INSTALLING A POND LINER
Before you begin installing a pond liner, it’s important to have a pond design plan nailed down. For example, you definitely don’t want to begin installing the liner if you haven’t already prepared your hole, and roughed in the plumbing for the pond. This is especially important if you have any pipes or fittings that run under the liner, such as in the case of a bottom drained koi pond. To learn more about designing a pond, as well as preparing the pond for the liner install, have a look at our ebook on Building an Ecosystem Pond.
Preparing for the Install – Sharp Objects
Before installing a pond liner, it’s important to make sure you’ve removed any and all sharp objects from the pond base and walls. These include rocks, roots and sticks. If you’re not able to remove a sharp item, or you have very uneven terrain, as in the case of very rocky soil, you should consider putting down a layer of fill material like soil or sand first to level things out. Keep in mind that the pond underlayment will also help to protect the liner, but the underlayment shouldn’t be relied upon protect the liner against very sharp objects that could poke through the underlayment over time.
Preparing for the Install – Voids
If you happen to have any voids greater than 1” in size on either the pond floor or the walls, you should fill them in to avoid a situation where the liner is spanning a void. Once water is added to the pond, if the pond liner spans a void, the weight of the water can push the liner into the void, potentially pulling on the connection between the liner and skimmer or filter. Before installing a pond liner, pack some dirt into any voids to create a nice smooth backing for the liner. Another option is to use expanding foam to fill any voids and provide a smooth surface for the liner.
How to Install Pond Liners - Liner Underlayment
If you’re using an EPDM rubber liner, you’ll definitely want to use a geotextile underlayment before installing a pond liner. While EMDM liners are nice and flexible, they don’t have the puncture resistance to be installed directly on the soil substrate. If you’re using one of our Premium Grade RPE liners (reinforced polyethylene), on the other hand, you only need to use an underlayment if you’ll be installing the liner over something that could possibly damage the liner over time— things like rocks, rough concrete, edges, etc. If you have fairly clean soil or sand, RPE doesn’t need an underlayment. If you’re not sure whether you need underlayment or not, we would err on the side of caution and put one in. It’s much better to spend a little extra time and money in the beginning to prevent a leak that could be very time-consuming and costly to fix later.
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Installing the Underlayment
Geotextile underlayment fabric often comes in 15’ wide rolls, so it may not cover your whole pond in one single piece. This is completely fine, though. Just overlap the geotextile by a few inches. While it’s not required, it’s also possible to tack geotextile sheets together by slightly melting the two sheets together. A butane torch or hot air gun would work. To do this, just heat both pieces of underlayment slightly
After laying the geotextile fabric into the pond hole, walk through the pond and make sure the fabric conforms to all the shelves, bends and corners in the pond. It may be necessary to fold or pleat the geotextile fabric in places to avoid bunch-ups. Try to keep everything neat, tidy
Installing a Pond Liner
You should have already purchased a liner in the size you need. Now that you have the underlayment installed, you’re ready to install the pond liner. Lay the liner over the pond hole so that it evenly covers the pond. It helps at this point to secure the liner in a
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