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Estimates and Fees | A
Typical Project | The Design Process | Philosophy
From his experience, MR POND may be able to answer some of the those FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ's) you have concerning the sort of work
he does. His answers may point you in the right direction to understand what is happening
and correct problems. Please feel free to submit
questions of your own to MR POND. MR POND will select one, two or three questions
monthly to answer.
Pond Questions and Answers
Small Fountain Questions
Stonework Questions
Email Mr. Pond
PONDS
Q: What should I do concerning mosquitoes in my pond?
A: If the water in your pond is moving, mosquito larvae cannot survive.
Make sure there is no sitting water anywhere in your garden, including your pond.
Put in mosquito fish.
Q: Will I have problems with raccoons?
A: If your area has raccoons, they may discover your water garden. Raccoons
maraude fish and disturb plants. Ponds with vertical sides and no beachheads deter
intrusion. Bare in mind raccoons are nocturnal. Put your pond on a timer set to quiet
it at night.
Q: What about algae? Do I need a filter?
A: Algae exists everywhere; you cannot keep it out of your pond. You can
control it with a variety of filtration techniques as well as with chemicals. The
best type of filter for you depends on the nature of your pond.
Q: What is the reasonable lifespan of my concrete/liner pond?
A: The reasonable lifespan for both concrete and liner ponds is given at
roughly 15-20 years. However, as with many building products which are relatively
new to the market, the real operable lifetime of the products and materials of which
your pond is comprised is not truly known. A consistent maintenance regimen may or
may not extend the lifetime of your waterfeature.
Q: Do I need a pond maintenance regimen?
A: Yes. Regardless of the size or nature of your waterfeature, you
should understand its needs and attend to them as you would to your house or your
car. If you go into the design process with an appreciation for proper maintenance,
you can minimize the demand by building a pond to better suit your level of tolerance
for maintenance.
Q: I want a naturalistic waterfeature that flows into my spa/swimming pool.
Do I use pond or pool technology?
A: Any water that flows into a spa or pool must be treated using the filtration
of that spa or pool.
Q: Can I use chemicals in my pond?
A: You may choose to treat your pond with chemicals in order to improve
the water quality. Bare in mind that if your pond design included biological filtration,
you are overriding that part of the system by introducing chemicals and are better
off first checking that filtration to understand why it is not working to the extent
you would like. Some of the chemicals used to treat algae kill fish and aquatic plants.
Q: The pond loses water and seems to have a leak. When I fill it to the
top, the water drops overnight six inches. How do I troubleshoot this problem?
A: Generally speaking, the water in a pond stabilizes at the level of the
leak. In the example given, wait another day or two to ensure the water has truly
stabilized at six inches. If so, the chances are good the water is escaping somewhere
in the pond six inches down from the normal surface level. Good luck if there is
no fitting at that level.
Q: Water flow has decreased over the weeks. What's the problem?
A: The decrease in flow may be caused by a failing pump. It also may be
caused by a compacted filter element. Hard to say. Clean, and backflush the filter/pre-filter.
If necessary, replace the pump.
Q: Do I need a pond design prior to commissioning your work. If
so, what level of detail is necessary?
A: Yes and no. Without a design, I can work using my picture portfolio
to trigger some articulation of the pond you have in mind. If you have hired architects
or designers as part of the design process, they will have provided ideas, photos,
working drawings or renderings which I will utilize to install the pond. The level
of detail given by a design is more important to the integration of the pond to the
site (drainage, electrical, etc.) than to the pond proper, which is my domain.
Q: How much does a pond cost?
A: Ponds can be purchased from a few hundred dollars to many thousands
of dollars. My prices range from the mid four figures to high five figures.
Q: Where does your pond work end and my landscaper's work begin?
A: Good question. Often my work feathers out into the landscape and includes
steps, flagstone patios, chiseled walls and stretches of stream. My background as
a stonemason permits me to construct accents in stone as well as by using water.
I will work with you and your landscaping team to whatever extent we agree.
Q: How would I describe your style of waterfeature?
A: My ponds are riparian in nature and attempt to replicate that which
you might find on a stream bank or along a river. Quality is achieved when stone,
water and greenery come into balance. A mature pond relies on planting in and out
of the water to blur the margins and wed the water environment to the surrounding
landscape.
Q: My swimming pool has an automatic refill. Does my pond need one?
A: I do not recommend an automatic refill for three reasons:
1) If your pond develops a significant problem with water loss, it may waste a
significant amount of water before you are aware of it.
2) The automatic refill pumps tap water into the pond which has (in most areas) the
chemical chloramine in it which will sicken/kill your plants/fish.
3) It is not uncommon for the refill devices to malfunction. I recommend that you
address this maintenance issue during the design process. A refill line which is
not automatic may fit your needs.
Q: I've seen some of your sites which feature stonework as well as pond
work. is that work yours?
A: It might be. My background is as a stonemason. Which sites are you referring
to?
Q: Can I expect to lose water from my pond from evaporation?
A: Yes. Splash loss, wicking loss and evaporation loss are common and natural
in a ponds with moving water. More than one to two inches per week would arouse my
suspicion.
SMALL FOUNTAINS
Q: Last year I had a pre-frabricated, three-tiered lions head fountain
installed in my rear yard. It appears that the pump, which is submersed at the lowest
level, is not working effectively. The people who sold me the fountain do not do
repairs or maintenance. How do I replace the pump?
A: I have been called for maintenance on many fountain sites where the
owners were delighted upon installation, then despondent after maintenance issues
such as pump replacement arose. If your installer was not attached to the same business
which sold you the fountain, you are contacting the wrong party. If you had the advantage
of hindsight, you might have asked the installer prior to construction what he/she
would charge to replace the pump. This question might have stimulated the installer
to insure that the pump cord was not buried under the full weight of the three-tiered,
concrete fountain, that it was not buried under the freshly resodded lawn, and that
it would not be necessary to splice in a new pump under water in order not to drag
it out from under the fountain and lawn. Not that I've ever seen installers do such
things, mind you, but if they did construct a small fountain in such a manner, they
probably would not return your phone calls.
Q: My two-tiered fountain has unequal water flow from the upper basin.
Any ideas on the
problem and possible solutions?
A: Two things come to mind. Perhaps leaf litter is clogging one or more
of the ports through which the water flows. If so, adopt a more appropriate maintenance
regimen. If leaf litter is not the problem, check the top basin to see that it is
level all around the edge. It could be that fountain has sunk on one side shifting
the top basin out of level and ensuring unequal supply to the ports in the upper
basin. The fountain should have been placed on a concrete slab initially to forestall
this problem.
Q: My fountain has a frog which streams water into the basin. It worked
great initially but water barely flows now. What gives?
A: Your problem is common to many small water displays. When first installed,
your frog was capable of the most propitious projectile vomiting. The pump was fresh,
your water was clear and your lines were unchoked. Over time, leaves blew in, raccoons
washed off there and the water turned brown with debris. This junk was sucked to
the pre-filter or plastic screen (inline before the pump) and slowed the water flow
down a touch. Over time, it slowed down more and more with two results. The once
vital frog was totally enervated and regurgitated on his own webbed feet at the ponds
edge, thereby allowing water to trickle out of the pond, as a result your pump worked
harder and harder to pull water through the clogged screen of the pre-filter. Even
when the pond is thoroughly cleaned now, the pump is slow. Your frog is middle-aged.
Small outdoor water features demand rigorous maintainance from day one. The client
I know who has success with them has four and she cleans them all thoroughly once
a week. Even so, the pumps specified for the smallest fountains tend to have problems
and burn out on a regular basis.
Q: My wall mounted fountain is in constant need of refilling. I can see
water on the wall below it but have checked the lines and know they do not leak.
Help?
A: Your fountain may be suffering from splash when the wind picks up. Leave
the spill unplugged for a day, see if the water loss abates. If you experience no
loss with the fountain off, you have eliminated the basin as the problem. You've
already mentioned that the lines are okay. Ergo, the loss must exist between the
spill and the basin. Keep an eye on it on windy days. Bare in mind that very little
loss to the eye ( a drip here, some splash there) amounts to a significant amount
of percentage loss in a small basin over a short period of time.
STONEWORK
Q: I have seen examples of your wall work. No mortar shows. Is this work
dry laid?
A: Some is and some isn't. My sandstone walls are generally chiselled and
fit tightly. The retaining walls are gravity style and are not mortared. This allows
the stones to move as the soil moves and allows water through, preventing hydrostatic
build-up. The freestanding walls contain a slurry pour of mortar which is thin enough
to reach between the stones but not so thin as to reach the face of the wall. Ergo,
the faces appears dry laid. Some walls are veneers over concrete cantilever style
retaining walls. In this instance, the concrete work is engineered to hold back the
soil; the stone is simply cosmetic. Mortar is used to attach the stone to the concrete.
Q: You do placement of specimen stone for your water features. Are there
secrets to successful placement of boulders?
A: The prime concern for me is a thoughtful consideration of the stone
available. On even the smallest pond, I often take days to cull the stones necessary
to complete the job. Conversely, I do not ever order all the stones at one time unless
absolutely constrained by job logistics. If nearly every stone arrives at the site
already chosen for its energy and tension/ texture and color/shape and size, it will
find its place in the garden (or not) in a fairly fluid way.
If you are asking how I cull those stones, I can only tell you that it takes time
and thoughtful consideration. The accents which I provide in gardens often are not
"production" work whereby a certain square footage must be attained each
day. The work must reflect a closeness to and understanding of the plants, water
and stone with which the garden is constructed. Stones can provide a backdrop for
plantings or water movement, they can funnel vision to certain vital areas, they
can arrest visual movement on their own. Look for light and shadow. Look for balance
or lack of balance. Most importantly, take the time to thoughtfully consider the
character of the stone you will use. If you cull well, the stones will make you a
hero.
Q: How does a dry stack stone retaining wall work?
A: Mass and fit. The mass of the stone holds the weight of the slope behind
it if properly fit. Generally speaking, a dry laid stone retaining wall must be 2/3
as thick at the base as it is tall: a 24" wall should be 16" thick at the
base, a 3' high wall 2' thick at the base. Additionally, the stones which make up
the wall should be joined such that each vertical joint is overlapped by the stone
just above it. Every three to five feet along the face of the wall, stones which
might otherwise have their greatest surface stretching along the face (called "stretchers")
should have those greatest surfaces heading back in and through the wall. These are
called "headers", and provide transverse bonding to stabilize the wall.
The interior stones off the face of the wall should be well fit. If not and if laid
into the wall at obtuse angles, weight on them focuses force rather than absorbing
it. There is more to this but let's stop here.
Q: Any secrets to flagstone laid in sand?
A: There are two keys to laying flagstone.
First, choose the largest stone you can move. Thickness should be an inch and a quarter
to three inches (thinner may break, thicker is too difficult to move and is a waste
of money).
Secondly, prep carefully prior to installation. Insure that your sand is contained
and cannot be washed from under the stone; then wet and screed the sand several times
prior to dropping your stones in place.
Q: What is "flagstone"?
A: Flagstone is any relatively flat stone which when laid flat side up
can be used as a paving material.
Q: I would love to have an entry of large stone steps. I don't see many.
Why is this?
A: Primarily cost. Generally, it is much easier and quicker to veneer a
concrete walkway and steps with flagstone than to place large flagstones and monolithic
step stones. There are some liability issues with larger stones that aren't thoroughly
dressed.
Q: My stone vendor sold me a load of stone which I worked my way through.
When I returned to purchase more to finish my project, they no longer had the same
stone in stock and they said they might not have it in again. What gives?
A: More than ccasionally, some stone is retailed which represents a vein
or a quarry which is about to be depleted. It is always a good idea to ask about
future availability when you buy your stone, caveat emptor.
Q: How do you shape stone for your chiselled walls?
A: Neat question. If large stone is culled, it can be cut into blocks using
plugs and feathers (shims and wedges). Those large blocks can be rough dressed further
using hand tools such as tracers and hand sets. Finished dressing takes place with
chisels, points, mash hammers and the like.
Q: When doing wall work, do you mix your own mortar or do you use pre-mixed
sacks?
A: I do it both ways depending on site circumstances. My normal mortar
mix is 3:1 sand to cement with a dollop of lime.
Q: Am I crazed to do my own stone work?
A: I will try to respond with the short answer: One needs several credentials
to become even a mildly decent stonemason. These credentials exclude intellectual
brilliance, trust fund attachments, great sociability and any connection with the
fashion industry. It does include a sense of where you are, a moronic stubbornness
in the face of great physical stress, an eye for texture, size and shape, and the
godgiven capacity to talk with stone. The only connection it has to the world of
the non-professional part-time enthusiast is that we both need our week-ends free:
one for recovery, one for discovery.
Actually, you can really, but be prepared for the lambasting your body will take.
It may take years for you to talk to stone.By that time, you will have run through
several masseusses and your family will have a place for you in "that home".
Q: Have you pre-conceived design considerations when undertaking wall work
or do you simply lay in the stone?
A: Yes and no.
Yes: Thoughtful consideration for distributing mass, color, texture and shape
will keep a wall in balance and allow the eye to travel over it uninterruptedly.The
type of stone should be chosen and individual stones should be culled with this in
mind.When delivered to the site, stones should be laid out on the ground so that
visual inventory may take place every morning.
No: Often in the heat of battle, the wall breathes in life of its own.You
pick up the material, you lay the material and let the stone lead you where it will.
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