if it leaked just raise pigs in the pond. they will compact the soil and their poop helps seal too. all clay is, is extremely fine particles. pig poop is made of things finer then sand, just like clay... so their poop will clog up any sandy soil that leaks. also fertilizes the new pond so whatever plants do grow in it will provide more nutritious feed for any aquatic critters in the pond.
If I dig in sandy loam material how thick of a clay layer would you recommend as a sealer Local guy said he sells 10yds for $80. I was thinking on a 50ft x 100ft max size pond. Sodium bentonite is another option but would be more costly. I dug a hole 8ft by hand and hit sand stone, I may get a backhoe to go a bit deeper so see what lays deeper. Cool video
I would recommend 8-10” clay liner minimum to make sure you cover and seal any possible leaks or gaps, and have a plan to fill the pond as fast as possible after it’s clay lined so the liner doesn’t dry and crack. You can probably get away with spreading the clay a lot thinner, just depends on how good your operator is to spread it.
@@TomBrueggen I finally got a backhoe and went 10ft deep and was just sandy loam. We dug a 25 x 25 ft mini pond to add about 8 inchs of clay. If the pond holds we will do the full size pond 150 x 60 ft. Clay is expensive due to being out of town over 10 miles.
Good video, even though the results were not what you had hoped for. It helps others to understand why this pond couldn't retain water, at least initially. I'll be installing a similar-sized pond in soil with minimal clay content so will likely have the appropriate Bentonite hauled in to create a liner. Again, thanks a lot for posting. Good information.
Good video showing the basic process. My only advice would be to not go rounding corners that the owners had staked themselves as square. They may have had reasons for wanting a square corner, so it's probably best to check with them before modifying their design, unless of course they'd already disclosed to you it was ok for you to take design liberties. Also, just casually speaking, the reason they may have wanted the pond further on top of the hill than your recommendation, is because hill top ponds will usually remain cleaner than retention ponds situated downhill, as the latter type will fill with sediment and debris after heavy rains. I appreciate the upload and may peruse your video library for more similar content. Take care!
Hi thank you for your video! I have a question, we are have a gunite pool installed and they just broke ground. The first 2 feet is clay soil then sand all the way down. Is this a problem for us? I don't know if I fully trust my builder :/
Well I can’t speak from experience in this particular situation, but if the sand is well compacted and can’t shift in the future I wouldn’t be worried. My concern is if the sand gets saturated then it could possibly shift and then not support the concrete walls of the pool and cause tensile situation and crack the concrete liner or the pond. I may be overthinking it but there’s a worst case scenario in my mind. Maybe ask them to beef up the rebar and concrete thickness for some peace of mind.
Any updates on this pond yet? I just had a pond dug and it too has more sand than clay. The clay that does exist is more of a gray clay also. I’m planning to have clay brought in the try and line the pond.
Recent major rain event got him about half full. He still Has less catch than I’d like. I tried to tell him not to put his pond on top of a hill but hey, what more can I do? 😁
Wow I guess any good job is one you get paid for but a lot to be desired as far as grading I just like how you shifted the blame of the non functional pond on the land owner. Kudos
Well good luck to you if you want a pond! This particular pond never held. The client finally invested in bentonite to line it and immediately filled it with water. That got him up about halfway and holding. Thanks for watching.
Well thanks for watching! Tractor and blade is no way to dig a pond. I watched my neighbor spend several days using his tractor and front end loader to dig a hole that would have taken me less than an hour with my Excavator
@@TomBrueggenI did some testing with a auger hand tool I made and clay is 17 to 18ft below sandy loam. Whould it be ideal to dig that deep to remove 200 yards of clay with an excavator. I can order 40k lbs of sodium bentonite for about $5000 these days. Well my small test pond is doing OK just want to go bigger.
@@cutweldngrind how far did you go into clay? My question is if you have somewhere to go with all that sandy loam, and then do you have enough clay to round out the bottom and line all the sides? The problem with the pond in this video was no significant clay to be had. What little bit we sorted out was smeared as a thin liner but then it dried and crack before we got a good rain.
Hey Cut Weld N Grind where are you located as you seem to have the same issue as I do here in central FL with the sandy loam soli. Dug a pond be haven’t gone to next step of lining with clay
if it leaked just raise pigs in the pond. they will compact the soil and their poop helps seal too. all clay is, is extremely fine particles. pig poop is made of things finer then sand, just like clay... so their poop will clog up any sandy soil that leaks. also fertilizes the new pond so whatever plants do grow in it will provide more nutritious feed for any aquatic critters in the pond.
true, you can also use ducks
Wow, thank you for this info!! Love it
If I dig in sandy loam material how thick of a clay layer would you recommend as a sealer Local guy said he sells 10yds for $80. I was thinking on a 50ft x 100ft max size pond. Sodium bentonite is another option but would be more costly. I dug a hole 8ft by hand and hit sand stone, I may get a backhoe to go a bit deeper so see what lays deeper. Cool video
I did a soil test like I saw on UA-cam and my soil is approx 25% silt, 25% Clay and 50% sand at 6ft dept.
I would recommend 8-10” clay liner minimum to make sure you cover and seal any possible leaks or gaps, and have a plan to fill the pond as fast as possible after it’s clay lined so the liner doesn’t dry and crack. You can probably get away with spreading the clay a lot thinner, just depends on how good your operator is to spread it.
@@TomBrueggen I finally got a backhoe and went 10ft deep and was just sandy loam. We dug a 25 x 25 ft mini pond to add about 8 inchs of clay. If the pond holds we will do the full size pond 150 x 60 ft. Clay is expensive due to being out of town over 10 miles.
Good video, even though the results were not what you had hoped for. It helps others to understand why this pond couldn't retain water, at least initially. I'll be installing a similar-sized pond in soil with minimal clay content so will likely have the appropriate Bentonite hauled in to create a liner. Again, thanks a lot for posting. Good information.
Right on. Good luck!
Good video showing the basic process. My only advice would be to not go rounding corners that the owners had staked themselves as square. They may have had reasons for wanting a square corner, so it's probably best to check with them before modifying their design, unless of course they'd already disclosed to you it was ok for you to take design liberties. Also, just casually speaking, the reason they may have wanted the pond further on top of the hill than your recommendation, is because hill top ponds will usually remain cleaner than retention ponds situated downhill, as the latter type will fill with sediment and debris after heavy rains. I appreciate the upload and may peruse your video library for more similar content. Take care!
Just curious. What’s your opinion on liners?
Rubber liners are very expensive for any sort of larger pond. I’d recommend a natural clay or bentonite liner
Hi thank you for your video! I have a question, we are have a gunite pool installed and they just broke ground. The first 2 feet is clay soil then sand all the way down. Is this a problem for us? I don't know if I fully trust my builder :/
Well I can’t speak from experience in this particular situation, but if the sand is well compacted and can’t shift in the future I wouldn’t be worried. My concern is if the sand gets saturated then it could possibly shift and then not support the concrete walls of the pool and cause tensile situation and crack the concrete liner or the pond. I may be overthinking it but there’s a worst case scenario in my mind. Maybe ask them to beef up the rebar and concrete thickness for some peace of mind.
Does it hold water?
Any updates on this pond yet? I just had a pond dug and it too has more sand than clay. The clay that does exist is more of a gray clay also. I’m planning to have clay brought in the try and line the pond.
Recent major rain event got him about half full. He still Has less catch than I’d like. I tried to tell him not to put his pond on top of a hill but hey, what more can I do? 😁
Just be sure he has enough garden hose to reach the pond…not much else you could have done!
Nice Job !
He gets plenty of runn off ? 🤔
I see nice grass, but I wonder how much clay could be harvested from all the land instead of buying clay
Wow I guess any good job is one you get paid for but a lot to be desired as far as grading I just like how you shifted the blame of the non functional pond on the land owner. Kudos
Wonder if it held
It did finally but he had to treat it with bentonite
New sub here. Great channel
Great thanks!! Hope you find good useful content. Share with your friends!!
I live in Spartanburg sc and we have that type of soil
Well good luck to you if you want a pond! This particular pond never held. The client finally invested in bentonite to line it and immediately filled it with water. That got him up about halfway and holding. Thanks for watching.
@@TomBrueggen that would be nice to have a pound but we have a mixture of red clay and sand
@@TomBrueggen is that soil a type of sand?
I always watch this video. I was digging with a tractor and box blade but tractor broke. I still want a bigger pond than my 3000 gallon pot hole.
Well thanks for watching! Tractor and blade is no way to dig a pond. I watched my neighbor spend several days using his tractor and front end loader to dig a hole that would have taken me less than an hour with my Excavator
@@TomBrueggenI did some testing with a auger hand tool I made and clay is 17 to 18ft below sandy loam. Whould it be ideal to dig that deep to remove 200 yards of clay with an excavator. I can order 40k lbs of sodium bentonite for about $5000 these days. Well my small test pond is doing OK just want to go bigger.
@@cutweldngrind how far did you go into clay? My question is if you have somewhere to go with all that sandy loam, and then do you have enough clay to round out the bottom and line all the sides? The problem with the pond in this video was no significant clay to be had. What little bit we sorted out was smeared as a thin liner but then it dried and crack before we got a good rain.
Hey Cut Weld N Grind where are you located as you seem to have the same issue as I do here in central FL with the sandy loam soli. Dug a pond be haven’t gone to next step of lining with clay
You definitely won't be able to get a shallow well on that property
No. But a deep well works just fine!
Nice white teeth. Hahaha she looks happy now. No more poor old granny looks without theeth
I love digging sand, gets it all polished up!