L-shaped Labor of Love
 "Many of our clients, after having their pond for a couple of years, choose to enlarge or add to their water feature, and we are no exception," said Dave Burns, owner of Backyard Getaway, a family-owned and -operated retail pond and water garden
business in Bradenton, Fla. Dave and his wife, Lisa, drafted plans to renovate their 13-year-old pond. They wanted to provide additional space for their koi and incorporate more foliage in the overall design.
The original 2-foot-deep pond included a waterfall, several plant shelves and measured 21 feet long by 7 feet wide. The renovation project required demolition of the waterfall, which would affect the existing liner, so Dave replaced the liner.
Obstacles arose immediately because the Burns' home and yard sits on top of a 12-inch-deep limestone bed and sandy soil. Dave rented a jackhammer and enlisted the help of two men to break up the rock and remove it. The crew used a backhoe to lift the heavier rocks.
With the limestone removed, the sand further frustrated the process by creating bubbles in the liner. To prevent this imperfection and to reinforce the pond's existing walls, the team installed cinder block frame walls under the liner and the underlayment.
"We didn't want to take away from the pond width with cinder blocks," Dave said. "Instead we poured 4-inch-thick cement walls."
The pond addition extends along the back of the Burns' home. The 18-foot-long-by-9-foot-wide-by-4.67-foot-deep dimensions created an L-shaped water feature.
Because of the odd design, Dave installed two separate pieces of liner and joined them with liner tape. The original section retained the length and widened to accommodate a wetland. Dave also placed a wetland in the new portion of the pond. To maintain steady circulation for the wetlands, the crew laid 1.5-inch PVC pipe with strategically placed drilled holes, connected it to a pump in the skimmer and concealed the pipe with gravel.
Three waterfalls join the two legs of the pond. A large 4.67-foot waterfall with a sheer water drop and a smaller 2-foot trickling waterfall face the deck. The third waterfall, also measuring 4.67 feet, wraps around the back of the sheer falls and includes several steps.
Further improvements include a cement bridge that crosses over the new section of the pond, a rain curtain that runs off the pergola's tin roof and a water wheel that drops water into a system of troughs and a whiskey barrel that ultimately flows into the pond. The completed renovation features a small island landscaped with various aquatic plants, including a Nymphaea gigantea waterlily in the pond and a flagstone walkway.
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Specifications
Designer: Dave Burns
Installer: Backyard Getaway
Contact Information: Backyard Getaway, 5004 15th St. E., Bradenton, FL 34203, 941-752-7663, backyardgetaway@verizon.net, www.backyardgetaway.net
Project Location: Bradenton, Fla.
Construction: The L-shaped pond features an 8.5-foot-wide-by-21-foot-long-by-2-foot-deep area with a wetland along one side and a drilled bubbling rock. A second area measures 9 feet wide by 18 feet long by 4.67 feet deep and a wetland along one side. Three waterfalls join the two ponds: a 4.5-foot-high sheer falls, a 2-foot-high trickling waterfall and a 4.5-feet high waterfall with steps and that wraps around the back of the sheer falls. Across from the falls at one end is a rain curtain. The opposite side includes a waterwheel that flows into troughs and a whiskey barrel, then drops into the pond.
Components: Two external pumps: Sequence 6100gph pump, Sequence 5100gph pump; Danner 2400gph submersed pump, Danner 500gph pump, Pondsweep 300 pro skimmer, Laguna 5000 skimmer, Aqua UV Ultima II bio filter, two bottom drains, 15-foot-by-35-foot 45mil EPDM liner, 20-foot-by-50-foot 45mil EPDM liner, underlayment, 2,000 lbs. of Tenn. Flagstone for walkway, 5,000 lbs. of boulders and fieldstone, 2 yards of river gravel for wetlands and limestone pulled out of the ground.
Crew size: 3
Time to complete: 2 months
Material Cost: about $11,000
Project Cost: about $30,000 for a client, including the features |
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L-shaped Labor of Love
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