A few months ago, I was browsing a local pond and water garden site and answered a question asked by a woman named Sheila. She got back to me and asked if I could help with their new pond, which was part of a backyard makeover. Sheila and her husband Kelly wanted a formal raised […]
Read More
About a year and a half ago, I received a call from interior designer Lisa Bozak of Design Therapy here in Las Vegas. Her client was doing a backyard makeover that surrounded the back side of his swimming pool, and the new addition included a pool house with a Japanese-style tea house incorporated into the […]
Read More
Three months ago, I received a call from a previous client who said he needed to quarantine his fish and two turtles off-site for a year. This was unexpected, because he had just built his dream home — and his dream pond — in 2016. He had decided to build a new home and pond, […]
Read More
Just over two years ago, a former client contacted me about a new pond construction and design project. I had designed a 20,000-gallon pond for him and his wife about 10 years prior, and I figured he was calling about a pond issue. To my surprise, he had a new project coming up and asked […]
Read More
I’ve had calls in the past about turtles and turtle ponds, and I always try my best to advise people on any related construction needs. But I have to say that desert tortoises are a little different. A rule of thumb is that ponds built near a tortoise habitat should be raised or securely fenced […]
Read More
When the new owner of a yet-to-be-built home wants a koi pond and the house gets built around it, the pond shell is often the first concrete to be installed. This project started in late 2019 and finished in the spring of 2021. The pond is a trapezoid-shaped interior koi pond inside the home’s entrance […]
Read More
The aesthetic aspect of pond design incorporates many characteristics, such as edge treatment, spill or waterfall type, bridges and, sometimes, islands. Island construction can come in various forms depending on the technique, but the visual impact and the portion above the water line are usually all the customer is interested in. The designer or contractor […]
Read More
When it comes to pond concrete construction methods, there are several types to consider. One of the most common methods is using a rubber liner or other flexible sheet over dirt. This is by far the easiest, and when used in an area with very stable earth, it can work well over a long period […]
Read More
Circulation for ponds is an aspect of design that needs to be addressed early on. Many of us have had to assess a poorly performing pond only to determine that, even with good equipment, one of the main problems is poor circulation. This can be in the form of debris that collects in some areas […]
Read More
The water feature industry is relatively young when compared to most of the established trades within construction, so it’s not uncommon to see seminars at sales conferences that focus on the bidding of a project, selling a project and closing on a deal. No question, the initial pond project consultation should instill confidence in the […]
Read More