|
Pond building Pond building where do you start ? actually it is quite simple the First thing is think & design DESIGN Since thinking is cheaper than doing, it is a wise decision. First of all you need to decide do is where to put it, it may look nice under that tree, but what about Autumn when the leaves fall? the leaves will land in the pond and start to decay creating a "poisonous" atmosphere for any wild life / fish, not to mention the trees roots because if it is made from a flexible liner they will sooner rather than later puncture it. How much sun will it get? Will i want a fountain or waterfall, or will i want it lit at night. The reason being is there an electricity supply near by. CONSTRUCTION Now that its position has been decided what do you want to make it out of? You basically have three main choices. Flexible liner, Preformed liner, concrete. Each has its own pro's and cons. FLEXIBLE LINER Shape and depth is up to you, there are several types but basically you get what you pay for. Ie the more you pay the longer the guarantee. Should it get punctured in general they are easy to repair. When designing your shape try to avoid tight corners since water will stay here and stagnate. Also a word of advice, build the sides with a slope. (click here for more details) PREFORMED LINER Obviously you are limited to the designers choice on every thing here, but again you get what you pay for. A word of warning. Pre formed ponds "shrink" when buried in the ground. (They don't really its just that that big pond isn't so big when you are looking at it in the ground, so i would advise you choose carefully.) It depends on the material it is made from as to how if at all it can be repaired successfully. CONCRETE This is what ponds can be made from, it is not easy and usually has to be about six inches thick even for a small pond so that it will not move and crack. Very hard to repair since they have to be drained completely to repair properly. Puddled clay You can of course try "puddled" clay but this has to be thick, is prone to drying out and unless you have a supply of clay can be more expensive than all the others put together. HARD GRAFT Now that you have decided what you are going to make your pond from, lets get digging. It is always best to mark the ground first. You can use a hose, string or dried sand put in a bottle and used like "paint" Once you are happy with the position YOU can start digging. If you are using a preformed liner then i suggest you make it at least 2 inches deeper than required. Please also see digging a hole HOLE DUG? Continue for preformed liner Click here for flexible liner Now that your hole is dug try the liner for size. Make any alterations to the hole so that there is about a two inch gap all around. If you are sure that it fits and is level you need to put in a "pre-liner" first. The best i have found is sand. If you use any thing like carpet or old newspaper it will rot and give no support, however there are some special materials available for the job. The idea of the pre-liner is to prevent the liner it self from being punctured by any sharp stones, also you can use it to ensure that your pond is level when finished. Now you can start filling with water, I can not stress enough to keep checking the level as it fills because once its full if it isn't level it will "stick out like a sore thumb" As it fills put the soil or sand in the gap between the liner and the hole. Do not rush this part as it gives support to the liner, pack it in but no higher than the water level. As it fills pack it in more until all is finished, and keep checking that it is level. If you find it is not level i am sorry but you will have to pump it out and start again. All Done? Well now that it is full it is recommended that you leave it for at least a day to give the liner a chance to finish "settling in" You can now decorate the edges with what ever material you have chosen. Get a nice deck chair sit back and enjoy. A few words of caution. If you are adding fish either leave the pond for at least a week or add a dechlorinator. If you are adding a fountain follow the manufactures instructions carefully and please use an R.C.D. Forgot about the electrical side? click here why not send us pictures as you construct your pond?
|