A Pond In The Garden Is Real. Part 2

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

What a reservoir can be and what is more convenient to make it from. Technical solutions

• Film reservoir without a concrete bowl
• Film pond-pool with a concrete bowl
• Ready-made plastic pond made of polypropylene without a concrete bowl
• Plastic pond-pool made of polypropylene on request with a concrete base
• Concrete pond-pool with a special waterproofing coating HYPERDESMO
• Construction of a concrete bowl for film and concrete reservoirs
• Construction of a film reservoir
• How to choose the right film?

Film reservoir without a concrete bowl

This option is suitable for any pond and allows you to create ponds completely to your liking: any shape and any size. However, when forming medium and large ponds, the film must be welded - you cannot do this on your own and you will have to turn to specialized companies for help.

The film should be special - for artificial reservoirs. It does not wrinkle or crumble over time, is tear resistant and is not damaged by plant roots. It can be safely used in reservoirs where fish live. The film does not contain toxic substances, it is resistant to ultraviolet rays and cold. Such material will calmly overwinter under water even at -30 ° C.

Films are produced in two types: from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) - thinner and suitable only for miniature ponds, and from synthetic rubber (SC) - up to 2 mm thick, they are preferable for medium and large ponds.

If the width of the film is not enough to completely cover the entire pit, it is laid with overlapping ribbons. At the joints, it must be either glued (for PVC) or welded (SC). The necessary materials for this are offered by manufacturers of film materials. Welding can be performed both at the enterprise and at the construction site of the reservoir. Its cost is about 25% of the price of the film material.

The film is not laid directly on the ground: the first layer is geotextile, which protects the film from sharp roots and stones.

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Film pond-pool with a concrete bowl

The use of a reservoir as a pool requires a rigid structure that can only be made of concrete.

First, a concrete bowl with ideally smooth walls with a thickness of at least 20 cm and a metal mesh frame is built in a dug pit.

On top of the concrete bowl, geotextile is laid in the first layer, which protects the film from sharp roots and stones, and then the film.

Ready-made plastic pond made of polypropylene without a concrete bowl

If you are not chasing originality, and the small size of your pond will suit you perfectly, then this is the best way out. Such a structure is easy to install, strong enough and relatively inexpensive (for example, in Yekaterinburg it is not difficult to purchase ready-made ponds at a price of about 1200 to 6000 rubles).

Now on sale you can find containers of the most diverse shapes, and not only the standard rectangular or round. Your pond can become triangular, oval, elliptical, and even curved like a boomerang. The material from which the bowl is made is polypropylene. It is strong and impact-resistant, and its chemical properties are well suited for plants and fish. True, the color of those containers that are sold here in Yekaterinburg. only black, but such an artificial reservoir will cost relatively inexpensively.

Plastic pond-pool made of polypropylene on request with a concrete base

If you decide to combine two in one and use a decorative pond for your own bathing, then the simplest, however, and the most expensive solution in terms of money, is to order a polypropylene mold for the pool from the manufacturer. It will be easy enough for you, as you can order a plastic mold of any size and any configuration. In this case, polypropylene sheets are simply welded, however, using the appropriate equipment.

They are welded directly on the site of the pond. A perfectly smooth concrete base of the pond must be prepared before welding. After welding the mold, you will only have to build a formwork along the outer contour of the pond bowl (the polypropylene bowl will play the role of the inner contour) and pour concrete into this bowl.

In this case, there are two advantages:

• there is no need to make an internal formwork (and this is quite difficult, because usually the contours of the pond you want to make some original form);
• pond shape and size can be arbitrary.

However, such a structure may cost more than your entire rest of the site with a house, a bathhouse, plantings and other buildings. For example, for the construction of a pond measuring 2.45x2x1.5 m you will have to pay over 4 thousand euros.

Concrete pond-pool with a special waterproofing coating HYPERDESMO

HYPERDESMO is a one-component, liquid polyurethane-based material that, after polymerization, forms a durable, chemically resistant coating used for waterproofing. Recommended for protecting concrete, metal, wood surfaces, natural stone, bricks and making them resistant to abrasion, waterproofing and chemical resistance. Among other things, this material is used for waterproofing swimming pools and reservoirs with food and drinking water.

This is the cheapest solution in the case of building a mini-pool in the form of a pond: it is half the price of a film reservoir with a concrete bowl and four times cheaper than a polypropylene pool with a concrete bowl. In addition, the coating is very easy to apply and no additional manpower is required. In this case, the same concrete bowl is created as for the film pool, but then it is covered not with geotextile and film, but in turn with several special compounds.

This technology appeared on the Russian market quite recently, and so far little is known about it. If desired, after covering the reservoir with waterproofing compounds, you can additionally decorate the walls and base of the pond with embossed or flat stones or tiles. For these purposes, natural stones are used: shungite, black shale, pink sandstone, etc. The cost of the reservoir in this case will increase significantly.

Construction of a concrete bowl for film and concrete reservoirs

First, the bottom and walls of the pit are poured with a 13-cm layer of concrete mixture. A metal mesh is pressed into the still damp walls. When the first layer hardens (after 5-7 days), lay out the second.

In order for the concrete to harden and not dry out, which can subsequently lead to the formation of cracks, it is kept wet for several days, covered with plastic wrap or damp burlap. To avoid material slipping from the walls, the slopes of the reservoir are arranged at an angle of 40-45 °.

For concreting the steep banks, a wooden formwork is erected. Concrete is poured into it even before the bottom has time to freeze. Remove the formwork when the concrete has completely hardened.

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Construction of a film reservoir

If you decide to build a pond using a film, you will have to stock up on a special, thick film for reservoirs, impregnated with a certain composition or also with a special thinner flexible film for the same purpose. It is not cheap, but you are not limited in choosing the shape of the pond.

First, use a hose to mark the shape of the pond in your area and start digging a hole for it. Carrying out all operations from the outside to the inside, create first a sludge zone (0-10 cm), then a shallow zone (20-40 cm) and finally a deep zone (60-150 cm). Slopes between individual zones should not exceed 30 °, as otherwise the earth may collapse or baskets with special plants, for example, water lilies, slide down. Then level all surfaces and clear the pit of stones and plant roots.

The inner surface of the pond bowl is compacted. The base is covered with a 10-cm layer of sand. Then a special canvas-geotextile for ponds is laid under the film. It is he who effectively protects the waterproofing membrane from mechanical damage and has a high resistance to root germination.

By using this material, you significantly extend the service life of the film reservoir. Then run a measuring tape (tape measure) through the hole you dug. Measure the longest distance between the edges of the pit, keeping in mind that the measuring tape - like the film later - must be firmly attached to the ground. Add another 30 cm each to the measured length and width of the film. This leaves you with enough foil to secure the edges during installation, for example with stones or tiles.

How to choose the right film?

The correct choice of film thickness depends on the size of the pond.

• Ponds with an area of less than 10 m² can be made from 0.5 mm thick film.
• Larger ponds with a depth of up to 150 cm are recommended to be made of at least 1 mm thick film.
• For ponds over 150 cm deep, we recommend using 1.5 mm liner.

Considering that the film is not cheap (we have about 22 euros per 1 m² in Yekaterinburg), then it is worth carefully calculating the required amount so as not to overpay for the excess.

How much film is needed can be calculated using the formulas:

• length + doubled depth + 60 cm = blade length;
• width + doubled depth + 60 cm = web width.

For example, for a garden pond 5 m long and 4 m wide, with a maximum depth of 1.5 m, you need a pond film measuring 8.60 x 7.60 m. It does not matter at what angle the banks descend or what depth the different greening zones. Only the deepest point of the pond is considered. A film is laid on top of the laid out geotextile without pressing it inward. The edges of the film are pressed down with stones.

After that, the pond is gradually filled with water. As the water level rises, stones are removed one by one, without interfering with the film gradually falling and pressing against the sides and bottom of the pit, while the folds are leveled as much as possible.

The edges of the reservoir are laid out with natural stone, tiles, bricks, etc. so that they hang about 5 cm above the water. The stones should be fixed with cement mortar. The gaps between the stones are filled with stone chips to completely cover the edges of the film. Then the reservoir and its banks are decorated with plants.

Read in the first part of the article:

• Purpose of the reservoir
• The location of the reservoir
• The shape of the reservoir
• The dimensions of the reservoir
• Security
• Work force

Read in the third part of the article:

• Installation of a finished plastic pond made of polypropylene
• Coating of a concrete reservoir with waterproofing material GIPERDESMO
• Pond care