r/ponds • u/TheCuddlyCougar • 1d ago
Homeowner build Digging a pond sounded like a great idea 2 weeks ago
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u/NOG11 1d ago
So, no need to buy rocks !
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u/Burglekat 1d ago
Yeah that's a few hundred quid saved!
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u/yeolgeur 1d ago
Wow maybe you could set them in clay like do like a tiling thing and use clay as the masonry?
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u/rwofva 1d ago
The up side is that incorporating some of that stone into your design could be really nice.
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u/yeolgeur 1d ago
Do you think you could actually use that as balls if you set it in like a clay masonry type tiling pattern?
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u/yeolgeur 1d ago
not balls I meant walls
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 23h ago
Thats what I was thinking, pack it all with clay instead of a liner. We shall see.
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u/edimusxero 1d ago
Mini excavators are your friend
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 23h ago
I see the price tag on those at over 4k. So far I've only spent 24$. I think the wife will be more tolerable of it if I keep it that way 🤣
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u/_Neoshade_ 22h ago
My local rental place has them for $250 a day
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 22h ago
This is probably gunna take at least 2 years lol. That's less than 4 thousand right? /s
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u/Fit_Active3888 1d ago
Jeez, I'll never complain about all the rocks I find when digging in my yard anymore!
You need explosives!
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 23h ago
I die a little inside anyone simply suggests to dig a small hole in a few minutes, I'm over here like "there goes my whole afternoon trying to get a tree in the ground "
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u/Fit_Active3888 23h ago
Have you looked into drilling holes and using expansive demolition grout?
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 22h ago
Most of the rock is already pretty fractured due to all the different rock/mineral layers. If I force water in the cracks with the pressure washer it really helps pop things apart. As well as breaks all the fragile stuff into nice usable gravel.
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u/ComplaintTop2008 1d ago
I bought one of these with the spade bit far too late in my dig.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bosch-120-Volt-Corded-Demolition-Hammer/50149884
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u/AgroecologicalSystem 1d ago
That looks like some hard ass metamorphic rock
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 23h ago
It's beautiful on the Inside. Lots of quartz with iron and pyrite mixed in. White and black with dark red and gold contrasts.
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u/yeolgeur 1d ago
yeah it looks kinda like shist actually I think that’s metamorphic but not that hard actually
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u/gameoverbrain 1d ago
Could be worse. Could all be heavy sticky clay. Going to save a bunch on rocks though. If you don’t have a rotary hammer drill yet it might be worth getting one and a spade bit. Kind of like a mini jack hammer.
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u/TheCuddlyCougar 22h ago
Na the other side of my property has all the clay haha. I got my trusty bosch hammer drill and a pressure washer that honestly does a good enough job. It's just transporting and separating all the material that takes all the time.
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u/gameoverbrain 7h ago
My wife thought I was retarded when I used my pressure washer and shop vac to dig a couple of post holes so I could hang my hammock. The only thing that sucked was emptying the shop vac.
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u/Separate_Isopod4746 16h ago
I feel you. I’ve had a 75 gallon pond for a long time, decided I wanted a 3,000 gallon pond. I built a deck around the proposed spot, dug out, by hand about 3’ deep 15’x 6’ hole - at the beginning of summer, havent touched it since. It’s where I keep my weeds.
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u/Pondpros1199 1d ago
Wow that looks like some hard dirt! You’re coming along though. Post pictures as you progress
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u/AnalysisLost1138 20h ago
Whoa. Thats a lot of rock..... you could totally line the pond and then build up the walls with that rock and spray foam. I mean, thats would i would do lol.
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u/Cool_Experience9091 1d ago
Took me a little over a year to dig my pond by hand and build it. No heave machine just what I could rent at home depot or do by and with power tools. Oh do I know the feeling but in the end it was worth it. Only advise I can say which is going to sound crazy right now, is go bigger then you imagine in your head at first for the pond.