How To Install A Garden Preformed Liner Pond On Level Ground
A preformed pond is a pond that was created from a mould in a factory. Such
ponds are made from fibreglass, polyurethane and basic polythene thermoplastics
sheeting. The best or I should say most realistic are those made for fibreglass.
They are normally created complete with built in edging which makes a pond
installation dramatically simpler and quicker. Unfortunately most of these ponds
are small with few more than 500 litres in volume. Remember my earlier warning
these ponds look much bigger on display empty than installed full of water.
 Installing A Preformed Pond
... example of a small pre-formed pond installed shown opposite. It's
fibreglass including the built-in edging which made installation a piece of
cake.
Step 1 Mark out the outline of the pond top circumference by tracing with a
stick, or using a hosepipe or using a white powder or soil for example. Then dig
to make the hole slightly larger than marked out. Dig only to first shelf depth.
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Step 2 Once down to first shelf level put pond back into hole and trace
outline of pond base circumference using long handled stick to reach if
necessary. The idea is to create as neat and accurate as hole as possible that
conforms to the actual pond shape. Dig out this shape to the right depth. Make
the base firm and level use sand to help.
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Step 3 Very important. Make sure pond is level when in final position as shown
below Step 4 Now is the time to back fill soil into the voids. Before you start
however put some water into the base of the pond to prevent it moving around as
you backfill you do not want to disturb the levels over which you have taken a
lot of trouble. You will need to use a stick and hose pipe maybe to wash
soil/sand into difficult to reach places around outer edge of the pond (however
be careful because any water you use in this process MUST drain down through the
soil otherwise it will lift up your pond). Fill the pond to level of successive
backfills so that movement of the pond is prevented as you tamp soil into place
keep checking levels. Take your time. Try to judge your actions as being
effective you need to prevent voids.
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Step 5 Make sure edges are firmly supported by soil.
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Step 6 Edging; leave for about a week before starting to allow final settling
to take place. Ensure the edging overlaps the pond by about 2 inches (to keep
the liner in the shade to prevent sunlight degradation).
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Finally enjoy it.
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