April 4, 2017 at 5:02 pm

Forget an In-Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

by twistedsifter

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 1 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

Reddit user power-cube recently shared his backyard DIY project that he has been building in his free time over the last three years. Instead of installing an in-ground swimming pool, he decided to build a natural swim pond with a waterfall, small beach, fish (in one of the two ponds) and plants.

Aside from the many man-hours he has put in himself, he figures he has spent about $30,000 on materials. He’s made plenty of mistakes on the way but says working on the project has been just as satisfying (if not more) as the finished product.

In an extensive 88-picture album on Imgur he explains his build process and shares progress photos along the way. For more, be sure to check out the original reddit post and the full photo album with captions on Imgur.

[via power-cube on reddit]

 

A Few ‘After’ Shots

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 22 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 4 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 24 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

The Build

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 8 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

Excavation and laying a 200 x 50 heavy duty pool liner to minimize water loss due to seeping.

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 9 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 10 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

60 tons of sand was used

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 11 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

65 tons of river stones and pea gravel

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 12 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

One pond for swimming, the other natural pond for fish, plants and wildlife visitors

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 13 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

Building the waterfall

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 14 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

Adding flagstone to each step of the waterfall

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 15 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 16 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

Setting up water pumps

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 17 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 18 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 19 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 20 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 26 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 21 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 23 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 3 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

In the main pond you can find bass, bluegill, catfish, and a few grass carps. End to end the pond is just under 200 feet. The swim pond (sans fish) is 35 feet in diameter and the natural swim pond (with fish) is about 40 feet at its widest point. In terms of rough costs, he estimates:
 
70 tons sand ($100/ton) = 7k
65 tons rocks ($100/ton) = 6.5k
Deep well drilled and pump installed = 5k
Pond Liner = 4k
Initial Excavation = 2.8k
Equipment rentals = 1.2k
Pump and PVC = 2k
Mortar, Landscaping, misc = 2-3k

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 6 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 2 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 31 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 25 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 7 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit

 

instead of an in ground swimming pool this guy built his own natural swim pond 5 Forget an In Ground Swimming Pool, this Guy Built His Own Natural Swim Pond!

Built and Photographed by power-cube on reddit