Pond Makeover - Part I

The pond project is on. Yes, I had a pond before, but it was very small and the fish died over the winter, so I decided to give the pond a makeover.

Step 1. -- Dug a really BIG hole.


Just as it says, I dug a big hole... It took me about 5 hours to dig the hole in the picture below. If you have ever read any articles on making a pond, most will suggest you layout the shape of the pond in advance, but I think this is a bad idea. The reason is you dont really know what lies in the groung below and it is difficult to visualize the shape of the pond in 3-D so as soon as you start digging your plan will change and it should change because the unexpected is what makes nature so delightful, not just a big amorphic blob.

Step 2. -- Cut and Lay Bitumen Roof liner

This can be tedious, depending on the shape of the pond you dig. I used a propane torch to seal the overlaping edges as shown here.

I then cut 2" wide strips of liner and melted those over the seams. The strips seem to give a little bit nicer finish and hopefully prevent any leaks.

As I worked from seam to seam, there was a real need to use weights to keep the liner in a certain shape and prevent slipping when melting the pieces together. Fortunately I had some stones and bricks in the yard I could use to help keep the shape together.




There is still about 1/3 of the pond to cover with roof liner and now that the weekend is over, I will have to work on in the evenings after work. Hopefully I can have the rest of the liner in place by Wednesday night.