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Building an Above Ground Pond - How-To Sheet #280
Enhance your flower garden with a beautiful pond
To get started you will need the following tools and materials.
A Round Stake
A String Line
Measuring Tape
A Level
A Dead Blow Hammer
A Shovel
a Hand Compactor and Work Gloves
You will also need
90 York Blocks
30 Wall Caps
A pond liner that is six feet in diameter and eighteen inches deep
Two tubes of masonry adhesive
decorative pond rock
and crushed rock
To begin, place a stake in the center of where the pond location
measure the diameter of the pond liner and mark on the string on half of the diameter.
Tie the string to the stake and rotate it marking the ground for the liner.
York Blocks have a long side and a short side
the long side should face the outside of the pond
Temporarily place York blocks around the outside of the circle marked on the ground.
Adjust the blocks as needed to fit the design
Use a shovel to mark around the blocks where the sod and soil will be removed to construct the base.
Set the blocks aside, and remove the sod and three inches of soil in the area
where the blocks will be placed
if your design includes a decorative center sculpture or fountain
you will need to remove additional soil in this center to construct a stronger base
if electricity is required in your design be sure follow local
electrical codes
Next, prepare the foundation pad
place three inches of crushed rock in the excavated area
thoroughly compact with the hand compactor
and level the pad in all directions
a straight two by four and a level makes this easy.
Begin the base course by using a string to position the blocks.
Build the first two courses at the same time to ensure proper alignment
Check the blocks for level
making adjustments where needed.
Then add the last course of blocks
Put the liner in place
Now you are ready for wall caps.
You can choose to secure them in place with a bead of masonry adhesive along the side of the cap
and to both sides of the blocks.
wall caps have a long end and a short end
Place the long end facing the outside of the pond.
Add the pond rock to the bottom of the liner.
Now you are ready to add water and other ornamental accessories to customize your design
In just a weekend
enhance your landscape with a beautiful pond
that you can build yourself.
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