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Installation and Buyer's Guide
Under the boardwalk Dig the shallow 24-in. wide boardwalk footings before the pond is filled with water and backfilled with gravel. That way you can pour gravel against the pond walls and fill the footings at the same time. But if you have crumbly soil, it’s best to dig the footings after the pond is backfilled to keep soil from caving in against the walls.
The footing depth should be about 10 in. below the pond rim everywhere. If the terrain is slightly sloped, the 4-in. deep gravel footing will slope as well. Don’t worry about the slight slope; just try to rake out obvious humps for a consistent surface.
After you place and roughly grade the 4-in. deep gravel, it’s just a matter of nestling the 4x4 “grade beams” into the gravel the correct distance away from the wall. They don’t have to be perfectly level, just fully supported by the gravel. You’ll be able to make the fine adjustments when you attach the 2x6 grade beam ledgers to the 4x4 grade beams.
Ipe decking and invisiblefasteners
Our boardwalk is made of
a tropical hardwood named Ipe. At twice the price of 5/4 x 6 standard decking cedar or
about the same price as clear cedar, it’s not for everyone. Because the wood we
chose is so clear and beautiful, we decided to use an invisible fastening
system called EB-TY so unsightly screw- or nailheads
wouldn’t mar the appearance. If you don’t want to use this system, stainless
steel trim head screws would be another good option. The EB-TY system is a
variation of standard plate joinery with plastic biscuits substituted for
wooden ones. You’ll need a plate joiner ($50 to $150) to cut the slots into the
decking edges for the biscuits. Then you slip the plastic biscuits into the
slots and screw them into the joists with the stainless steel screws included
with the kit. Biscuits are also added to the deck boards overhanging the pond
but are not secured to any joists. They further support the overhang and keep
the decking aligned. Deck boards that aren’t biscuited to neighboring boards
need to be face screwed.
Buy a biofilter, or drain and scrub
You have
a decision to make about how much time you want to spend caring for your pond.
We purchased a pond kit that included the liner pad,
liner, pump, hose, skimmer and biofilter for about $1,400. You can also
purchase all the parts separately over the Internet or at larger garden
centers. The biofilter contains bacteria that cleanse the water of the
nutrients that feed pond-choking algae. The system is reasonably easy to
install and keeps your pond clean and balanced.
The kit makes the pond virtually maintenance free. Here’s how the system works: Water flows from the pond into the skimmer where mesh catches larger debris. At the bottom of the skimmer, a pump sends the water to the biofilter, where it rises through the filter. Now clean, the water flows out the basket to run down the sluice and back into the pond.
For a cheap alternative to the biofilter system, drain the pond a few times during the summer with a sump pump and scrub the algae from the bottom and sides. Refill the pond with fresh water. Fish waste will accelerate algae growth, so you’ll reduce the work by banning fish from your pond. You’ll still have to buy the liner pad, the liner and a small pump if you want to put in a sluice. The pump can rest on the bottom of the pond with a water line leading under the boardwalk to the top of the sluice. Take care to choose a pump that can lift water at least 6 ft.
Buyer’s Guide
Deck fasteners: EB-TY. (888) 438-3289. www.ebty.com
Pond supplies: ePONDS: (866) 620-6088. www.eponds.com
AQUASCAPE DESIGNS: www.aquascapedesigns.com
Art Direction: Marcia Wright Roepke
Photography: Bill Zuehlke
Technical Art: Eugene Thompson
Pond Consultant: Gayle Fleming, Fleming Landscape Design
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