Ponds

A pond can take many forms, from a small hole in the ground to a well designed, contemporary pond, perhaps with water features.

Here are the steps I would consider and a brief overview of some options when it comes to building a pond.

Firstly, what is the aim?

Is the pond for fish, wildlife, maybe just as a tranquil area to relax, or maybe even take a dip! Either way, that will help decide the next step.

How much space can you allow for the pond?

Decide how much space you want to give to your pond. One pond I created was only about 1.5 meters sq, and elevated off of the ground by around 50cm. You can see more of this and how to construct a suitable above ground pond here.

That worked for a small garden. In a larger space, you will likely have the room to go bigger, and incorporate into the surrounding landscaping scheme. For more information on building larger ground level ponds, see here.

Materials

Naturally, ponds will form where the ground is at either the lowest point, below the water table, or where the substrate is non pourus ie, compacted clay.

So in your garden or plot of land, you may already find this is naturally happening, or could work with these factors to create a pond.

Beyond that, you will need to use an artificial membrane to hold the water. The best products for lining a pond are usually butyl rubber liners or epdm rubber liners. I’ll also mention fiberglass ponds, pre-fabricated plastic and paint on waterproofing below.

Butyl and rubber liners

These have varying thicknesses of <1mm to 1mm or over. Butyl is more expensive but tougher overall, so this could be a benefit where the risk of puncture is higher.

Epdm rubber on the other hand, is cheaper, very flexible, lighter weight and has good UV resistance.

Fiberglass lining

This method will create a solid, long lasting, watertight pond. This can be done with a blockwork (or similar) container pond, to which the fiberglass can then be applied.

Waterproof sealer

A product such as G4 pond sealer can be applied to a suitable material to form a watertight seal. This could be a quick and fairly cost effective way of making a small pond. See image for link to product.

Pre-fabricated ponds

Many garden centers will sell a variety of shaped plastic ponds. These can be a good long lasting option as they won’t puncture easily, degrade quickly and are pretty straightforward to install.