How to fill in a pond?

stilernin

I have been draining a pond in my new garden, (have young grandchildren and wanted the space) and am horrified at how much filling it will take. Where do I start? Pond is 5' x10' and 4' deep in the middle. Sides are steep so it'll take a lot of filling.

Some of the replies to susiesue about filling a new deep bed is useful, (I didn't want to hijack her thread), I can whizz around the garden and do some pruning, beg or steal old yellow pages, chuck the surrounding stones in.............. but what else could I use. I was thinking of getting a new washing machine, so I could....... perhaps not!! I don't want to confuse the archaeologists of the future.

There is a lot of carpet that was used against the soil, a black weed barrier (?) and the waterproof liner (not as heavy as the butyl) as well as the stones.

Soil is clay, the water still hasn't disappeared from the bottom and the top 12" is already cracking as it dries. I fear the carpet would hold too much water if I buried it.

Final problem? Every thing that goes into the back garden has to come through the garage and the kitchen.

Has anyone else tackled this before?

mcspanna

Hi,

I was part of a 'team' that did this for some friends last year (also on clay soil) we were dismantling paths and brick raised beds at the same time so we used all the concrete and brick to fill it to about 12 inches below the finished level (they only wanted to grow grass) and topped up with the old (what looked like) multi-purpose compost from the beds. We also didn't manage to drain the water completely either but made sure that the hardcore came to above the remaining water level (and generally bashed up the sides to make it drain as much as possible. We made sure that the compost was mounded up slightly so that it settled to roughly level with time.

TOP TIPS:
Remove every scrap of liner
puncture over the bottom and sides to break them up
remove as much excess water as possible with a bucket
don't fill it with anything that will absorb water (like carpet) unless you want to create a boggy planting area?

A year on, it has settled in well and is now a very well-usedn area for a swing/ see-saw for two small people. :beer:

stilernin

Thanks, some good tips there.

Shame your 'team' isn't in the NE. I am a singleton of a 'certain age' so I think this will be a project for a long time.

mcspanna

I didn't say we did it overnight we could only help at weekends and with an average of 3 adults working reasonably hard (but with previously mentioned small people also 'helping' or not as the case may be!) I think it took us about 5 reasonble length days work to get it done. If you could find a couple of fit, hardworking young men they could probably get a similar sized job done over a couple of days...we were easily bribed with food!

Best of luck :beer:

SEE

stilernin wrote: »

I have been draining a pond in my new garden, (have young grandchildren and wanted the space) and am horrified at how much filling it will take. Where do I start? Pond is 5' x10' and 4' deep in the middle. Sides are steep so it'll take a lot of filling.

Some of the replies to susiesue about filling a new deep bed is useful, (I didn't want to hijack her thread), I can whizz around the garden and do some pruning, beg or steal old yellow pages, chuck the surrounding stones in.............. but what else could I use. I was thinking of getting a new washing machine, so I could....... perhaps not!! I don't want to confuse the archaeologists of the future.

There is a lot of carpet that was used against the soil, a black weed barrier (?) and the waterproof liner (not as heavy as the butyl) as well as the stones.

Soil is clay, the water still hasn't disappeared from the bottom and the top 12" is already cracking as it dries. I fear the carpet would hold too much water if I buried it.

Final problem? Every thing that goes into the back garden has to come through the garage and the kitchen.

Has anyone else tackled this before?

If your local council composts its own green waste, they will sometimes let you have compost for as little as £28 per ton

stilernin

With no hard landscaping to pull down, the council compost might be a good route to try. How long will it take me to carry a ton through the kitchen in buckets do you think:eek:

I won't be needing the gym for a while will I?

whatatwit

I don't usually post here....but is your pond concrete lined, or has it got a plastic liner. I'm just thinking about future drainage.

What about Freecycle, there may be someone nearby that has some bricks/hardcore to dispose of.
Or, you could start hanging around the local tip :rotfl:

ixwood

Shame to lose such a nice sized pond. Is it too late to ebay it? I've seen them going on ebay for very good money on a come and collect it all basis. A pond that size would cost hundreds.

That'd also save a lot of the wildlife that's lurking in the bottom. And someone comes and takes it away!

That is a lot of volume to fill. I don't think bringing anything through the house in those amounts is practical. I think I'd put a fence round it instead and keep it. Or convert it too a bog garden by piercing the liner and leaving it for a couple of years to silt up.

How quick do you want it done and what do you want it to end up as? If you're not in a rush, you could just keep throwing any organic material you can find in. The only other thing I can think of is to deliberately grow something quick growing and keep chopping it and throwing it in the hole.

stilernin

I've seen some odd things on eBay, but never a hole in the ground............

As described, this was lined with carpet, fabric and thin waterproof membrane. If there had been a plastic liner to sell, I could have paid someone to do the job.

I knew I'd be in this for the long haul, (literally), but was looking for tips on the method really. Looks like I'll be skip diving and Freecycling for a while.

Thanks everyone.

shandypants5

stilernin wrote: »

I've seen some odd things on eBay, but never a hole in the ground............

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Maybe they have a point though.....

Find someone local who Does want a pond.

Help them dig it, and use the dirt to fill Your pond.

Not sure if you could charge them though.:rotfl:

scbk

Instead of filling it in, what about building over it with timber? Or keep it as a pond and put thick mesh over it for safety?