New water feature!

[Adam_W]

Fiiiinalllyyyy... finished my new water feature. 
I'll get a video made soon so will share the link.
Wha-da-ya-rekun? I'm pretty darn happy with it.

Before

[Jack2]

No worries, thanks Adam I'm sure I''ll find something suitable.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Jack2,

There are few water features on our site that you could incorporate into a pond such as the Northcote Pottery 64cm Steel Irondale Water Feature. You could sit the feature on bricks within the pond, and it would appear the pond water was flowing through it. It would make a dramatic centrepiece to your pond project.

Mitchell

[stelz]

Looks fantastic—the satisfaction of finishing a project . 

[Itai]

@MitchellMc The product you linked to isn't there anymore. Keen to see what you meant!

(P.S. Could you share some feedback to the dev team, to allow products no longer available to be browsed, but just say not in stock or something ... even recommend alternatives? )

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Itai,

I'll link an image down below of the one I was referencing so you can see it. You could do something similar to what I described with Northcote Pottery 45cm Sandstone Summit Water Feature. You might like to browse Northcote pottery's full range of fountains; it shouldn't be difficult for our special orders team to get any of them in for you.

I'll pass your feedback onto the team about having a link to obsolete products.

Many thanks,

Mitchell

[Claudeduck]

Terrific job!  Well done!

However, I always reckon that people are too keen to concrete in posts of any sort.   It does not matter if you are in a house only for a few years and then move to somewhere else but, if you are in house for a long time, what you might find that if you change your mind about things around the back yard after a few years, removing posts with big lumps of concrete attached to the bottom becomes a damn nuisance.  

Having lived in the same house for 37 years, I found that as the needs of the family changed as the kids grew up, or my hobby interests changed, I wanted to remove some posts and install others.   Accordingly, these days, I never put concrete in post holes. I just ram in the dirt that I dug out of the hole in moist layers with an inverted hardwood garden stake which makes it firm enough to get the post plumb and then ram the dirt down harder with the blunt end of a heavy long crowbar, a layer at a time for good compaction.  Yes, it may take a little longer than pouring in a bag of premix rapid set concrete and then pouring in water but the additional time is non-consequential in the overall scheme of things. eg I have not had to go and manhandle some bags of concrete home from the store.  Making changes, mid-project, is also easier if the posts are not concreted in.

I do this with timber posts but also with the metal posts such as Adam has used here. I have used those Whites Retain-It posts quite a number of times in recent years and they are great to use but I never concrete them in.   If I am a tad doubtful about the load supporting viability of the rammed earth method, I just use slightly longer posts. and bury them a bit deeper.  BTW, digging holes with a spade or post hole pincer is doable but getting the thing started is much easier and quicker if an auger is used with a cordless electric drill.  My auger is 75mm wide x 600mm long. I don't think that Bunnings sell these things in that width.

Initially, the posts that have not been concreted might not feel as rigid as if they had been backfilled with concrete but, after a while ground movement from tree root growth etc means that they will be very snug after a few weeks. In any case, if the whole structure is locked together by screws as Adam has done by screwing the top plates together, the whole structure will be very solid.

The other upside of not concreting in posts is that water will not accumulate at the bottom of the posts as easily and cause an untreated timber post to rot  as quickly as if it were sitting in concrete.  Of course, if you do use concrete,  you should not concrete under the post for this reason. ie you need rainwater to drain away.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Claudeduck. It's fabulous to have you join us and many thanks for contributing to the discussion.

That's some solid advice, as not every post needs to be concreted into the ground. I've removed a few posts before and it isn't an enjoyable experience.

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts, and we look forward to hearing more about the projects around your house and garden. Please feel free to let us know any time you need assistance or have something to share. I trust you'll also find plenty of inspiration for your projects as our amazing members contribute their idea here every day.

Mitchell