So, as some of you may recall, I've retired, and am now concentrating on bringing an wild allotment back into shape, and making our new garden beautiful. Having learnt from seeing so many old people trying to look after gardens and houses that are way too large, we moved house to a small garden (around 7m x 5m in total) - but it is on 3 distinct levels.
On the top level I want a sort of open Italian tye garden, with a narrow Rill running down the length, that will then fall around 1.5m into a pond at the front.
Now for the questions - Does anyone on here know what I need to do in terms of plumbing for this, the surface level groundworks are obvious, its the stuff that is underground and the like I need help with. There is obviously a pipe under the 5m length to feed the Rill, other than that questions like does the pump go in the bottom - what sort of size pump is likley to be required - all kinds of questions.
The garden is in SW Wiltshire
Thanks
Adam
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Replies
adam i hav never built one but your pump needs to be at the bottom and have a head capable of pumping it back up the 1.5 mts with enough flow per miniute to produce the flow down the rill
you will need a sump at the top for the pump to discharg into the pond will have to be big enough to allow for the water thats in the rill and not drain the pond (allow for some evaparation(
also dont back fill the pipe trench till you have evrthing working as it should
Thank you Dave... that all sounds fairly obvious now you put it in black and white - my old brain was getting confused - the first job though is to get rid of the buddleia in the corner. It doesnt fit with the plans AND the wife hates it. That alone is going to take a while... and is a job that will not start until it has finished flowering, and we've worked out what will go in its place, to screen next doors upstairs window.
I'm just praying its all easy digging, and I do not discover rock a few inches under the surface - time will tell on that one!
Hi Adam Hope you are enjoying retirement 😀
Worth checking out pond guru on YouTube lots of good advice on here on building ponds and cascades etc .
Hmm - thank you, I'll have a look.
Re retirement, well I suppose it has started, but it certainly is not anywhere near daytime TV!! Today for instance is stripping wallpaper and removing loose plaster for a plasterer to (hopefully) appear on Monday to get the bathroom ready for a bath to be installed... the good thing is last week in the extreme heat I just laid around and did nothing for 2 days... but am now behind on other stuff. Then, when the house is OK it will be the garden and allotment - it will then probably be next Spring!
Use a garden hose & a bucket to work out the flow rate. Get a pump that delivers well above this rate. I would try to use one piece of liner for the whole run to ensure that it's totally leak proof. Also put a lip at the waterfall so that the rill doesn't empty when the pump is off.
That's quite a drop so you would want to allow for splashing & the noise will make some people want to pee :)
You're not starting with a straighforward project there! Lots of stuff you can read up on but the important thing is- if water can get out, it will. It will creep between layers of liner etc looking for a low point so be very careful- folding the surplus on a corner left or right can be the difference between success and failure. Leave you liner oversized until you've had it full and running, and only then cut to size. You'll be amazed at how much you need to leave around joins etc. A tiny escape can empty a pond in 24 hours!
Thank you Peter and Tim
I have the liner for the Rill - purchased a few years ago ... one very long piece about 2m wide...and yes, I'm trying to think around the risk that noise of the fall isn't "distracting". Maybe the waterfall will have to be broken into a couple of sections - I think that will require experimentation onsite. Give it a year and a picture will be posted when I get it working - the great thing about this is there is no client (other than the wife) wanting it finished in a given timescale / budget :)
This is not much help, but why don't you leave the buddleia? It looks the same colour as a couple I have; both of them smell like pure honey! Why do wives always hate things that aren't neat and tidy? 🤔
Totally agreed Paul.... but I have already learnt that being retired means the "to-do list" is not just mentioned at the weekend.... but every day :(