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  1. #1

    Arrow Wanted - Design/Plans..

    Hi all, I want to build a raised brickwork pond. Problem is I’ve never built one before neither has my mate who will do the brickwork!!

    Is there anywhere where I can get a list of everything needed, plans etc? I wanted to have a 10ft x 8ft by 3.5ft deep.


    All help is appreciated.


    Cheers,


    Jim



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  3. #2
    Have a look through the pond build diaries. There are quite a few different designs on there.

    Cheers Richard
    Cheers
    Richard


    Pond build in progress.

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  5. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion andikoi's Avatar
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    you need 7n dense blocks laid on there sides for the inner walls,for the amount just google block calculator,you will need enough for a 36ft long x 3 1/5 deep, if your having a liner id get a box weld one so you dont have any creases,believe me ive had 2 flat liners in my previous ponds and getting it into corners is a nightmare,also deffo a bottom drain and skimmer,hope this helps a little,also you want a good foundation for it all to sit on,id put a 6-8" slab down,and i'd go 4ft not 3 1/2,even if you sink some into the ground,andi

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  7. #4
    Perfect, thanks mate.


    jim

  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai dc197's Avatar
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    You don't need to lay the blocks flat. That's just belt and braces.
    I have a pond made of blocks and a liner, slightly deeper than yours, with blocks laid the normal way and then loosely back filled with earth. Perfectly strong enough.

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  10. #6
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Grand Champion Andre Asagi's Avatar
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    ^ The pond the OP wants is an above ground pond though. So no backfilling possible. I have seen arguments claiming single skin blocks are enough but why take the chance?

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  12. #7
    Agreed. I would never build a pond single skin and backfill with earth. I would however backfill with concrete as long as there was a solid 8" plus all the way around. This is how I will be doing my build next spring.

  13. #8
    Only to ground level....9" face brickwork above. Flemish bond is nice for gardens and is strong.

  14. #9
    7nwtn blocks is stated, these are normally concrete, however you can get 7nwtn celcon or similar, stick with fenlights or dense concrete regardless of nwtn, as a general rule of thumb the height of any retaining wall is 4:1 if you wish to build a retaining wall say to hold back 4' it must be 1' thick at the base, however if the retaining wall is 'submerged' in earth acting against it the height is calculated from GL up, all blocks are 10 blocks per sqr mtr, unless laid flat then 20 per sqr mtr, what is the finish going to be? glass fibre? Render? Liner? The base is concrete, 8" is excessive, house foundations are built on a minimum 9" thick concrete by 600mm wide, the base for a pond is not a point load therefore concrete thickness can be reduced if re-in forced pending ground conditions,,


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  15. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by dc197 View Post
    You don't need to lay the blocks flat. That's just belt and braces.
    I have a pond made of blocks and a liner, slightly deeper than yours, with blocks laid the normal way and then loosely back filled with earth. Perfectly strong enough.
    Agree, however when backfilling with earth don't loose fill, fill then compact or flood the earth which will have same affect Wanted - Design/Plans..


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  17. #11
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    A potential weak point of the build is where the first course of concrete blocks joins the concrete slab. Unlike house building, there is an awful lot of outwards pressure on the blocks here since it is right at the bottom of the pond. Builders who build houses not ponds seem to base their recommendations on an assumption of the main weight on the blocks being downwards. This is not true of a pond, so be careful who you take advice from.

    I backfilled the first few inches with concrete to make absolutely sure there could be no movement. On the wall with the window I backfilled with concrete all the way up to ground level. Did I need to do this? No idea, but I really don't care. It was trivial to do at the time. People who take the mick out of 'over-engineering' are not the ones who are going to come and help me rebuild my pond (and pay for it) if anything gave way are they?

  18. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai dc197's Avatar
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    I housed my fish in a plastic paddling pool for several weeks. It was made of 0.5mm cheap Chinese plastic. It withstood 2 feet of water depth pressure just fine.

    This is why I think upright concrete blocks covered in either 1mm of liner or 1mm of fibreglass will be strong enough for a 3.5 foot pond.
    It was strong enough for my 4foot pond before I backfilled.

    I agree that for peace of mind it's worth going tougher, I'm just saying it's not necessary and my pond demonstrate s it.
    Last edited by dc197; 07-11-2017 at 12:59 PM.

  19. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Scotts koi's Avatar
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    Did i go a bit nuts on the coni
    Attached Images Attached Images

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  21. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Scotts koi's Avatar
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    Footings then a full block slab
    Attached Images Attached Images

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  23. #15
    Hi all, still going backward and forwards on pond, either going 2m x 2m x 1m wooden pond or I get built a 8ft x 6ft x 4 ft.

    If I go down the root of going with brickwork, how do I calculate how my bricks I need if I build it with the blocks on their side?


    thanks,


    Jim
    Last edited by JimmyMature; 19-11-2017 at 07:45 PM.

  24. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Scotts koi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimmyMature View Post
    Hi all, still going backward and forwards on pond, either going 2m x 2m x 1m wooden pond or I get built a 8ft x 6ft x 4 ft.

    If I go down the root of going with brickwork, how do I calculate how my bricks I need if I build it with the blocks on their side?


    thanks,


    Jim
    Hi 2 bricks 2 1block!! Go with a brick build pond!!

  25. #17
    Member Rank = Tosai j1m's Avatar
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    hi
    6 inch re enforced crocrete base is best , cocrete cracks when it drys and the re enforcement bars help to reduce this.
    put reed bar from base re enforcement up behind the block work single skin then back fill with concrete to ground level.
    brickwork fro ground level up on outside , block work inside and fill void with concrete with the reed bar in the middle.
    isulate the inside ??? and then fibre glass.
    my pond 20 years old no problem and no worries but did no insulate but you cant do everthing right with out advise.
    might seem expensive but not as expensive as throwing the whole lot away and the loss of a dream.
    do it once do it right that is my advice

  26. #18
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimmyMature View Post
    Hi all, still going backward and forwards on pond, either going 2m x 2m x 1m wooden pond or I get built a 8ft x 6ft x 4 ft.

    If I go down the root of going with brickwork, how do I calculate how my bricks I need if I build it with the blocks on their side?


    thanks,


    Jim
    I managed to calculate the block number on my pond pretty accurately- I think I had 3 left over out of hundreds.
    Simple to do if you know the size you are building- I can thoroughly recommend making the wall dimensions multiples of whole blocks so you can build entire courses without having to cut any!
    Just work out how many blocks there would be in one course, then how many courses (deducting some for the window orifice if you're having one). This is for laying them flat on their sides:

    A standard 7N concrete block is 440mm x 215mm x 100mm.
    Allow for a 15mm mortar gap between each one and each course.

    8 foot = 2.44m
    5 blocks with 15mm mortar joints would be 2260mm (2.2m)
    6 blocks with 15mm mortar joints would be 2715mm (2.7m)
    5.5 blocks (so one block starts one of the side walls at one end of the row) would be 2490mm (2.49m - just over 8 foot).

    6 foot = 1.82m
    4 blocks with 15mm joints would be 1805mm (1.8m)
    4.5 blocks with 15mm joints would be 2035 (2m )

    So to get very close to 8 foot by 6 foot (slightly more than 6) and use only whole blocks you would have 5.5 blocks x 4.5 blocks
    This is a total of 18 blocks per course.
    You obviously lay the next course with a half-bond (so no joins are on top of each other) and you still don't need to cut any blocks at all.

    Height wise if you went for 4 foot (1.2m) allowing for mortar joints (including below the 1st course) can be done in 11 courses to give 1.26m.

    So total number of blocks you would need is 18 x 11 = 198
    I would order a couple spare incase you break one etc.
    You could deduct some for window orifice. It is actually very easy to pick up single blocks at B&Q etc. if you did find you suddenly needed a small number more.
    Last edited by Feline; 23-11-2017 at 02:23 PM.

 

 

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