Concrete,Ponds,and,Freezing,Cl homerepair how to Concrete Ponds and Freezing Climates

Elegance and style are mostly the factors why timber flooring is well-liked to home builders. Aside from that, timber flooring is one of the most gorgeous and long-lasting flooring options that any homeowner could make. It's going to add val This year when you go up into the attic to get the Christmas decorations take a look around the attic to see if there is any frost on the roof ceiling or rafters. If there is then you have a moisture problem that should be taken care of. Moi

The pondliner advocates have maligned concrete constructed ponds and waterfalls foryears by making spurious claims that concrete will crack and not hold up overtime or in cold freezing climates. Here are the facts about the differencesbetween the rubber liners versus concrete and rebar construction.My first casein point would have to be the most obvious illustration of the practicalapplication of concrete in relation to rubber liners as a worthy, reliableconstruction material with structural sustainability. Let’s use dams for myexample and illustration. There arefour main types of dams: arch, buttress, gravity, and embankment dams. The typeof constructionfor each dam is determined by the structure’s proposeduse and/or application, the characteristics of the proposed location, volume ofwater to be retained by the structure, local construction materials availableand last but not least, the budget limitations.Archdams are constructed in a horizontal archfacing upstream to most effectively resist the retained water’s force. Arch dams are most commonly utilized in narrow canyonsand are almost always constructed of concrete.  Buttress dams arecharacterized by a set of angled supports on the downstream side that help to supportthe structure against the water’s force. The buttress dams are more suited forwide canyons that lack the availability of bedrock. This type of steel frameworkstructure and the associated labor involved makes then unfeasible economicallyin the current financial market. Gravity damswithstand the force of water by virtue of its own weight. This type of dam isconstructed of cement or masonry, normally utilizing solid rock for its foundation.  But can also be situated over unconsolidated materialas long as water can be prevented from flowing under the structure.   Embankment dams use locally available material (rocks, gravel, sand, clay, etc.) in their construction.For this reason alone, embankment dams or levees are the most economical tobuild. Similar to the gravity dams, these also use their own weight to retainthe water’s force. The major drawback is that the materials are permeable,allowing water to seep into and through the structure. An impervious membrane of clay or rubber liner(the same as used in pond liner construction) must be built into them to lessenor minimize the flow through the dam which can weaken the integrity of thestructure. Since all the construction materials are purchased locally, the constructionof these dams is extremely less expensive, making embankment dams verydesirable and popular.Are you starting to seethe connection between dams and their construction material with that of koiponds and waterfalls? If not, let me help you.Pond liner advocatespromote their product by maligning the use of concrete as an effective, ­­termconstruction material for pond construction as opposed to rubber liners withplastic accessories. Straight to the point, of the four types of damconstruction, the Hoover Dam is an Arch dam, straddling the mighty ColoradoRiver, which forms the border between the states of Nevada and Arizona.Considered to be the world’s largest dam and an engineering marvel at the timeof its construction in the 1930’s, Hoover Dam brings much-needed water andpower to the Southwest. Was it constructed using a rubber pond liner orconcrete and steel? Now let’s look at thecheapest form of dam design, Embankment dams or levees. Many are constructedusing rubber liners and loose earthen materials. In many cases, these type damsare compromised by burrowing animals such as ground squirrels, gophers,chipmunks, groundhogs, rats, or mice. Once any number of these animals chewsthrough the liner, the water follows the burrows, washing away the soil untileventually, without the necessary support, the force and pressure against theliner causes it to burst. This is the same scenario for pond liners, but inthese cases it is very difficult to find the hole, depending on its location.Another ploy to discreditthe use of concrete versus pond liners is to claim concrete cracks in frigidclimates either from frost heaving or the hydraulic pressure of expanding icepushing against the pond’s walls. This can be true depending on the engineeringand shape of the pond’s shell. If the sides of the pond are slanted outwardslightly as the surface water freezes, the ice is allowed to rise up the sideswith the pressure being exerted in the upward rather than sideways directions.Also, depending on the local climate and how thick the ice gets on bodies ofwater, the pond can be designed deep enough to prevent it from freezing solid.In this case, as long asthe water level is deeper than the thickness of the annual freeze, thetemperature of the water prevents frost, which will cause the concrete to heave,move or crack off. Another assurance against this situation is placing a horsetank heater in shallower ponds to keep them from freezing solid. If you drainyour concrete pond for the winter, you are removing the very source ofprotection against frost and its damaging forces. You are now enabling theearth to freeze under the concrete pond shell which in turn, will expand thesoil due to the freezing moisture contained within it.In conclusion, proper engineering andconstruction methods and material can make all the difference in theperformance and longevity of a project related to concrete pond construction. I would say that “You get what you havepaid for” applies to the type of materials used and the construction methodsapplied -- and last but not least, the choice of pond equipment installed.