DIY pond building

Hi we are planning on building a pond. I have read a lot of the previous threads, but I need some advice that is more specific to my situation. Dimensions will be 4mx1.8m and 1.6m deep. The plan is to throw a concrete slab at the bottom and build a brick wall along the sides. The brick wall will be plastered so that the bottom corner has a bit of a curve.
The product I have seen recommended the most was Coprox waterproof cement additive that is mixed in with the cement. Coprox masonry waterproofing is then mixed with water and painted onto the cement. This seems to be a good method. This is my first concrete build and I do not want to struggle with leaks. Anyone use this without problems? Or are there better ways to do it.
And then is building a settling tank an absolute necessity? Any other tips or things I should take into consideration? Do I need to use chicken wire in the concrete and in the plaster or is it not necessary? How thick does the concrete layer and the plaster layer need to be?

 

Built my natural swimming pool (3,5 x 3,5 x 1.6) the same way, cement slab with a double brick reinforced wall (small section a single brick wall) with slightly curved corners. The builder (not a pool builder) got the mix details for the plastering from a pool builder. It was a uneven thin layer of plastering, so no reinforcement. I used a dark marbelite but this can be expensive but is probably the longest lasting. Best bet to ask the pond and the pool builders what they use and what is the longest lasting, paint, fibreglass or marbelite vs the price. One pond builder spoke about a cement based paint, but didnt get the details.

One consideration/suggestion is to have a sloped bottom with a drain at the bottom.

My pool in progress.

 

Every 4th layer of bricks needs brickforce. The back fill behind the wall has to be compacted as the layers are being built, preferably mixed with cement. Reinforcing (round bar) has to be imbedded into the slab, 10 mm thick, spaced about 500 mm apart, standing up between the 2 layers of bricks for about 4 bricks high to prevent the wall from separating from the slab. The square corners every 2nd layer brickforce standing upright around the corner between bricks. 100 mm x 100 mm wire mesh (20 mm from compacted floor) in the slab prevents cracking. The slab not less than 100 mm thick. Chicken mess not necessary in plaster (not needed in marbelite) but will help prevent cracking.

 

''The back fill behind the wall has to be compacted as the layers are being built, preferably mixed with cement.'' What is the back fill? The ground on the outside of the wall?
''Reinforcing (round bar) has to be imbedded into the slab, 10 mm thick, spaced about 500 mm apart, standing up between the 2 layers of bricks for about 4 bricks high to prevent the wall from separating from the slab.'' Don't understand where the round bar would go if you build a single line brick wall?
''The square corners every 2nd layer brickforce standing upright around the corner between bricks'' - Sorry, Don't know what this means?
Thanks for the help, just trying to understand what you are saying.

 

Backfil, jip the soil on outside. Single line brick wall? Hope that is not what your contemplating on doing. That will never be able to hold the pressure and will surely crack and break. A swimming pool has a thickness of not less than 200 mm thick wall and that is poured concrete, not a wall. A skilled bricklayer will know what I mean when you tell him what I say about reinforcing the corners.

 

Not sure about PTA but in CT everything needs building plans .... anything deeper than 600mm probably needs more than just some bricks and plaster if you want more than a season out of it ... many many many moons ago did hand-pack that was then either marbelite or fiberglass - surely do not miss the itching of fiberglass.

Later Ferdie

 

Francois are you putting in a bottom drain?
Is the pond for koi keeping?
What filtration do you plan to install...bear in mind when designing the pond that there needs to be efficient stream in the pond to make sure you dont get dead spots when pump is running. Also the shape must allow the stream to move around the pond.

When the bottom gets built and you do use a bottom drain it should be situated in a spot where a marble will always end up in the drain when thrown anywhere in the pond.

If this is a koi pond think on filtration firstly as happy koi become big koi.



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WOw, very nice.