Testimonial letter from Jim Houser
From: the Owner of the first RockToRubber pond in Austin, Texas.
I had always wanted a pond in my yard since I was a kid. I delivered newspapers back then and walked by a small pond in a yard in West Austin early every morning to the sound of frogs and toads croaking. I played in and built forts along Shoal Creek. Lake Austin has been my playground since I was thirteen and I had friends that live on the lake or had boats. In Texas water is life.
So when I made plans to build my house I dreamed of a big pond in the back yard. And I wanted a waterfall. I engaged Mark Jessen, AKA: The Fish Tender to help me with the dream. We designed a pond that would start from “springs” coming out of the filters, the water cascading over rocks and over a three foot waterfall and then into big pool sloping from 1 ½ feet to 5 feet deep at the far end. Problem was the cost of sealing the pond with cement or Gunite. OUCH!!!
But Mark had other ideas. He had been working on a simple but revolutionary new product that can be sandwiched between a rock or stone and rubber and with mortar keep it secured. That way we could use a low cost rubber liner instead of expensive Gunite. Mark explained that before his invention rocks mortared to rubber would not hold and therefore coping or stones or boulders on the sides of ponds could come loose and crash into the pond.
So, with Mark’s product “RockToRubber” in hand we started the building. When we lay in the flat rock to extend out over the pool for the waterfall we found it was unstable. This wouldn’t due since I knew my youngest boy was going to be climbing all over. No problem. We lifted the rock up and place seven RockTo Rubber units down and mortared it in. VOILA-the waterfall rock was as tight and safe as could be. And thus it went; RockToRubber connected every rock or boulder that served as the edge of the pond securely to the liner. And we could extend the rocks or boulders out over the edge without worry.
As this was a dream-and build as you go project, I hadn’t anticipated one problem! The slope of the pool from the front to the back was not enough to give me the depth I wanted at the waterfall to keep it deep enough to keep raccoons out. So we had to raise the end of the pond up. When we did that it exposed more liner to sight between the rock or boulders and the water line. RockToRubber to the rescue again! We were able to mortar flagstone on the vertical sides of the liner, to hide the liner and the stone is held tightly in place. Amazing!
Without RockToRubber my pond would not have been as beautiful as it is now and I would have been constantly worried about children, pet or liner getting hurt from falling rocks that weren’t attached.
Thanks Mark, you have a super product that I am sure has many more applications as a stone or rock fastener than we can imagine now. I know it saved my childhood vision of a beautiful, functional and economical pond in my back yard.
Jim Houser,
Austin, Texas.
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May 31st, 2010
Mark,
Thank you for your assistance in planning and designing our pond. Your input was valuable and we were glad to have your particiaption in the process. Thanks to your extensive experience in building and maintaining ponds, our pond is easy to maintain and provides a healthy habitat for fish and plants.
We found your Rock to Rubber® units to be well-designed and easy to use. We definitely recommend them to anyone who is looking for a pond design that highlights attractive rock work and no visible rubber lining. Whether the project is small or large, this product is a great way - the only way - to attach rocks to a rubbert liner. The Rock to Rubber® units protect the liner and make the surrounding rocks safer to walk on because they won't tip into the pond, and the rock continues into the water for a natural appearance.
Sincerely,
Even and Tobin