I’m cogitating (again) about having the pond removed. It’s fairly large and set down in the path with a low wall around it. whilst I love the wild life that comes, it’s too big and the trellis thing over it is falling down.
Not sure what to put there in it’s place, either pave the area to match the rest (old 3 x 3 slabs or whatever sizes they are), or after it’s filled in, make a planting area.
I’m worried about the cost too. I had a rough estimate from a bloke and he reckoned about £2,000
Not sure who would do it. Would it be a builder?
Here’s an old picture to give an idea of size, it’s more overgrown now. (BTW if you can see ducks, they are real :-D)
Have you drained the water out,Pesta?..that quote seems very steep to me!..I can see two ducks,I have to say,I would love a pond like that!..but I do have 2small ponds…or maybe they are water features,lol,…they are full of wildlife as well.
Hi Pauline, nope, not drained the water, it never gets any higher.
When I moved in 8 yrs ago, it was like that. The liner is holed in places.
It initially had fish, which the lady gave away (thankfully). It had the usual bells and whistles waterfalls etc, which I’m not into. I prefer to have a wild look so I added plants and stones and left it to grow
Every year it’s frogs, tadpoles, newts, skaters… whatever… oh and the ducks
Yes, the quote does seem steep. I think it’s more to do with what happens after the pond has gone. Something will have to be there whether it’s adding to the path or making a planting area.
It’s all the man hours innit, not the materials :shock:
Probably the cheaper option would be to remove the liner and fill in with top soil, then keep as a raised bed, you could plant shrubs, flowers or anything you fancy, I’m sure you could get soil cheaper than 2k, I would however, buy a small rigid pond, to keep water in your garden and encourage some aquatic life, they are relatively easy to fit if you are able, but that’s just me…
Put your wellies on and pull out the plants. Put the floating plants / weed into plastic bags. Advertise… Larger plants £8 to £10 each…or split them and charge £3 per bit, £5 if potted.
Any fish in there? advertise those too. Sell all the pots in the water and all the plants. Empty out the water and you can even sell the liner too!
All these things cost a fortune to buy and will sell very quickly…you’ll even have offers of help to empty the pond etc etc for discounted plants and fish.
Use the m
oney to make a new patio, or seating area…buy some champagne with what’s left over!
Yes, I agree with removing the liner, but before that could happen there’s stones, rocks, plants with really invasive roots. Not to mention the life that’s in there, all to be taken out first.
Every year I try to take some of the plants out, but just can’t shift the roots.
There’s no way I could physically remove the liner either
Hence the reason I’d have to get someone in and then make good the space, whichever route I go down.
Because I have enjoyed the wildlife coming to the pond, I know if I did get rid of it, I’d certainly have some sort of receptacle for water around, even a washing up bowl sunk in the ground somewhere
Edited: It’s not the soil that costs 2K, it’s the removal of the pond itself, the work and time involved and then doing whatever to the area afterwards.
Just caught your post Lindyloo… see my last posting. the plants are all embedded in the liner (I think), so can’t get them out. I nearly fell over last year trying to tug them out, and failed
You can still get those plants out by cutting the roots as close to the liner as possible. Pond plant roots need to be cut once in the while to keep the plant contained.
If you were to advertise the plants etc I’m sure someone would come forward who would clear your pond for free if they can keep the plants and anything else they can dredge up…
“POND PLANTS - FREE! Contents of pond, including, weed, plants, plant baskets etc etc completely free of charge in exchange for clearing and draining pond (approx 6’ x 3’)** and leaving site in immaculate order”.
You’d need to adjust the size of the pond!
Advertise on cards in newsagents and we’ll take bets on how long it is before someone comes forward!
If you need to remove the brickwork and take it down so the entire site is level , then yes , you will need professional help, a landscaper may be better than a builder, my suggestion was if you don’t need to remove it all, you could catch any wildlife that is in there an put them in a bowl or something, leave the liner in place but poke holes in it with a garden fork, cut down any plants and leave the rocks in place, and just fill in with soil,
Thanks Primus. You think a landscaper would be better to tackle it then?
Like you, it crossed my mind whether to just reduce the size drastically, but then that still doesn’t take away that I’d have to pay for the other half of it (if I halved it) to be cleared ie knocking the wall down, rocks and stone etc, liner etc etc, you get the drift - meaning I might as well go the whole hog and be done.
Yes, it might be best then, to get a few quotes from garden specialists, they could advise you what is the best way to remove and put something else in its place,
… ‘Your best assurance of a satisfactory finished product will be to hire a specialist tradesman to handle your pond for you. This will almost always be a landscape designer, though depending on the size of your pond a builder or even a handyman may be able to give you the help you need’.
Yes Lindy, in days gone by I certainly would have done that but not these days.
Everyone seems to be rip off merchants. Believe me, I’ve been stung a few times.
You can’t even guarantee the ‘professionals’ do a good job.
Having said that, I will look round any adverts, just to see, but I won’t advertise. A neighbour gave me a handyman’s number a few months ago. He sounds ideal as regards honesty etc, but he’s retired and mainly does odds and sods, so I can’t see him being much good physically.
I had to fill in my pond before I moved (landlord rules) it broke my heart as there were little frogs living in it.
I’m planning another here, just a small one, the last one was a large feed bucket and had loads of plants and insects etc.
If I had your pond Pesta I would put a smaller pond in, fill in around it with soil and plants, just puncture the liner all over. those pond plants probably will either survive or perish if they can’t live in soil, or you could leave a bit of liner to make a bog garden (irises and reeds, rushes etc) which will catch the overflow from the smaller pond.
Personally, I would get quotes from a few handymen first. There’s nothing designer about removing a pond, just hard work. Try to get someone who is sympathetic towards wildlife if possible. Pond plants can be sold or advertised for free on Freecycle (best time for people wanting pond plants is Spring). Then you could try selling any equipment you have such as waterfalls, pumps, filters etc. If you don’t fancy the bother then just bin them.
As suggested, the easiest way to fill it would be with top soil and make good with some edging of some sort. Again, a handyman should be able to do this. Perhaps, you could plant a small tree there.
