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Renovation of an Old Cement
Pond - Let the Fun Begin!
Hi Bob-
I am currently in the midst of renovating /repairing an old and neglected cement pond. We recently moved to San Diego, and the house had a large pond and
waterfall that had been severely neglected. We think it's about 38,000 gallons, and the waterfall is probably 40ft long with at least two places where the
water will (eventually) come out. So, we've spent the better part of this spring draining and cleaning the 2 1/2 feet of pond sludge and overgrown
aquatic plants.
<Yuck, what a project!>
The pond is now completely clean and empty. There are 7 drains that I had Roto-rootered, and they are clear (as far as I know). There is a
large faux rock that houses the old equipment (two waterfall motors, and a huge round filter(?) - maybe an old swimming pool filter). There are several
cracks in the waterfall cement - and crushed faux rocks. I've been trying to find someone (anyone) to repair these.
<Mmm, maybe better or even have to do yourself>
I'm not planning on having many fish (lots of predators in my neighborhood). I've had a couple of outrageous quotes
- pre- pond drain - but now I'm not sure what to do. Aside from repairing the cracks - should I test the current equipment?
<Yes... unless you plan to carte blanche replace it>
I'm pretty sure I'll need a new filter and a U.V. (whatever it's called). Anyway - someone put a lot of
thought into this pond many years ago, and I'm doing my best to resurrect it, but
I'm at a standstill. Any insight would be great!
Thanks !
Margot
<Mmm, I live in San Diego, and worked on many ponds here over the years... Where is this one exactly? You should do a good bit of investigating re gear... as much has changed over the years, especially the kwh cost of electricity... and technology for pond keeping. Bob Fenner> |
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Waterfall repair question
Mr. Fenner,
<Mike>
I read your articles on pond repair and have a question on the "other"
materials that can be used to seal a waterfall. I am in Hawaii so some
materials are hard to come by.
<I know... we own a house mauka of Kona... and visit there often>
Our waterfall has two basins that spill into the swimming pool. A liner was
used but there is a lot of leaching (white stuff, lime?) out of the grout
joints between the rocks.
<Mmm, you might want to consider trying to effect a repair/change here...
acid-washing the area, letting it dry and coating the rock... there are a few
materials that can be used here>
The top basin drains down a good 6 inches
overnight, mostly into the second basin which drains (or should I say leaks)
down an inch or two. There is also a little area on one side where the
waterfall was going to have a side path that was eliminated, and water leaks
into that area Looks like it is probably following the liner into that area
after it leak through whatever crack or defect there is.
<Okay>
The waterfall was built using a liner so we aren't losing the water, just
leaching/leaking it into the pool. Over the liner was a base of concrete
made from Hawaiian cement (not plastic cement) and a fine crushed rock, the
consistency of coarse sand. Rocks were set on it later. Then the
contractor plastered the basins with a sand, cement, and ad-mix mixture.
<Good explanation>
I would like to replaster the basins to try and stop the leaking. Is it o.k.
to use this type of mixture or should I try something else?
<If it were mine, I'd likely make a mix of plastic cement, sharp sand, oxide to
color to something akin to the rock and the aggregate... and a good dollop of
admixture (looks like white glue)... to make it stickier.>
Do I need to
acid wash before I do this?
<Yes, I definitely would... and of course let dry>
What is the white stuff leaching through the
grouted joints?
<Mainly calcium carbonate... with some calcium oxide and silicate>
Thanks for you help,
Mike
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>
Locating, fixing concrete fountain leaks
Gentlemen -
<Roger>
My housing addition (located in Nashville, TN) has a 40,000 gallon
decorative fountain with leaks and we desire to locate these leaks.
<... that's a fountain!>
The
fountains consist of 3 pools connected by two channels and they vary in
depth from 23 inches to 27 inches. The water is filtered by a large swimming
pool sand filter and is pumped into these pools by two 1.5 horsepower
electric pumps connected in series. There is one nozzle in the center of
each pool with the water projecting straight upward to 40 feet in the large
pool and 8 feet in the two smaller pools. The center pool is 50 feet in
diameter and the two side pools are 25 feet in diameter. The pools were
built in 1987 with concrete blocks which are filled with concrete and are
set on top of poured concrete pads. Approx. 1/2 inch of concrete paste was
placed on the sides and bottom of each pool and the two channels. The two
channels are 3 feet wide and approx. 25 feet long. We operate the fountains
all year and have maintenance performed weekly by a pool company which
performs backwashing and adds chemicals as required to keep the fountain
water clear & clean all year. The fountains are drained and cleaned 2
times/year. A "concrete patch" was applied to areas that looked suspect
about 5 years ago, but is flaking off the sides and bottom at the moment.
<All sounds fine except the method of construction... even in a region of stable
geology, there are going to be cracks, leaks in such a structure>
The fountains are a great asset to our neighborhood and have given our
addition a beautiful feature. At the moment we are loosing approx.1,500
gallons/day and the city water bill is making them prohibitive to operate.
<And dangerous possibly... depending on where the water is going, what it may be
doing>
We need advice as to what type of leak maintenance should be performed and
by whom.
Roger Mishler, pool maintenance coordinator
<There are a few general steps you might take here to render the basins
leak-free... from various coatings that can be applied by hand or machine, to
applying a liner/membrane over the existing structures and in essence, building
a new shell inside the current one... with wire and mortar of a few possible
mixes, added color... Without seeing this construct, I would opt for the most
conservative means here (the latter) as this will give you the most secure,
longest-lasting repair. Please see here re:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/concrepart.htm
and the Related Article and FAQs (linked, in blue, above). And feel free to
write me back if you have further questions, are looking for more input. Our
businesses effected several such repairs on basins of your size... not fun, but
necessary. Bob Fenner>
Help for leaking pond
Hi We have a cement pond in the yard which is starting to leak. There
appears to some hairline cracks in a few spots. We are looking for a
solution to this problem. A friend suggested spraying on rubberized truck
bed liner to stop leaks. Have you heard/tried this method of repair?
<Not as of yet... sounds like it could work... but kind of expensive as a
process>
What is
the easiest way do stop the leaks? Would a pond liner solve this problem?
Thanks, Steve
<Have an article here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/PondSubWebIndex/concrepart.htm
and the Related FAQs (linked, in blue, at top)...
that details steps of consideration, steps to completion... IF the basin is
stable, perhaps a coating will do the trick... Bob Fenner>
Thorite source FLA
Hi, I live in Nassau & wish to buy some Thorite to patch some damaged
concrete
areas, can you advise a suppler in the Miami area, thanks. Allan Winner.
<Try the search terms: Thoro products Florida
Bob Fenner>
Seeping pond
help! Last year we dug this part of the pond and had a liner in
it. This year we added to the size of the pond, removed the liner, and
concreted the whole thing.
<I wish, and I bet you'll agree, that you'd just added to the existing
liner rather than remove it... This is the proscribed method... and what
we (our businesses used to fabricate liners for this purpose, install
them...> used to do.>
The small part is app. 3--3 1/2 feet deep. I let the concrete cure,
then I have put 2 thick coats of a masonry waterproofing on, let cure
for the recommended 2 weeks. I fill up this part, which in turn flows
over the side rocks into the larger part. When this is filled (the
small part), within 11-12 hours, the water has seeped down to about 1
foot in the bottom. I can not find any active leaks and do not know
where the water is going.
As you can see the pond is dug in red clay as I live in East Texas where
this type of soil is pretty much predominant.
<I'll trade with you for our "soil" here in this part of Southern
California... which is about 1/3 clay, 1/3 boulders... and all
back-breaking to dig in... The leak problem... I would start with
pressure-testing your plumbing. Do you know how to do this? It might be
more economical to hire someone (likely in the swimming pool plumbing
biz) rather than buying your own test gear... Next, and maybe with the
same folks help, add a dye to the water, fill up the system and use a
colorimeter or more fancy spectrophotometer to try and detect where the
water is exiting... Do check around boulders that may penetrate the
apparent basins here (does the water slow or stop seeping at some
level?). At the very worst, do look into (posted on www.WetWebMedia.com
under the Pond Index/Section) how to effect a repair of your current
system with the placement, yes, of a liner over the existing work. Good
hunting! Bob Fenner> |
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