Toss a Penny in the Pond

March 19th, 2012 by
Actually, these homeowners tossed 3 million pennies in their pond to make their landscaping dream come true. Thirty grand isn’t a bad price for a water feature of this size and complexity. Here’s a blow by blow of the entire landscaping project. The first step was to shore up the steep hill sloping down toward the house in the backyard. Each stone was laid by hand. As long as the first few layers of stone have been set below ground level, this type of wall should be very reliable.

Building a Pond - Retaining Wall Construction

Because of the steepness of the grade, it took multiple walls on different levels to complete the area. You can see them in the background here. This approach allowed room for a large poured concrete patio that acts as a sundeck near the pool. Staining the concrete patio and steps was another DIY project. The variegated effect looks like natural sandstone. Here, you can also see the pond dug out and lined with a standard pond liner.

Pond Construction Project

The little outbuilding behind the waterfall conceals the saltwater pump that serves the pond. Since the water feature is located at the lowest point of the property, choosing a pond instead of a traditional pool was a smart move. Keeping the water crystal clear would be impossible since a certain amount of sediment and runoff will inevitably make its way down the slopes and over the retaining walls. Saltwater has greater buoyancy than freshwater, which makes it ideal for floating. The finished pond is 4 feet deep – plenty deep enough for lounging on a foam noodle at night underneath strings of Japanese lanterns.

DIY Pond Ideas