Double Pond Renovation At A Franciscan Monastery In Brookland

Fixing Up 2 Ponds To Make This Monastery’s Outdoor Space A Beautiful Place Once Again

Did you know that monks love ponds too?!

But like any pond owner, they too can allow their ponds to fall into disrepair. It’s not uncommon. In fact, it’s almost like a rite of passage (but try to avoid this one).

The difference at this Franciscan Monastery in the Brookland neighborhood is that it is 2 ponds falling into disrepair. That’s twice the sore spots on their otherwise beautiful landscape.

And the monks aren’t going to let them sit like that any longer. They hire Premier Ponds (that’s us!) to come in and bring their ponds back to life.

Here is what happens during their pond renovation.

You can also find out more on our pond renovation service >>

Renovating The Natural Pond

It looks like this pond’s been skipping its spring cleanings. Several spring cleanings in fact.

This pond is so overgrown with plants and mud we can’t tell how deep it is. Not a single rock is peeking through all the muck.

After measuring the depth we find out we were overestimating by 12 inches… Even with all this going on we find out that the pond can’t even run without losing water.

We have no other choice but to basically rip out the old pond and begin anew.

Draining the pond is the easiest part. It’s the hours of hauling plants and muck away by the truckload that can drag down a team.

Thankfully our guys have positive attitudes and make the best of the labor-intensive work.

Then we begin the pond renovation in earnest.

Re-sculpting the interior, creating fish tunnels, and installing a large boulder to act as an island were the main parts we focus on.

A safety edge is also taking shape around the pond perimeter so people can walk close to the pond.

The finishing touches include two natural waterfalls and LED lights to illuminate the pond at night.

Here is the natural pond after the renovation comes to a close:

Now we can move on to the next pond renovation.

The Formal Pond Renovation

This pond is the total opposite of the first.

Instead of looking like a natural pond, this one is definitely more for decor, like something you will find around a mansion. Well, except this one needs renovation pretty badly.

The liner is so old we can’t even begin to guess at its age. We don’t want to have to come back in a month or so and replace it after it starts leaking, so we go ahead and replace it now. We even put extra padding under and on top of the new liner.

No leaks happening anytime soon!

This padding will also protect the liner from wear and tear by the stones we are stacking in front of it.

Also in this pond goes LED lighting, fish caves, and a few aquatic plants to help bring a little bit of nature to this manmade pond.

Now both ponds look amazing once again.

Revive Your Water Feature

If your pond isn’t working for you the way you need it to, you don’t have to “just deal with it.” There are other ways of making your pond work for you so you can enjoy it to the fullest.

Here are 3 options for what to do with an unwanted pond >>