I must admit I just used a piece of string, laid into the profile to calculate how much liner I needed rather than fancy technology. A trip to the local garden centre then means you inevitably come back with more because of the sizing of their rolls. You then think the next day that you might as well increase the size to use the excess, or that a bog garden might look nice.
I used pondkeeper.co.uk, I think it gave me about 3x as much as I needed, I ended up double layering the pond and still had enough for another pond! They sent me 2 packs of underlay and I only needed one, still had offcuts of that left too!
I got the 40year flexiliner with half price underlay (went for the premium underlay too)
Hopefully some will find it useful when they come to do it.
I’ve chosen my spot. It’s in my north facing back garden in the north east of England.
The spot receives sunlight for around 6 hours a day in spring and 8/9 in summer (on the odd day that it is sunny here 😂 )
I plotted out the shape with a hosepipe; cleared away the gravel; cut and peeled the membrane and started exploring to see what was underneath.
I’ve dug up a lot of roots from a tree that once stood a few meters away; a few bricks and a couple of pavers.
Next step will be to dig out to the depths I want. I’m gonna go two feet deep in the centre and have a gentle slope around the largest curve and also one at the other end.
I’m going to use some man made fibre carpet on top of the soil and then get some liner.
I’ll update again once the hole is dug and I’ve bought the liner.
This is a belated reply. I hope you dug out a deeper pond than 2ft. If you plan to put fish in your pond, I would suggest a central pit of 4ft. This enables fish and amphibians to hibernate and not be harmed by freezing conditons in the winter. My pond is only 6ft in diametre but the middle is 4ft deep, there is a shelf all the way around to stand pots on. I am sure your pond is dug, filled and planted up by now. I hope it brings you as much pleasure as mine brings me.
I have built a pond in each garden I have owned and always put at least 1 green tench in them. Once in the pond you never see them again but they are brilliant for keeping the pond clean as they are bottom feeders. You could also have sticklebacks if you didn't want fancy fish. Beware koi, they are shockers for digging up plants and generally rooting around in baskets. The really fancy goldfish are quite difficult to keep in an outdoor pond as their fins get damaged and diseased really easily and they move slowly so are unable to take fast evasive action when predators are looking for a meal. I have always been surprised at how close to the house herons will come, usually very early in the morning. On one occasion my neighbour's ducks decimated my pond, killing fish and ripping plants to shreds. Even knocking over a prized piece of statuary I had made, smashing it beyond repair. Ponds may look tranquil but they come with their own problems. Green water, algae, invasive weeds like duck weed and blanket weed etc. but are also a source of interest and fascination.
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I got my liner from https://www.swelluk.com, they had an offer on at the time, but they seem to have offers on permanently so always worth a look
still had offcuts of that left too!
I hope you dug out a deeper pond than 2ft. If you plan to put fish in your pond, I would suggest a central pit of 4ft. This enables fish and amphibians to hibernate and not be harmed by freezing conditons in the winter. My pond is only 6ft in diametre but the middle is 4ft deep, there is a shelf all the way around to stand pots on.
I am sure your pond is dug, filled and planted up by now. I hope it brings you as much pleasure as mine brings me.
Thanks for your reply.
I have always been surprised at how close to the house herons will come, usually very early in the morning.
On one occasion my neighbour's ducks decimated my pond, killing fish and ripping plants to shreds. Even knocking over a prized piece of statuary I had made, smashing it beyond repair.
Ponds may look tranquil but they come with their own problems. Green water, algae, invasive weeds like duck weed and blanket weed etc. but are also a source of interest and fascination.