This new pond is more darned fun!!

Ha!! Had a landscaper finish putting in the pond I had started. The
skimmer is too low so that the shelves along the edges are mostly out of the
water. He was so far behind in his work last fall that I told him I could
wait until April to get the skimmer raised. He has had a severe attack of
amnesia regarding the subject and has put me on his list.

In any case, I have been told by someone that once the liner is cut for the
skimmer, it cannot be raised. Is this true? Can't a patch be placed over
the old hole and a new one cut??? Or am I being naive again.

Thanks a bunch. You great people have helped me a lot.

A patch MAY work FOR A TIME, but it is less than ideal. If the placement of the
skimmer was truly the installer's fault, I make him replace the entire liner
instead of doing a patch job.

Consider the downside: if the patch fails the water level will drop until it
reaches the leaky part of the patch. If that leak is below your skimmer lip (of
course it will be) AND your pump is in the skimmer box AND you do not have a
bottom drain feeding your skimmer box, you will probably end up with a burnt
out pump.

I have a personal crusade going against contractors & tradesmen of all kinds
who do shoddy work just because they don't care enough to do a job right.
That's just my opinion. Good luck.

~ Gary

Good Morning Gary. Thank you for your post. See my post in answer to Rich.
I don't what I could do to make this fellow even come back here.

It would probably be cheaper just to hire someone else, although I live so
far in the boom docks finding anyone who is expert at anything is sort of
difficult. I hate to admit it, but I am just too old to lift heavy rocks
and all that stuff. Two years ago, when I started this pond, I had every
intention of finishing the job myself.

But over the winter, old age moved in and let me know I aint what I used to
be.

Too much said. Thanks again.

I raised my skimmer and the opening in the liner with it. It was hard work.
I had to push the skimmer about 6 inches into the pond to get 6 inches of
elevation of the liner. With the pond half full of water, the force
required to lift liner and push skimmer was not for the weak of back. I
lost about 6 inches off the length of the pond, but gained many gallons.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Ha!! Had a landscaper finish putting in the pond I had started. The
skimmer is too low so that the shelves along the edges are mostly out of
the
water. He was so far behind in his work last fall that I told him I could
wait until April to get the skimmer raised. He has had a severe attack
of
amnesia regarding the subject and has put me on his list.

In any case, I have been told by someone that once the liner is cut for
the
skimmer, it cannot be raised. Is this true? Can't a patch be placed over
the old hole and a new one cut??? Or am I being naive again.

Thanks a bunch. You great people have helped me a lot.

Thank you Rich. How I wish you lived next door!!

This pond is lined with rocks. So would it still be possible to do this? I
wouldn't mind losing a few inches in length because the way it is now, a lot
of the shelf is out of the water. If the water was raised a mere six inches
the shelves would be covered and the pond would look several feet larger
both by width and length.

I think I am going to have to find another way of getting it (the skimmer)
raised other than to rely on this socalled landscaper. He claims he can't
remember agreeing to raise the skimmer and I haven't heard a word from him
for a month although he said he would get back to me.

To top it off, he claimed that the first pump I purchased had too small an
outlet to do the job. It was probably about an inch and a half, although
the literature claimed it would move 3500 gallons an hour.

So I agreed to buy one from him which he just happened to have in the truck.
It wasn't box and there was no literature with it but he said he would bring
the literature and warranty.

This pump, which really pushes the water and makes a beautiful waterfall,
usually won't start until it's been plugged in for five or six minutes. Or
maybe the pump is working, but the waterfall doesn't show up for a period
of time.

Last fall, when first put in, it worked right away. I have called this
socalled landscaper but he has not bothered to return my calls. I think
I've been taken to the cleaners.

I don't know if I have a legal recourse or not. The only proof I have of
anything is the check I paid him with.

Anyway, enough weeping and wailing. Do you think it would be possible to
raise the liner? I guess if the rocks were cleared away from the end where
the skimmer is located, it would be possible.

Thanks again.


"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:Z8xsc.111789$xw3.6473626@attbi_s04...
I raised my skimmer and the opening in the liner with it. It was hard
work.
I had to push the skimmer about 6 inches into the pond to get 6 inches of
elevation of the liner. With the pond half full of water, the force
required to lift liner and push skimmer was not for the weak of back. I
lost about 6 inches off the length of the pond, but gained many gallons.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Ha!! Had a landscaper finish putting in the pond I had started. The
skimmer is too low so that the shelves along the edges are mostly out of
the
water. He was so far behind in his work last fall that I told him I
could
wait until April to get the skimmer raised. He has had a severe attack
of
amnesia regarding the subject and has put me on his list.

In any case, I have been told by someone that once the liner is cut for
the
skimmer, it cannot be raised. Is this true? Can't a patch be placed
over
the old hole and a new one cut??? Or am I being naive again.

Thanks a bunch. You great people have helped me a lot.

"pixi" wrote in message
...

This pond is lined with rocks.


lined with rocks, hmm. I always wondered HOW you can work with a pond lined
with rocks.. yea it looks real nice, but how the heck do you walk in it to
plant anything? & after my big cleanout this month , after only a year of
having my pond, I KNOW the rocks would be UNDER an inch of gook!!
we have rocks lining our 'stream' from the waterfall to the pond, & it is
sure yucky with the silt & crud that gets trapped there,, & this should be a
lot cleaner since it has running water, not just sitting on the bottom of a
pond.

The rocks would make it harder to do. They would need to be moved out of
the way. As for the pond expert, I am a firm believer in partial payments.
The memory of most contractors gets very short one they have the money. As
for expert, that is two words. Ex is a has been. Spurt is a drip under
pressure.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Thank you Rich. How I wish you lived next door!!

This pond is lined with rocks. So would it still be possible to do this?
I
wouldn't mind losing a few inches in length because the way it is now, a
lot
of the shelf is out of the water. If the water was raised a mere six
inches
the shelves would be covered and the pond would look several feet larger
both by width and length.

I think I am going to have to find another way of getting it (the skimmer)
raised other than to rely on this socalled landscaper. He claims he can't
remember agreeing to raise the skimmer and I haven't heard a word from him
for a month although he said he would get back to me.

To top it off, he claimed that the first pump I purchased had too small
an
outlet to do the job. It was probably about an inch and a half, although
the literature claimed it would move 3500 gallons an hour.

So I agreed to buy one from him which he just happened to have in the
truck.
It wasn't box and there was no literature with it but he said he would
bring
the literature and warranty.

This pump, which really pushes the water and makes a beautiful waterfall,
usually won't start until it's been plugged in for five or six minutes.
Or
maybe the pump is working, but the waterfall doesn't show up for a period
of time.

Last fall, when first put in, it worked right away. I have called this
socalled landscaper but he has not bothered to return my calls. I think
I've been taken to the cleaners.

I don't know if I have a legal recourse or not. The only proof I have of
anything is the check I paid him with.

Anyway, enough weeping and wailing. Do you think it would be possible to
raise the liner? I guess if the rocks were cleared away from the end
where
the skimmer is located, it would be possible.

Thanks again.


"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:Z8xsc.111789$xw3.6473626@attbi_s04...
I raised my skimmer and the opening in the liner with it. It was hard
work.
I had to push the skimmer about 6 inches into the pond to get 6 inches
of
elevation of the liner. With the pond half full of water, the force
required to lift liner and push skimmer was not for the weak of back. I
lost about 6 inches off the length of the pond, but gained many gallons.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Ha!! Had a landscaper finish putting in the pond I had started. The
skimmer is too low so that the shelves along the edges are mostly out
of
the
water. He was so far behind in his work last fall that I told him I
could
wait until April to get the skimmer raised. He has had a severe
attack
of
amnesia regarding the subject and has put me on his list.

In any case, I have been told by someone that once the liner is cut
for
the
skimmer, it cannot be raised. Is this true? Can't a patch be placed
over
the old hole and a new one cut??? Or am I being naive again.

Thanks a bunch. You great people have helped me a lot.

Thanks again. I can see how it would be possible. As you say, the rocks
would have to be moved back out of the way, The skimmer could then be
moved up and forward. Would have to do a bit of backfilling I think which
shouldn't be too difficult.

But then I would probably have to splice the pipe somehow, wouldn't I? By
pipe I mean the tubing that goes from the skimmer to the filter. Or would
the fact that the skimmer is 6" further into the pond make up the difference
for it being 6" higher and the tube/pipe would be O.K. as is. The tubing
to the filter is flexible.

If I don't have to do any splicing I could maybe do the job myself. Most of
the rocks are not too large except for the cap rocks that line the top.
These could probably be levered into place.

I guess if I offered him enough money he would get out here but this time I
would follow you advice and only pay half until I see how things go.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I am in the process of landscaping and
trying to make the mound containing the cascade (more a cascade than a
waterfall) look like it isn't a mound stuck in the middle of a comparatively
flat place.

Figure if there are bushes on and around the mound it won't look so
artificial. Plan to use lots of ornamental grass too.

What I need most of all right now is about 10 years less.

Mary Szy


"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:vfatc.117113$536.22102462@attbi_s03...
The rocks would make it harder to do. They would need to be moved out of
the way. As for the pond expert, I am a firm believer in partial
payments.
The memory of most contractors gets very short one they have the money.
As
for expert, that is two words. Ex is a has been. Spurt is a drip under
pressure.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Thank you Rich. How I wish you lived next door!!

This pond is lined with rocks. So would it still be possible to do
this?
I
wouldn't mind losing a few inches in length because the way it is now, a
lot
of the shelf is out of the water. If the water was raised a mere six
inches
the shelves would be covered and the pond would look several feet larger
both by width and length.

I think I am going to have to find another way of getting it (the
skimmer)
raised other than to rely on this socalled landscaper. He claims he
can't
remember agreeing to raise the skimmer and I haven't heard a word from
him
for a month although he said he would get back to me.

To top it off, he claimed that the first pump I purchased had too small
an
outlet to do the job. It was probably about an inch and a half,
although
the literature claimed it would move 3500 gallons an hour.

So I agreed to buy one from him which he just happened to have in the
truck.
It wasn't box and there was no literature with it but he said he would
bring
the literature and warranty.

This pump, which really pushes the water and makes a beautiful
waterfall,
usually won't start until it's been plugged in for five or six minutes.
Or
maybe the pump is working, but the waterfall doesn't show up for a
period
of time.

Last fall, when first put in, it worked right away. I have called this
socalled landscaper but he has not bothered to return my calls. I think
I've been taken to the cleaners.

I don't know if I have a legal recourse or not. The only proof I have
of
anything is the check I paid him with.

Anyway, enough weeping and wailing. Do you think it would be possible
to
raise the liner? I guess if the rocks were cleared away from the end
where
the skimmer is located, it would be possible.

Thanks again.


"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:Z8xsc.111789$xw3.6473626@attbi_s04...
I raised my skimmer and the opening in the liner with it. It was hard
work.
I had to push the skimmer about 6 inches into the pond to get 6 inches
of
elevation of the liner. With the pond half full of water, the force
required to lift liner and push skimmer was not for the weak of back.
I
lost about 6 inches off the length of the pond, but gained many
gallons.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Ha!! Had a landscaper finish putting in the pond I had started.
The
skimmer is too low so that the shelves along the edges are mostly
out
of
the
water. He was so far behind in his work last fall that I told him I
could
wait until April to get the skimmer raised. He has had a severe
attack
of
amnesia regarding the subject and has put me on his list.

In any case, I have been told by someone that once the liner is cut
for
the
skimmer, it cannot be raised. Is this true? Can't a patch be
placed
over
the old hole and a new one cut??? Or am I being naive again.

Thanks a bunch. You great people have helped me a lot.

Not having a picture to go by, it would be hard to say for sure if the
plumbing would workout without any splicing, but if it flex pipe, and the
pond is shortened, I would think that the pipe would be long enough.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Thanks again. I can see how it would be possible. As you say, the rocks
would have to be moved back out of the way, The skimmer could then be
moved up and forward. Would have to do a bit of backfilling I think
which
shouldn't be too difficult.

But then I would probably have to splice the pipe somehow, wouldn't I? By
pipe I mean the tubing that goes from the skimmer to the filter. Or would
the fact that the skimmer is 6" further into the pond make up the
difference
for it being 6" higher and the tube/pipe would be O.K. as is. The tubing
to the filter is flexible.

If I don't have to do any splicing I could maybe do the job myself. Most
of
the rocks are not too large except for the cap rocks that line the top.
These could probably be levered into place.

I guess if I offered him enough money he would get out here but this time
I
would follow you advice and only pay half until I see how things go.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I am in the process of landscaping
and
trying to make the mound containing the cascade (more a cascade than a
waterfall) look like it isn't a mound stuck in the middle of a
comparatively
flat place.

Figure if there are bushes on and around the mound it won't look so
artificial. Plan to use lots of ornamental grass too.

What I need most of all right now is about 10 years less.

Mary Szy


"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:vfatc.117113$536.22102462@attbi_s03...
The rocks would make it harder to do. They would need to be moved out
of
the way. As for the pond expert, I am a firm believer in partial
payments.
The memory of most contractors gets very short one they have the money.
As
for expert, that is two words. Ex is a has been. Spurt is a drip under
pressure.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Thank you Rich. How I wish you lived next door!!

This pond is lined with rocks. So would it still be possible to do
this?
I
wouldn't mind losing a few inches in length because the way it is now,
a
lot
of the shelf is out of the water. If the water was raised a mere six
inches
the shelves would be covered and the pond would look several feet
larger
both by width and length.

I think I am going to have to find another way of getting it (the
skimmer)
raised other than to rely on this socalled landscaper. He claims he
can't
remember agreeing to raise the skimmer and I haven't heard a word from
him
for a month although he said he would get back to me.

To top it off, he claimed that the first pump I purchased had too
small
an
outlet to do the job. It was probably about an inch and a half,
although
the literature claimed it would move 3500 gallons an hour.

So I agreed to buy one from him which he just happened to have in the
truck.
It wasn't box and there was no literature with it but he said he would
bring
the literature and warranty.

This pump, which really pushes the water and makes a beautiful
waterfall,
usually won't start until it's been plugged in for five or six
minutes.
Or
maybe the pump is working, but the waterfall doesn't show up for a
period
of time.

Last fall, when first put in, it worked right away. I have called
this
socalled landscaper but he has not bothered to return my calls. I
think
I've been taken to the cleaners.

I don't know if I have a legal recourse or not. The only proof I
have
of
anything is the check I paid him with.

Anyway, enough weeping and wailing. Do you think it would be possible
to
raise the liner? I guess if the rocks were cleared away from the end
where
the skimmer is located, it would be possible.

Thanks again.


"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:Z8xsc.111789$xw3.6473626@attbi_s04...
I raised my skimmer and the opening in the liner with it. It was
hard
work.
I had to push the skimmer about 6 inches into the pond to get 6
inches
of
elevation of the liner. With the pond half full of water, the force
required to lift liner and push skimmer was not for the weak of
back.
I
lost about 6 inches off the length of the pond, but gained many
gallons.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"pixi" wrote in message
...
Ha!! Had a landscaper finish putting in the pond I had started.
The
skimmer is too low so that the shelves along the edges are mostly
out
of
the
water. He was so far behind in his work last fall that I told him
I
could
wait until April to get the skimmer raised. He has had a severe
attack
of
amnesia regarding the subject and has put me on his list.

In any case, I have been told by someone that once the liner is
cut
for
the
skimmer, it cannot be raised. Is this true? Can't a patch be
placed
over
the old hole and a new one cut??? Or am I being naive again.

Thanks a bunch. You great people have helped me a lot.