Garden ponds lined with a pond liner offer a wide range of pond building designs. Planning is an essential step towards creating the desired look. In this article we offer user friendly tips on what to consider in the planning and build phase.

Garden pond location

The following points should be considered when deciding where to site your pond. 

• Near water and power supply – to operate pond pump and filter.
• Accessible for the delivery of all the materials needed for your pond build – and perhaps a small digger to excavate the hole. 
•  Amount of direct sunlight in mid-summer as this will ultimately affect the water temperature and the life within the pond.
• Avoid extremes of light and shadow. A pond needs at least 6 hours of sunlight in summer. Water lilies need sun to flower and grow. A pond is synonymous with water lilies as they provide shade and shelter for fish or other water-loving creatures.
• Trees can be a menace to ponds particularly in the Autumn when they start to loose their leaves so avoid positioning a pond too near non-evergreen trees and large shrubs. If leaves sink to the bottom of a pond they will, in time turn to sludge which then starts to affect the health of the pond water due to an increase in nutrient levels. The result is an algae build-up.
• Avoid the front garden or anyother area which is easily accessible by children.

Pond size and depth

The best solution for a healthy, hormonious pond is to build is to build the biggest that space and budget will allow. 

• From experience, a pond of 20m² is ideal as it requires less maintenance, easily accommodates water lily growth with out the risk of the pond being caste into a shadow of doom!
• If you are going to accommodate fish, a pond should be dug to a depth of at least 1 meter to prevent water freezing over in winter and to provide shelter for fish.
• Deeper, bigger ponds lose less oxygen during the hot summer periods.

Flexible pond liners 

Flat sheet PVC or rubber pond liners are the most popular choice when it comes to making a pond water tight. The reason is that they offer a wide choice in pond design, easy to instore and offers the ability to add on a stream or other additions to the pond.

• Choose a pond liner that offers the following features:
  • frost proof
  • puncture resistant.
  • resists the pressure of growing roots and ground movement
  • flexible enough to mould into the contours of a pond design
  • guaranteed to last for 20 years or more
  • UV resistant and withstands extremes in temperature
• Buy from an authorised aquatic shop or online store. Avoid buying builders rubber liners. A pond liner must be environmentally friendly and not leach chemicals into the water
• Pond liners can be bought in a choice of thickness. Those of 0.85mm or 1mm in thickness are most suitable for larger ponds where the pressure of water baring down on it is much greater
• Sheets of rubber pond liner can be hot bonded together to accommodate large pond design dimmensions. 
• When placing an order for a protective underlay and pond liner, you will first need to take exact measurements of your pond build. The calculations are:
  • pond liner length required = pond length + 2 x depth + 2 x  edge width
  • pond width required = pond width + 2 x depth + 2 x edge width (pond edge of around 40 to 50cm is needed to create an overlap to secure the pond liner in place using boulders or your choice of edging material)

Garden pond edging to secure pond liner

The edging is a very important step in a pond build and pond liner installation. Not only does it mark the transition from land to water (or vica versa) but also plays a role in protecting a pond liner from visiting wildlife (and their claws!) and securing it in place. Bare edging doesn’t look natural and exposed pond liner also risks damage by UV rays.

• Use gravel, boulders or other attractive stones where the bank is shallow (to avoid them rolling into the pond)
• Other choices for edging include paving stones

A pond is an attractive addition to any size garden and creates a wonderful opportunity to examine nature close up. When building a pond, make sure it is accessible from at least one side for maintenance purposes, to add or cut back aquatic plants, feed fish or skim-off fallen leaves. Floating aquatic plants will help maintain a healthy pond by keeping algae away – so a worthy addition. When adding plants to your completed pond build, don’t get over enthusiatic – at least a third of the pond surface needs to be free of plant cover to allow for enough sunlight to penetrate the water.

Happy pond building! 

Articles offering further assistance in planning and building a pond:

1. Pond planning and construction 
2. Need help choosing your pond liner?

Pond liner use is two fold, namely to retain the water in your pond and to maintain water quality. The choice available to pond builders is either a preformed pond liner, flexible flat sheet liner or to line with concrete (the latter of which is seldom used today due to cost, maintenance and durability). Flexible pond liners include PVC or a rubber pond liner of which the options include Butyl or Epalyn (also called by it’s generic name – EPDM rubber liner). Flexible, flat sheet pond liners offer the best choice in pond design and the ability to create a more natural looking pond build.

Pond liner advise as given by the experts

• buy the best pond liner you can,
• don’t buy a pond liner in isolation but also give serious thought to the protective underlay
• don’t buy your pond liner and underlay until the exact dimensions of your excavation are known (to avoid wastage or disappointment!)
• allow enough pond liner for an overlap around the edges to secure in place by using appropriate materials such as boulders or paving bricks.

Best quality liners are Butyl and Epalyn rubber liners. There is no financial compromise with these genuinely high quality products. Butyl is the most well known pond-lining product in the UK although Epalyn (EPDM rubber liner) is surpassing it’s popularity die to the price differential. Both types of rubber liners are hardy and have great qualities such as flexibility and elasticity. They are unaffected by all weather conditions and temperatures. They are also much more heavy duty versus PVC and are less likely to be damage. So, now to decided between Butyl and Epalyn? Both are high quality, but Epalyn has a higher specification, is slightly more flexible, has the same guarantee and is considerably more cost effective. So if cost is the deciding factor, then Epalyn would be my choice of pond liner. But, lets look at each in more detail.

Ponds are the perfect addition to any size garden. A water feature soon becomes a magnet to wildlife attracting them into your garden in a way that makes you feel very honoured to have their presence.  Ponds bring a sense of relaxation and reward. One aspect to maintaining a healthy environment is ensuring you don’t over-stock with fish. So here are simple formula to calculating pond water capacity.

There are many things to consider when planning a garden pond build, such as where the pond is to be sited, budget for the project, materials required and whether it should be a wildlife or fish pond. As part of the construction process you will need to measure the dimensions of the hole dug for your garden pond to calculate how much pond liner and protective pond underlay to order to minimise waste. Following these steps, you will also want to know the volume of your pond to then be able to shop for the correct size pond pump and filter. Continue reading →

Many children have a great fascination towards small creatures found in gardens, fields or ponds such as earthworms, frogs, tadpoles and newts. As a result of my daughters interest in pond wildlife, I find myself constantly on the look out for ponds noting the various species of aquatic plants, the type of edging added to protect the pond liner and whether there are fish present. Continue reading →

PVC pond liner repair is possible although there is the risk of it becoming brittle. Some pond liner repair kits are designed for use on rubber pond liners only so read the label first.

Pond liners if installed correctly and placed above a protective underlay liner, are less likely to puncture. However, a PVC pond liner doesn’t have the same UV resistant qualities as Butyl and Epalyn (EPDM) pond liner therefore over time there is a risk of the pond liner becoming britle and, as a result become more vulnerable to puncturing. The claws or sharp beaks of visiting wildlife can also be the perpetrator of a damaged pond liner. A drop in water level through evaporation will expose a pond liner to higher levels of UV radiation, weakening the pond liner and again heightening the risk of puncturing and the resulting drop in pond water level.

A PVC pond liner doesn’t repair as well as a rubber pond liner such as that of Butyl or Epalyn (EPDM), so depending on how big the puncture is, you will need to weigh up whether to try and repair the leak or just replace your pond liner given that PVC have a life span of around 10 to 15 years.

Finding the puncture to your PVC pond liner? 

If the water level of your pond drops at a faster rate than expected from evaporation alone then the next step is to find the cause. This may mean draining the water out, but only to the point where the puncture becomes visible. Use a garden hose to drain out the water.

For ponds that are home to fish, they will need to be removed and put in a temporary holding tank or plastic bath before draining your pond. Fill the tank with water from your pond first to reduce stress and risk to the health of your fish.

• If the leak is at the bottom of your pond, then repairs will be more of a challenge but not an impossible one. 
• Clean a wide area around the puncturea of algae, grit and any plant life using a clean rag.
• Rinse the area and dry it thoroughly (you can use a hair dryer to make sure that the surface is thoroughly dry) before roughing up the damaged surface with a wire brush. A rougher surface is more porous and holds the glue more effectively.  
• Mark the punctured pond liner by circling it with a piece of chalk.
• Cut a piece of PVC liner in a circular shape. The shape will need to be larger than the size of the hole.
• Spread PVC liner patching glue or waterproof sealant over the surface of the tear and the surface of the patch. Allow the glue to dry until it is no longer tacky to the touch. Press the patch, glue side down, over the hole in the pond liner so that the two glued sides are sandwiched together. Apply the patch uniformly over the hole to prevent wrinkles. Hold for 30 seconds. 
• Wait 48 hours for the glue to cure before refilling your pond and re-introducing your fish back into your pond.

Pond liner repair kits such as the traditional Mastic Tape are not suitable for repairs to PVC pond liner. 

Knowing which pond liner is considered to be a high quality pond liner, how much to order and where to buy are questions many aspiring garden pond owners want an answer to. It is also about the financial outlay and getting the best value for your spend.

A high quality pond liner will play a vital role in the containment of water particularly for those built on porous ground. A pond liner manufactured from synthetic rubber material is considered high quality. Should they tear or get punctured, they can be repaired without too much disruption to the pond. Although, this will depend where in the pond the leak occurs and therefore where the liner is punctured. Synthetic rubber pond liners, Butyl and Epalyn (also know as EPDM) are available to order from a number of pond supply websites and garden centres. Pond liners can be purchased according to your own set of dimensions or you can select from pre-cut pond liner kits.

Which high quality pond liner to order?

Butyl and Epalyn rubber pond liners (EPDM) are considered to be the best on the market based on the following features:

• Display excellent properties of both durability and flexibility which means they can be readily manipulated into various pond shapes and sizes
• They are better for cool climates and have superior UV resistance
• High expansion and contraction characteristics that enable it to conform to objects below the pond
• Should earth movement occur, such as settling, Epalyn high elongation properties will enable it to stretch
• Very stable in extreme temperatures and other environmental conditions
• Easy to repair either of these materials (although damage is minimal when installed above a protective underlay)
• Epalyn and Butyl feel and perform in a very similar way
• Non-toxic to fish and other pond inhabitants
• Kind to the environment as they don’t leach chemicals into the ground

The technical difference, however between Epalyn and Butyl is the polymer. To be called Butyl the sheet must contain more than 50% butyl polymer. The polymer is the ingredient that makes the sheet elastic. In most pond grade Butyl there is usually a percentage of EPDM polymer mixed in. Epalyn, however is made with 100% EPDM polymer. EPDM polymer is more readily used around the world in a range of industries as well as for lining ponds and it is generally cheaper.

If you are planning to build an ornamental pond whether to house KOI fish or for a display of water lilies then a box-welded pond liner is best suited to this design. Box-welded or tailored-to-fit liners are most frequently fabricated from Epalyn rubber liner material. The main advantage of this type of liner is that it fits perfectly into a vertically-sided formal pond design without any creases or folds thereby creating a neat finish.

For Koi enthusiasts wanting to build an formal shaped Koi pond, Liners Online pond liner supplier will need the exact dimensions of your pond to fabricate a box-welded pond liner for a snug fit.

For all other creative pond designs we supply flat sheet pond liners and have a pond liner size calculator on our website to help customers with measurements.

Liners Online have more than thirty years experience in the water containment and waterproofing industry so can offer support and expert advice on garden pond construction as well as pond liner installation.  

The use of a flexible pond liner offers design flexibility. They allow you to create a pond that works well with your surrounding garden landscape. A preformed fibreglass mould allows you to create a garden pond just as easily but are generally a more expensive way to achieve a stunning water feature in your garden. The real benefit of a pond liner is that you can expand the size of your pond at a later date if you so choose or you can add features such as a waterfall or bottom drain.

Want to build a wildlife pond in your garden with a beached are and planting shelves? All that can be achieved with a rubber pond liner. The design flexibility offered means that you can create easy access for wildlife. Your pond liner is also likely to last more than 25 years.

Flat sheet pond liners offers the flexibility to build a pond that suits your requirements. Types to choose from include Epalyn (EPDM rubber), Butyl and PVC. Overall, pond liners made of rubber are recommended, as they are more durable, resistant to extreme weather conditions and easy to work with. 

Butyl pond liners can withstand the severity of both frost and UV radiation. Although thicker than the PVC pond liners, Butyl is still remarkably flexible and easy to use. Butyl is ideal for larger installations due to its much tougher qualities.

Epalyn pond liners are also more rugged than PVC liners. They are better for cool climates and offers UV resistance and has high expansion as well as contraction characteristics. Epalyn can be obtained in various”grades” (thicknesses).

Unlike preformed ponds, rubber pond liners can be easily shaped to fit the contours of the pond shape, allowing for a more unique design. Once a rubber pond liner has been installed correctly, it will require little or no regular maintenance. 

For a lined pond, it is also wise to invest in a protective underlay, which acts as cushioning material between the pond liner and the surface of your pond excavation. Before buying your pond liner and and underlay make sure you know the exact pond liner size required.

When building a pond it really is all down to choice and wether you want a more natural looking pond build that you are likely to take on as a growing hobby.