Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Locating the House

My house is to the North of my pond.

We have a house on the South side of a lake.

I prefer having the house on the South side looking North much more than the other way around. Too hard to look into the sun when wanting to look at the pond.

As for distance, think about how the trees will grow/die over the years, how leaves on the trees will obscure your view as the treees grow.

I don't see Relative Humidity changing around a pond, at least I don't feel any difference.

When building a house, take into consideration that dirt cannot be put around the trunk of a tree, nor should heavy equipment be driven over the roots of a tree - it will damage the roots and the tree will have a good chance of dying in the next 2-5 years. A rule of thumb is that a trees roots spread out the same distance as the crown of the tree.

Also take into consideration where the most storms will come from to prevent limbs/branches/trees from falling on any structures. I recommend gutters on the roof, to direct water away from the house. Trees close to the house = clogged gutters from leaves/seeds. I have yet to see a good system for keeping leaves/seeds out of gutters, and still allowing for large quantities of water to find the downspouts. As you get older, it gets harder and harder to clean out the gutters.

How far from the house depends on how much of the pond you want to see from the house, and how the windows are laid out in the house, and the floor plan of the house.

For smaller children, I think I'd prefer them to be playing around behind the house, away from the water if they weren't watched 100% of the time. Take into consideration their childhood friends too - they might not be as water wise as your kids. Once they become more in tune with the world, and know how to swim, then they can play nearer the water.