Re: Fences and ponds
@lindk I saw it explained somewhere that the issue is that the game considers the fenced-in area a room and treats it accordingly. The suggestion was, and sorry I don't have the link handy, to leave out one tile-length of fencing so that the pond area isn't enclosed. Then make the pond, draw one tile-length of fencing elsewhere, and pick it up and move it to the gap in the fence.
I don't know whether this fixes the tiny home issue as well, but it's easy enough to test.