pond edge? Paver bricks?

[perplexed ponder]

Trying to figure out what I am going to do with the pond edge. Anyone have paver brick edging, w/ sand or small stone base? How is it working out, I'm particularly interested in freeze/thaw issues.
I am in process of getting some estimates on finishing it. I get various suggestions from each contractor, wondering if some of them have ever even done a pond before. Of course they TELL me they have, um yeah, sure.

[Julles]

I have flagstone, laid by me, and I can tell you, SOME of them are stable, but not ALL of them.  Meaning, if you get too close to the edge, the stone and the person could both topple into the pond.

Whatever you end up using, be sure it's heavy enough and large enough that you can use morter or some adhesive to keep it in place, so you can stand at the edge of your pond and look in without fear of falling in. 

[big ron]

Pavers are the way to go.  My pond has large stones around the outside perimeter 18" high and the pavers butt into it.  Works out great.    Prep for the pavers is dig down 6" below final grade ( grass )  Tamp dirt well.  Install 4" stone dust  ( crushed stone ) tamp again. Install pavers , tamp and brush sand mixture in all joints.  I live in Md. with cold winters and this works out great.  Hope this helps

[perplexed ponder]

Ron can you post a picture please?

[Michiponder]

Hi Kathy.  I have them on the edge of two ponds though one is going away to make room for a larger pond.  One has 12" patio stone around it and the other has paver bricks.  They facilitate the wooden framwork used in winter for insulating those two ponds.  I used a treated wood frame under them to keep them stable and level with the water surface.  It has worked well without much of the sagging I used to get with the soggy clay soil here.

Mikel

P.S.  I went to Michigan koi the other day after you told me about it.  Wow!  Was really somethong to see over $100,000 worth of fish in just one of his pools.  Got to speak at length with the owner and found him to be very knowledgeable of koi.  Thanks for the heads up.

[Pam]

We are really interested in edging as well. Do any of you have plants along the edges or is that just too messy?

[Michiponder]

Don't have any plants in those two ponds because there are large koi in them and they just eat them or tear them up.  I only have them in the stream and filter.  Hopefully I will be able to keep plants again in the shallow replacement pond planned for this summer.  It will be about 23" deep and I hope to edge it the same way.  Please keep in mind that some pavers can change your water chemistry paramiters.  Acid washing prior to installing them can help with that sometimes.

Mikel

[Julles]

Pam,  I have long puzzled over the trend to pile rocks up along the sides and edges of a pond, as this does not, to me, mimic nature, where you find water coming up to soil, with plants merging at the edge.

However, with an artificial pond, and one where you want to keep your water clean and dirt from running into it, we use liners.  And with a liner, you generally need rocks to hold down the edge and to make it look more attractive.  Also, plants running from the soil into the pond can wick water out, which means less water in your pond.

Now, if you want plants around the edge, you can do as suggested above... keep the edge of your pond seperate from the surrounding grass and soil, and use potted plants that you can place where you choose near the edge.

[howardTheHumble]

Anything that absorbs moisture is ok so long as it does not touch the water.  If it does it will break when it freezes.

I had this setup where the bricks where in the water and many of them failed.

[Julles]

I'll bet that was mess to clean up, having to remove and remortar all the broken bricks . 

[howardTheHumble]

I dry stacked the bricks and pavers but yes the crumbled bricks were still a mess.  I like the formal look but between the brick mess and trying to keep the edges from moving it was not a good idea.

Wondering if a water proofing sealer would do the trick.

I used a 2 level wood support under the liner.  The lower level supported the bricks which were partly in the water. The flat boards were screwed to 2x6's that extended back into the lawn a bit in an attempt to provide the pavers from sinking down.

The pavers on the top level covered the liner and the top of the brick.

[Pam]

I can see where the wicking would be an issue  A mixture of rocks inter planted with plants would serve my purpose just as well.