18-04-2004, 07:14 PM
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Supplier of large stone?
The message
from (Trevor Tyrrell) contains
these words:
We are considering building a pond with a large waterfall feature. We
are looking for a supplier of large rocks to build the waterfall.
Does anyone have any recommendations, UK based preferably in East
Anglia or with nationwide delivery?
We've done this twice in different gardens (but not related to ponds).
Local is best, but there are other considerations too. I'd look in your
yellow-pages for local plant-contractors (as in heavy machinery, not
nursery) and see what stone they can source locally. Quite apart from
the cost of transport, alien cross-country stone can look very
un-natural indeed when placed in a landscape of different geology.
Our first (a standing stone)came from the farm next door, our
farmer-neighbour transported it from the moor in his biggest
tractor-scoop and positioned the rock with chains suspended from the
forklift. I had to take down 4 yards of drystone wall to let the tractor
get to the intended position for the rock, and rebuild it after. The
second lot, huge rounded weathered granite boulders from a coastal farm
a few miles away, were sourced collected and positioned by a local
groundworks contractor using a 10-ton truck with side-stabilisers and a
Hiab crane on top. He would only drive the fully-laden truck on paved
hard surfaces,(our drive, not our lawn) and the stones are so huge there
was no hope of shifting or positioning them except by crane, IOW, within
the crane's reach from the truck. You might want to consider such
limitations in relation to your site and plans.
If you can find an amenable local bulldozer/tractor/crane operator
from yellow pages, local farmers or asking around, you could ask him to
save suitable boulders he unearths on other local jobs. If he was going
to be delivering to your intended pond, it would only be another hour's
hire or so to have him dig the pond hole at the same time, and level the
spoil heap.
Janet.
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