DIY Garden

How to make a garden pond with pond liner

Materials

  • PVC or EPDM foil
  • White sand
  • Optionally: special foil glue

Tools

  • Spade
  • Tape measure
  • Rope
  • Level
  • Optionally: hot air gun

Inspiration

Your garden pond starts “at the drawing board”. The first step is to make a design.

Things to look out for:

  • Choose a place where there are not too many trees. Fallen leaves, and especially conifer needles, can disturb the biological balance in the pond. Moreover, the roots can damage the pond liner.
  • Ideal is a place that gets partial sun. Too much sun stimulates algae growth, while too little sun blocks a healthy growth of aquatic plants.

Perspiration

Now the hard work begins: digging out your future water world. Transfer your design by setting out sticks or picket poles, between which you stretch rope.

Things to look out for when digging:

  • Create terraces at different depths, one terrace 30 to 40 centimeters lower than the other. This way you create the right level for different types of aquatic plants. The lowest part of the pond must be at least 80 centimeters deep to allow fish to overwinter safely.
  • Remove roots and stones.
  • Check whether the terraces and the edge are level.
  • You can have the excavated soil removed in a container, but maybe you can also use it (partially) to create an elevation in a different place in the garden.
  • Now apply a layer of white sand of at least 5 centimeters thick over the entire excavation. Press the sand firmly and check again if everything is level.

Applying the pond liner

You can choose from two materials, PVC foil or EPDM foil. The first is cheaper but has the disadvantage that it is fairly stiff and therefore more difficult to process neatly. EPDM foil is more flexible and stronger. It lasts around 30 to 40 years, while PVC has a lifespan of around 15 years.

Calculate how much foil you need based on this formula:

  • Pond length + 2 x depth of the pond + 2 x 50 cm
  • Pond width + 2 x depth of the pond + 2 x 50 cm

It is ideal to form the entire pond from one piece of foil. For a large pond, it may be necessary to attach different pieces to each other with a special pond liner glue or by welding them. For the latter method, you heat the edges with the help of a hot air gun and press them firmly together with a roller. In both cases, you make the connection on a flat spot in the garden, before you place the pond liner.

Things to look out for:

  • First, place the foil on the bottom and then roll it out to the edges. Ask someone to help, that’s a lot easier than working on your own.
  • Do not place the foil too tightly, because the water pressure will make the material even tighter. Folds may look messy, but once you have filled the pond, you will no longer see them.
  • Leave at least 50 centimeters around for the edge finish.
  • Work barefoot or on socks to avoid the risk of damaging the foil.

The finish of the edges

There are plenty of options to give the pond a beautiful, natural-looking edge. Boulders, terrace tiles, decking boards, wood strips or vegetation mats that you plant with bank plants … you can choose the material that best fits your garden design.

A few things to look out for:

  • The edge must be slightly higher than the environment to prevent water from flowing out of the pond.
  • Make sure that the edge is level, otherwise, it looks as if the water level is crooked. This is particularly striking with a sleek, formal pond.

And now…

Now the heavy work is done and the fun can begin. The design of your new garden biotope, the choice of aquatic plants and fish, the decorative elements … That is not immediately an area where we are at home at Klium, but on the internet, you will find extensive information from people who know all about it. On the website of HINTS AND THINGS for example.

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