?

Given the trees located near the outlet, I suspect in time your water color will change as leaf load builds.

Russ

Very impressive, Mike. That was an immense planning and laborious undertaking. Thanks for sharing. Sure wish I had rocks like that to experiment with, to determine if that causes the color. Please keep us updated as to filling, stocking, etc.

Thanks for the accolades guys .. It's great to hear from people who appreciate the same things I do .. I hope to get around the site enough this winter and look up all your ponds as I am sure they took just as much thought and work as mine did ..

To answer some questions .. The type of soil where the pond is, consisted of a gravel/clay base with ROCK .. LOTS OF ROCK ..

I actually had it all built once (the pond that is).. then got some advice (good or bad yet to be determined) that I should have lined it with clay .. so to be on the safe side .. I took all the rock and fabric back out .. trucked in around 1500 yards of clay and lined the sides .. then put new geotextyle fabric down and replaced the rocks .. People thought I was absolutely crazy and they may have been right .. but I did not want to worry about the pond holding water. The standing joke is, most people dig ponds, I built mine.

As for the source .. there are 4 above ground springs that feed the pond .. tapping into each spring I found that there are ledges with fissures that let the water escape .. hence an above ground spring .. In the five years I have owned the property .. I have seen the springs slow considerably during the hot dry summer months but never stop

Mike, That project is amazing!!! Excellent job.........

Ok .. today is the day .. the main spillway is done .. going to attempt to complete the next phase .. integrating the emergency spillways into the main spillway .. and trying to make it look natural ..

I went to LOWES and bought eight cans of Great Stuff Expanding Foam .. idea will be to fill the cracks, trim then paint with Gray Dry-Loc Paint. Will post some pics tonight.

Mike! You're killing me with the suspense here! We're all waiting for pics of the further work and expected to have them before now!

I know .. I know .. its killin me too .. the weather turned warm and wet on me ( got about 1/2" of rain over the course of 3 days) not enough to call it significant .. just enough to halt progress .. I need at least one drying day before work can resume .. water level has risen to about 4 feet from the top as of this morning ..

Well here goes .. rain stopped .. got to work on the waterfall .. took pics and my internet went down .. regardless .. its fixed now and here goes.

Took about a day of fussing to complete to this point .. putting in rocks .. then taking them back out and backfilling to get the correct pitch .. hunting for the correct size and shape ..none of which were a perfect fit

different views of the finished (or rough finish) product







I have yet to spray foam and paint the cracks (this year), fabric and stone the emergency spillway trough's (this year), and do alot of landcape and concrete work to dress it all off .. but that will have to wait till next year .. at this point it is or will soon be functional .. or at least (with my fingers crossed) I hope it is .. once i get the rough work completed, I am going to do a test run with a three inch trash pump to make sure the water flows where it should ..

Once again I look for any suggestions ..

Outstanding, Mike! That looks great! I don't think you need to make any apologies for the look of the rock - it looks perfect from this angle! This has been a fun project to watch - congrats on your progress!

Thanks Todd ..

Since my wife has the green thumb .. in the spring she will plant climbing vines and moss in the cracks and crevices and landscape the surrounding terrain .. this should soften the look a little.