# Resuming Construction (or, Pond Liner Repair for Dummies)



## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Well, at long last, I can resume construction of my backyard layout around our partially-installed pond & waterfall (and eventual fake mountain). I had installed a pre-formed pond liner a couple of years ago, and shoveled unscreened dirt around it without filling it with water. Well, that was a BAD IDEA. The pressure of the dirt & rocks against the empty pond liner caused it to deform inwards, and a crack in the liner resulted:










Our economic woes are no different than most others, and since my wife lost her job last year things have been very tight. So, in short, we couldn't afford to buy a new pond liner and I had to find a way to fix this one. So, I drilled 1/4-inch holes at each end of the crack to try to stop it from spreading, then cut up some orphaned plastic lids for a kind of sandwich to apply against the crack, using Liquid Nails and many machine screws/nuts/lockwashers:











While the Liquid Nails was drying, I then dug out the area the pond liner was to be re-installed into, and screened out all the rocks so that only sifted dirt would be surrounding the pond liner:





















I re-installed & leveled the repaired pond liner, and made sure dirt was inserted into all the blind areas & under the undercuts for support:











I placed 50-pound bags of sand in the bottom of the pond liner to simulate water to help prevent distortion until I can finish the scenery surrounding the pond & waterfall... I can't put water in the pond until the scenery behind it is finished, and I can't finish the scenery behind the pond until the pond liner is reinstalled... Catch-22 at its finest!


I used some leftover PVC conduit to try to help keep the pond liner from distorting again while I finish the scenery behind the pond liner:











So far, so good...


I hijacked one of Marty Cozad's threads explaining how I had to create even more work for myself while working on the scenery behind the pond liner; I'll just post a link instead of regurgitating my stupidity:
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/9/postid/108505/view/topic/Default.aspx


I have carted out about 23 wheelbarrow-loads of rocks from the layout area (nearly 4 full truck-bed loads!):











Luckily, an organization I am associated with that is not too far from where we live wanted the rocks for erosion control, so they were the lucky recipients of nearly 4 pickup-truck bed loads...glad I have a 1-ton with a diesel!!

I had to backhaul a bedload of sifted dirt to replace the volume of rocks I removed...it's been a LOOOOOOOONG spring...


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

After Reading about all this work I am so tired that I can not respond so I am going to go lay down and rest.

Oh yea.....Neat idea for the repairn


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

John, 

LOL! You have no idea how much work this has proven to be....the rocks & gravel have been the most work so far. 

I wish I could just purchase a new pond liner instead of having to repair the old one...but, well, I'm in the same boat as many others here financially/economically. So I have to make do with what we have. Luckily, I get to scrounge through the garbage dump at work, and have recovered lots of different types of plastic sheeting used in signwork; I'm hoping to use that as the inside skeleton for buildings I want to construct later. 

I just hope that my "cheap fix" actually holds up...I'm thinking that as long as there is little flexing going on once the water is filled, then it should be okay...


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

As mentioned above, I've dug out quite a bit of rocks & gravel; the volume is staggering, considering the small area that our layout will occupy. BUT, plants & trees don't grow well in rocks, so I've been spending most of the Spring months digging & sifting out rocks from our soil. I dug out the entire length of our rear planter box, where the layout will occupy with its 3 tracks (2 45mm, 1 32mm). In the meantime, we've planted a small vegetable & fruit garden in the first areas that were sifted rock free, to take advantage of the time it will take me to get the pond & waterfall completed and finally start laying tracks (hopefully by this winter).

At the opposite end of the pond area, here is a pic of some of the final rock digging & dirt sifting:










I've dug completely into the slope, being careful not to dig under the block wall foundation, and digging down to a 8-10" depth. The area in the foreground has been all dug out & sifted free from rocks. You can see the vegetables taking over while they can, as it will be many more months before any track work is done in this area.


Here it is completely backfilled with sifted dirt, ready for future trackwork:










In the left foreground is Cocoa, the Amazing Fly-Catching Puppy (6 months old & my shadow wherever I go!).


Looking back at the area above from the pond/waterfall area:










In the left foreground is the back side of the fake mountain containing our waterfall; it has become a rock & junk storage area over the past 3 years, but once the waterfall is done & operational, I'll turn my attention to this area.


The back corner, opposite of the pond & waterfall:










The entire area has been dug up & sifted free from rocks; that is simply sifted dirt mounded up in storage. I built a planter area for the climbing rose bush seen in the upper part of the photo with retaining wall blocks, and extended the irrigation piping into the planter box. Buried underneath the dirt in the center of the picture is the stub end of the irrigation piping. The mound of dirt will soon be removed and replaced with a smaller rock-wall planter for a fruit tree.


*And now for a Blast From The Past, what I started with in December 2005:*










The whole thing was infested with rocks, but they're all gone now! All I have to do now is finish the pond & waterfall area, build a bridge over the pond, and then I can start completing the fake mountain behind the waterfall and lay track!

Whew!


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## Biblegrove RR (Jan 4, 2008)

is that all? HOLY MOLY I thought I had it bad. I take this as proof that you are one heck of a train enthusiast for sure. To go through all this rebuild for a train is very commendable. Thanks for the post, how many shovels did you go through? lol


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

You can get a pond repair piece, clean the old one good, peel off the backing and press it into place, pretty simple.


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Biblegrove RR on 07/01/2009 7:21 AM
is that all? HOLY MOLY I thought I had it bad. I take this as proof that you are one heck of a train enthusiast for sure. To go through all this rebuild for a train is very commendable. Thanks for the post, how many shovels did you go through? lol


Hahaha, still have the 2 I've had for about 15 years now...both wtih synthetic handles (one spade, one flat-blade). Still withstanding the tests of time & desert sun.

But I've gone through several hand rakes & trowels, as well as dozens of pairs of gloves!


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 07/01/2009 4:32 PM
You can get a pond repair piece, clean the old one good, peel off the backing and press it into place, pretty simple.


Thanks Jerry!


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Caught a shot of one of our resident pest eradication specialists today:










So far I've counted about 5 of these little guys scurrying around the garden & future pond area. Cute little buggers!

This guy above was stalking a wasp; when the wasp buzzed down by the corn stalks, this guy followed it and when it got close, the lizard actually leaped off the wall for the wasp but just barely missed it! DARN!! Go lizards go!!!


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Warren:
I feel your pain (both "emotional" and "back"). I'm in the midst (premature to say "middle" yet) of a major DIY re-landscaping project which has involved many, many wheelbarrows full of dirt and hundreds of retaining wall blocks for planters. Reading your post just reminds me of what's in store for me for this weekend. A massage on Monday morning really helps!

Looks like a Western Fence Lizard in your last shot. I love those little guys and their relatives. You'll probably get even more of them around when your layout is semi-finished, since the rocks and plants give them the habitat they like. Just keep any cats away - they're death on lizards.


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim, 

Thanks for the encouragement! I actually enjoy the dirt & rock moving parts, as well as placing the retaining walls & whatnot....what sucks is having to go back & re-do what I've already done! The screen install is pretty fun too, that is the 3/8" wire mesh...the thin window screen mesh is what is really bogging me down and taking FOREVER.... BUT: I went to Harbor Freight Tools today & picked up some safety wire pliers for $11.99/each, they will greatly help speed up tying down the window screen to the wire mesh: 











Just remember, every little step is a step closer to completion!

PLUS, when you start constructing all your planter boxes, you are CREATING something tangible & positive, bringing part of your imagination (or your wife's imagination) to life. That is the most gratifying part for me. Or so I keep telling myself!

Good luck! I want to see pics when it's done...


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Sacred Manure....I have been looking for safty wire pliers for a long long time. I never thought of Habor Freight. Thanks for the tip. I got lots of Lizards in the desert. I got a Chuckwalla.( that may not be spelled right. Any way I cant catch him on the tracks to take a picture. He is too fast. But that would look kewl if I could catch nim on the tracks.


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

I tried out the safety wire pliers yesterday, and they worked GREAT! What a difference they made for less than $10!! I will be able to get much more done in less time now. WHEW!!


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

Posted By silverstatespecialties on 02 Jul 2009 11:06 PM 
Jim, 

Thanks for the encouragement! I actually enjoy the dirt & rock moving parts, as well as placing the retaining walls & whatnot....what sucks is having to go back & re-do what I've already done! 


Just remember, every little step is a step closer to completion!

PLUS, when you start constructing all your planter boxes, you are CREATING something tangible & positive, bringing part of your imagination (or your wife's imagination) to life. That is the most gratifying part for me. Or so I keep telling myself!

Good luck! I want to see pics when it's done...


Yeah, I actually enjoy doing it, too - the physical labor is a welcome contrast from my office job. Agree 100% on the re-do part - I like to have things designed to the point where that won't happen, but that is impractical with this kind of work and it's more important to get started and get something done and suffer a few do-overs than to design to death and never get it built.

The planters I've completed so far are indeed motivation to keep at it, and help with the long-term vision thing. The train area comes at the tail end of the project, which also serves as some incentive to get the rest done. That, and the fact that most of the yard looks like crap right now! My son pointed out that you can see the large dirt pile in our yard on Google satellite view. It's something like 10 cubic yards, just removed from where I've excavated for pavers and built a couple planters. Amazing how fast it adds up. I'll be adding several more cubic yards to it from the planter area I'm currently working on. It will be used for fill in the railroad area and for adding 3D topology to portions of the yard. At the rate I'm going, I figure I'll be pretty close to retirement by the time I'm ready to do actual railroad construction, and I don't have much free time to spend on trains in the meantime, so it should work out just about right!


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

****SIGH****

All the work in the photos above has been removed & dismantled; we had to short-sale the house due to my wife's job loss nearly 2 years ago, and we've gone through all of our savings & investments trying to stay in the house long enough for our daughter to graduate high school. She just started college at UNLV, and we moved into another home we were able to purchase via our Credit Union over Labor Day weekend. It was the most difficult & time-consuming move I've ever done! I started packing & dismantling all my custom workshops & cabinets in early March 2010, and still had to scramble at the end to get everything moved to the new home.

But the good news is that our new home, while smaller inside than our previous one, has a MUCH larger yard: a full quarter-acre! And with a pool to boot. It's total "Old-School," everything was built in the late 60s and early 70s. I hope to start on our new garden railway next spring or summer, once I get a garden shed built in the back yard to store my locomotives & rolling stock in. FINALLY, things are looking up for us!

I am considering running water on the new railroad, but would like to plumb it inline with our pool so I don't have to separately filter & clean it... My wife said to forget it & focus on more rocks, plants & shrubs instead.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Hey Mark 
Sorry to hear you had to move. I am struggling to stick it out till Jan when I can get my SS. Been Nipping at my IRA to keep afloat. When you start you new RR Keep us informed with pictures. 

JJ


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## silverstatespecialties (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks John! Our "new" home is more than 40 years old, but at least it has all copper wiring & copper piping, so fixing/remodeling is a snap. I've got 2 complete bathrooms to remodel, a few new doors, lots of electrical outlets & light switches left to replace. Plus some painting in a couple of rooms (most have already been done before we moved in). 

The electrical panel is new; 2 weeks ago we lost power & smelled smoke...one of the electrical supply wires came loose & arced itself into oblivion, nearly taking the house with it! Of course it happened around 6:30pm on a Sunday evening; by the time I purchased a new box & new circuit breakers, and installed everything with the help of my Dad, it was nearly 3am and I had to go to work several hours later. But at least that won't happen again! 

*So please folks: tighten ALL your electrical connections in your home's circuit breaker box (after cutting off main power, of course) every few years!! Especially if you live where you have lots of temperature extremes (aluminum wiring is the worst for expansion/contraction).* 

With the size of my new yard and projected size of our future layout, I am now strongly considering battery power instead of track power...the initial cash outlay is a bummer for the battery packs & chargers, but I won't have to worry about running conduit & electrical wires all over our 1/4-acre yard. And with all of our mature trees I won't have to worry as much about conductivity issues in the track either.... Ah, decisions, decisions!


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

Interesting thread. I've got to repair/replace a small fiberglass pond that leaks. I'd understand better what you did if the photos had something to do with your construction, and not a bunch of live steam trains. Am I the only one who does not see your construction pix?


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Dick, VS corrupted our photo files and in their wisdom have replaced actual pics with others. To my knowledge no thread was left original.
Some folks even got 'new' pics of themselves ...


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