Pond Liners

Calling all landscapers that tackle big ponds and complex koi ponds: if you are unsure that you are lining the pond in the right way and using the right techniques, you need some training, there is noThe course covers all you need to know from the vary basics of liner splicing to the sealing of quite complex details doubt about it. The best place to get that training is on the Firestone training course. It is such good value for money that you will wonder how they can ‘wine and dine’ you, put you up at a very comfortable hotel for the night, teach you for a full day how to install and splice up pond liner, whilst providing as much food and drink as you can consume during the day, all at such a rock bottom price of just over £200. Even if you forget all that, you come away with a certificate, all the tools you need for joining liners, instruction manual and even the ‘T’ shirt! Just the cost of materials you use up in the course of the ‘hands on’ practice must amount to more than the cost of the course.

Putting in a preformed liner often seems the easy option when contemplating building a water garden, but things dont are not that simple when it actually comes down to it, especially if the pool liner is a big one. Getting it precisely level can be almost a lottery and then trying to make it look natural and in keeping with the rest of the garden can then seem a hopeless task. Here we show how you can get a level and attractive feature that would be on a par with a pond created in any other way.

It has to be admitted that even a skillfull professionally installed water feature using fibreglass products is probably more suited to the urban or suburban garden, but there are distinct advantages when it comes to maintenance and keeping it clean. Fibreglass as opposed to a plastic ponds can be manufactured much larger and deeper and are therefore slightly more suitable for providing a home larger species of fish like koi, as long as the numbers are kept to a very few.

Half-raised pond framework laid on the footing: The footing and the block work for the surrounding wall are completed before the excavation so that you know how much space to leave for a marginal shelfThe framework is in for the flexible liner pool in the ground. Now the 'second dig' is underway: The framework is essential in this pond, because of the slope of the garden the far edge will be above ground level. If it was all below ground level the near face, where I am digging would have to be faced and the pool surface would be hidden from the ho Creating a water garden all seems so easy in the 3 or 4 drawings in the catalogues or the coffee table books, but those essential details that hold the key to the creation of that magnificent vista you have in your minds eye seem to be missing. Well, if you have come this far in the operation and all the essential planning has been done then the rest is just plain sailing even if it is a little bit of hard work.
If you were digging by hand, by now you should have completed the first part of the excavation down to the marginal shelf level of the pool. Where necessary, you have laid in a blockwork skeleton. Where there is particularly light soil or if the side of the pool is exposed to its complete depth, you may have found it necessary to do the complete excavation and build up a block work framework from the base, perhaps even building in the marginal shelf area with blockwork and backfilling with soil. This blockwork will have been onto a minimum 10cm footing.
If you were using a machine you should have tidied up and be attending to the detail in the shape of the excavation. You will have considered all the potential problems in advance and will be prepared to start on the next stage.

A pond that is faced on the inside with walling stone and rockery stone.: The marginal shelf must be wide enough to take the facing stone and there still be enough room for planting baskets.

Pond built without a decent width of marginal shelf.: In the process of building this pond the owners asked if we would try out a new PVC reinforced liner. Because it was PVC it was decided to obscure the liner form the sun down to the marginal shelf with stonework. The result was the critically narrow marg

A reminder of how the excavation looked before the blockwork went in

LET’S FACE IT

The excavation of the pool from the marginal shelf downwards should take into account whether you will be facing the inside of the pool with stone, brick or even woodwork. Although in a well planted pool you are hardly ever aware of the pool liner, you may consider it necessary to hide the liner down to the marginal shelf level.
For this you must take the maximum width of the facing material and allow for this in the width of your marginal shelf area. If you are keeping it simple by depending upon an overhang of your edging stone to help obscure the liner then allow for a marginal shelf width of at least 25cm/10ins - big enough for a good sized planting basket.

When things are nice and simple, and the ground is firm and flat, the easiest way put in a flexible liner is the standard conservationist technique and is only suitable for informal water gardens. This little article could easily have a heading:

How to Build Ponds in the 'Continental Fashion'

The reason this method is so popular is because it doesn't involve any construction at all. All you need is a good strong spade and back for digging, some pegs (longer than the intended depth of the pond), the corect amount of liner and underlay and a good quantity of soft heavy sand (Holme sand).

LANDSCAPING IDEAS:

BUILDING BACKYARD POOLS, WATER GARDENS AND WATER FEATURES. CHOOSING THE SITE AND LINER MATERIAL

If you are contemplating building a water garden or a backyard pool for yourself or if you are wondering why your last efforts were such a disaster, there may be just a small key point of technique in the installation of the liner that may have been missed.
THE secrets of getting it right from the very start, at the basic foundations of any water garden, whether you choose preformed units or flexible liner materials.

WHEN THINGS ARE NOT SO SIMPLE.

Building a pond in unlevel or uneven ground using flexible liners

Here is how to build a pool with a flexible liner when part of the pool edge emerges above the level of the surrounding landscape, or if the pool is in loose soil or made up ground.

Liners are the most cost effective method of making a waterproof pool in your garden, but what is there really to choose between all the makes and materials?

Peter May tells you what will help you make it neat or natural.