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How to build a professional pond. The process of building a professional pond involves several more steps than a conventional pond but the result is a virtually maintenance proof pond that we are not concerned about punctures or even if your dogs wants to get in and swim it cant cause any damage. |
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1. Having decided upon the position and shape of the pond the soil is removed using a mini-digger with a certified operator. We have first checked that there are no services (electricity, phone, gas, water) running under the area we have chosen. The mini-digger operator is careful to remove only small scrapes of earth at a time just in case we meet any unexpected objects in the ground while digging. We also have a second person watching the dig for safety. In this instance we where able to drive our truck right up to the excavation for tipping the removed soil into. |
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2. Here we are midway through the dig out of the pond. The basic levels within the pond are starting to be formed. Notice also that even though the majority of the pond is dug we have managed to keep the area around it as clean as possible. This means that there is no waiting for grass to re-grow after the digger. Its all about planning. |
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3. Having completed the dig the next step is to remove all sharp stones from the base of the pond. We then cover the entire pond surface with a 50mm layer of sand as the first layer of protection to our liner. A second layer of protection is the roll of pond fleece that you can see to the right of the above picture. This pond fleece will be placed on top of the sand to further protect the liner. Pond fleece is a very tough fabric that will not rot over time like some other option. You can also see in the above picture that we have hammered treated wooden stakes all around the edge. These stakes serve 2 important purposes. They make sure the pond is level all around and they help to form a secure foundation for edging. A 50 mm diameter wooden stake is hammered into the ground every 600 to 800 mm apart. Then using a level we find the lowest edge of the pond. This is our datum level ie the level to which we work. We then cut each wooden stake 80 mm below this level. This difference in height is varies depending upon the edging material. Tip. Use a laser level to greatly speed up this process. |
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4. Once all the stakes have been leveled we screw a 40mm pvc pipe to the top of each stake. This pipe is used to create a level pond and a means of overlapping the liner to create a foundation for the edging.
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5. The entire pond area is now covered in a layer of pond fleece. This pond fleece protects the liner from damage. |
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6. The pond is then cover in a layer of butyl rubber pond liner. Notice the through created around the edge of the pond where the liner comes over the PVC pipe and back up to the ground. Its this through which helps to form a foundation for the pond edging. |
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7. In this case we are going to add several very large rocks to the inside of the pond. These rocks will form a water cascade. So before we put these rocks into the pond we need to create a strong platform or foundation for them. Here we have placed a layer of pond fleece on top of the liner and then using 40 mm paving bricks we have placed a layer of foundation mesh steel on top.We then cover the entire pond in a layer of concrete to which we have added an anti-cracking fiber. When this concrete has thoroughly cured we then seal it with three coats of plastic water proofer (G4). |
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8. We then start lifting the rocks into place using our crane. |
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9. The rocks are carefully placed so that we can get the right floe of water across them and in such a manner that the pipe work serving the pump is not seen. here we have chosen to have a some of the bottom rocks act as an overhang. This overhang is primarily aesthetic but it also acts as a place for hiding the ballcock under and helps to keep the water oxygenated. This ballcock is used to keep the pond automatically filled with water all year round (evaporation compensation). |
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10. The pond is then edged and a stone liner is used to skirt the edge. Various sizes of cobbles are place in the pond. Underwater lights are added, pumps is connected and filtration system is plumbed in. Water is then added and after a few hours the filtration system ensures that we have clear water. After about seven days the pond is ready for planting and a further seven to fourteen days later fish can be added. |
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11. The flow of the water can be adjusted to the exact requirements via the remote control switch. |
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