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#1
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Concrete Pond Sealant?
I have a Concrete pond that was here when I bought the house about ten years
ago and the water level goes down rather fast. I see that who ever built the pond applied some sort of sealant on the bottom of the pond "off whitish color" and the water seems to stay at that level. I have heard of G4 Sealant but don't know where to buy it and how expensive it is. The pond is not smooth, it looks like a rake and shoe imprint were used. What kind of sealant can be used and also where can it be bought. I live in Tacoma Washington. I had goldfish in it and they survived until the raccoons got them. Thanks, -- Larry D. Gibbs http://www.larrygibbs.com/ Only left handed people are in their right mind. |
#2
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Concrete Pond Sealant?
Any of the concrete sealants will require the pond be thoroughly cleaned.
The algae on the side will prevent bond of the sealant to the concrete. A good sealant is ThoroSeal. It is a cement based sealant that is painted onto the surface. Use the acrylic bonding/waterproofing additive Acryl 60 with it for extra waterproofing and better durability. I would mix it thick and trowel it onto the surface to give a smoother finish than what you describe is currently there. That will give some additional thickness that will help it bridge any fine cracks that are causing leaks. Because it is a cement based product if there are moving cracks, it will crack. An alternate sealant is a liquid neoprene type sealant like Herco H55 from AquaticEco. This would be more flexible, and therefore less likely to crack, but it is very expensive. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html "Larry D. Gibbs" wrote in message news:PEcwa.833099$L1.242015@sccrnsc02... I have a Concrete pond that was here when I bought the house about ten years ago and the water level goes down rather fast. I see that who ever built the pond applied some sort of sealant on the bottom of the pond "off whitish color" and the water seems to stay at that level. I have heard of G4 Sealant but don't know where to buy it and how expensive it is. The pond is not smooth, it looks like a rake and shoe imprint were used. What kind of sealant can be used and also where can it be bought. I live in Tacoma Washington. I had goldfish in it and they survived until the raccoons got them. Thanks, -- Larry D. Gibbs http://www.larrygibbs.com/ Only left handed people are in their right mind. |
#3
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Concrete Pond Sealant?
Why not just put a liner in it? Future cracks would then be a non-issue.
Just my $0.02 worth Paul "Larry D. Gibbs" wrote in message news:PEcwa.833099$L1.242015@sccrnsc02... I have a Concrete pond that was here when I bought the house about ten years ago and the water level goes down rather fast. I see that who ever built the pond applied some sort of sealant on the bottom of the pond "off whitish color" and the water seems to stay at that level. I have heard of G4 Sealant but don't know where to buy it and how expensive it is. The pond is not smooth, it looks like a rake and shoe imprint were used. What kind of sealant can be used and also where can it be bought. I live in Tacoma Washington. I had goldfish in it and they survived until the raccoons got them. Thanks, -- Larry D. Gibbs http://www.larrygibbs.com/ Only left handed people are in their right mind. |
#4
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Concrete Pond Sealant?
I've fought with my concrete pond for 10 years. I've tried everything:
hydraulic cement, waterproof concrete patches, epoxy paint, fiberglass. I'm giving up and getting a liner. Concrete ponds come with *many* problems. Here's a few: 1) You cannot find the holes & cracks. A very tiny hole will cause your pond level to drop an inch every few days. Once there's water & algae & bottom-gunk, you will not be able to find that tiny hole. I have tried everything: dyetracers (they don't work in anything except crystal clear water -- the murky grey of a watergarden obliviates the dye. Ultrasonic leak detectors (small leaks don't make enough noise to detect). Hourly level monitors (doesn't localize the hole, and completely fail when there's multiple leaks -- as is common for concrete ponds). 2) Concrete ponds shift & crack. No matter how strong you make 'em (and mine is made very strong), there's bound to be a little movement over the years, as the earth settles, the temperature changes, roots grow underneath, there's a frost heave, a minor earthquake, or the rebar/chickenwire rusts. Even a slight movement will cause a crack. And then as your pond level drops... Happened to me once when I was on vacation. Returned to a little pool of slop and dead fish. 3) Concrete can't move. You cannot change the pond later on, to accomodate your wishes 5 or 10 years later. When you sell your place, the new owners might not like your water garden (for instance, they may have young children and worry about drowning & liability). A shovel & wheelbarrow will get rid of a liner-pond. Concrete wants a jackhammer and backhoe. 4) There are lots of "concrete sealants" and "waterproof coatings" ... none work very well. Most are sold for "not-below-waterline" use. All require completely clean concrete in order to work. And you never really know if you did a good patch job until you fill the pond and wait a week. (Oh, the stories I can tell you about refilling a pond, putting the plants & fish back in, only to watch the level drop...) 4) Any piercings will leak ... I advised my kids' school not to make a concrete pond for the above 3 reasons, but they went ahead anyways. A ton of rebar & chickenwire and seventy five sacks of concrete later, they have a concrete pond that leaks. Amongst the leaking sites are where the fool installed a bottom-drain. Turns out that plastic pipe has a different coefficient of thermal expansion from concrete. So every time the temperature changes, the school has to top off the pond ... about twenty gallons a day. 5) Want to clean concrete to prepare it for patching? Use 30% hydrocloric acid. You get a suffocating greenish gas, which really does a number on nearby flora & fauna. 6) Concrete ponds are rarely designed for the actual loads they carry. Contractors usually dig a hole, line it with rebar & suchnot, then slather on concrete. But what are the stresses in the structure? Where will cracks most likely occur? Concrete contractors are accustomed to small crack in a house's foundation won't affect its structural integrity. But even a tiny crack in a concrete pond will lose ten gallons a day. 7) Compared to lined ponds, concrete ponds are way more expensive to install, expensive to maintain, and expensive to remove. Replacing a $250 poly liner is nothing compared to a week of fiberglassing the walls of a pond. Over the past 10 years, I've maintained (or help fix) three concrete ponds. I advised a friend & a school against building concrete ponds, only to watch go ahead and build their dream ponds. Sure 'nuff, the friend/school came back to me, asking for aid in patching the leaks. So my advise to anyone even thinking about a concrete pond: Don't. -Cliff 14 May 2003 "Paul in Redland" wrote in message ... Why not just put a liner in it? Future cracks would then be a non-issue. Just my $0.02 worth Paul "Larry D. Gibbs" wrote in message news:PEcwa.833099$L1.242015@sccrnsc02... I have a Concrete pond that was here when I bought the house about ten years ago and the water level goes down rather fast. I see that who ever built the pond applied some sort of sealant on the bottom of the pond "off whitish color" and the water seems to stay at that level. I have heard of G4 Sealant but don't know where to buy it and how expensive it is. The pond is not smooth, it looks like a rake and shoe imprint were used. What kind of sealant can be used and also where can it be bought. I live in Tacoma Washington. I had goldfish in it and they survived until the raccoons got them. Thanks, -- Larry D. Gibbs http://www.larrygibbs.com/ Only left handed people are in their right mind. |
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