Hole in the Wallet Gang: The Bob

Click on any pic to enlarge it.

How it looks now (May 2011)

With a third arbor and a connecting covered walkway.

This was taken in early spring before we got started. Notice the contour of the yard made this a natural location for a water feature.

The grass has been removed and a trench dug that will hold the foundation for the stacked stone wall

The stacked stone wall has been built and I used a can of red spray paint to outline the shape of the lower pond and the waterway.

The lower pond is built up to the desired level. These cinder blocks have got to be substantially level. The upper blocks are laid loosely to define the waterway.

This is the structures for the lower and middle ponds and the lower waterfall. The lower pond has been dug out (THANKS for your help, Tom Cain!) and the removed dirt is used as fill dirt around it. The blocks inside the lower pond will support big rocks later. The blocks that bear the weight of the pond water are staked with steel rods and filled with concrete. They are going nowhere! The pump will operate from the niche at the top of the pic.

The waterway is formed from concrete blocks on the lower side and bags of dirt on the upper. See the white PVC pipe that will get water from the pump to the upper waterfall.

This will be the upper pond and waterfall. Water pumped from the lower pond will enter at the bottom of the large black container, pass thru several filters and then into the pond over the notch cut out on the front of the black box.

The "underlayment" is laid down to provide a cushion between the rocks, cinder blocks, roots, etc. and the vinyl that will be laid down next. With this protection the vinyl has a life expectancy of 40 years! We do NOT want leaks in the vinyl!

The vinyl is down and we have water!
The vinyl is extra heavy duty (0.040 mil). It is in two partially overlapping sections. The lower waterfall and pond was laid first followed by the second section that went from the upper pond and waterfall down to the lower waterfall. So the lower waterfall actually has two layers of vinyl. Ashley, Javi and Tom Cain helped me get all the vinyl in place. Thanks for your help!!!