My pond is circular so corners were not a problem. Before I put the liner in I lined the soil with several layers of newspaper, followed by carpet underlay before putting the liner in. This may seem extreme but my soil has lots of very small sharp stones, clay pit spoil, which I thought might work to the surface with time. Sand can also be used to line a pond. I took the liner over the edge of the hole onto the level soil of the garden for about 12 inches before trimming it off. It is important to make sure the edge of the pond is level to avoid surplus water draining away in one place before another, exposing the liner. I have laid slabs around the edge to finish off the job, bedded onto loose gravel. The frogs seem to love the gravel, they burrow into it during the winter. I would suggest elongated smooth curves for the outline of your pond or even just a plain kidney shape, maybe a bit boring but much easier to build and maintain. My pond has a 12 inch wide, 12 inch deep, shelf around most of it for pots, the 4 ft deep pit in the centre used for hibernation and a slope for critters although I have seen the frogs jump from the plant pots straight out onto the slabs.
When I've built my ponds I have had a rough idea of the shape I wanted but been flexible as well. I dig what I think is about right and then lay the liner and half fill. At this point you can see where the levels are around the pond and where you might not be able to fold it neatly, have excess liner etc. At this point I normally start excavating (lifting the edges and brushing away more eart gently) again to use all the liner I can. For the edges I kinda do the opposite of what you are proposing. I find the edge and dig down, burying the liner straight down so that I can plant up to the edge of the liner. The u shaped trench with stones caps would work really well though. I like to try and transition the edge into the garden so think what plants you are going to use to see if your method will work but lots of stones around the edge is very good habitat for wildlife. Try to get a gently sloping gravel beach area for the birds and possibly hedgehogs to drink from and think about using some wood around the edge or even in the water (oak and beech are good).
I have been wanting to "Springclean" my pond for several years, never been done since it was filled 15 years ago. I gave been cogitating about what I could wear, how to get in and out safely and what to wear on my feet to avoid pushing gravel through the liner. I am an old lady with 2 artificial knees and an artificial ankle, none of which have a full range of movement, no kneeling is allowed. Will be an interesting effort. I know there are a couple of large lumps of rock that have fallen in as well as stones and gravel all of which cut down the water capacity. Lifting the rocks up and out will be an exercise in itself. I made a start yesterday by pulling out a large quantity of pond weed, leaving it to drain on the side for the critters to crawl back into the water, there were a few tadpoles around but not much else that I saw. I was amazed at how cold the water at the bottom of the pond felt, compared to the temperature of the surface water. I am going to spread the job over several days to allow the water balance to level out as I had to top up the water after taking out the weed. My choice of clothing I think, is going to be old shorts and T shirt, old fluffy socks, the mind boggles, and my GPS locator, just in case! .
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I took the liner over the edge of the hole onto the level soil of the garden for about 12 inches before trimming it off. It is important to make sure the edge of the pond is level to avoid surplus water draining away in one place before another, exposing the liner. I have laid slabs around the edge to finish off the job, bedded onto loose gravel. The frogs seem to love the gravel, they burrow into it during the winter.
I would suggest elongated smooth curves for the outline of your pond or even just a plain kidney shape, maybe a bit boring but much easier to build and maintain.
My pond has a 12 inch wide, 12 inch deep, shelf around most of it for pots, the 4 ft deep pit in the centre used for hibernation and a slope for critters although I have seen the frogs jump from the plant pots straight out onto the slabs.
For the edges I kinda do the opposite of what you are proposing. I find the edge and dig down, burying the liner straight down so that I can plant up to the edge of the liner. The u shaped trench with stones caps would work really well though.
I like to try and transition the edge into the garden so think what plants you are going to use to see if your method will work but lots of stones around the edge is very good habitat for wildlife. Try to get a gently sloping gravel beach area for the birds and possibly hedgehogs to drink from and think about using some wood around the edge or even in the water (oak and beech are good).
I gave been cogitating about what I could wear, how to get in and out safely and what to wear on my feet to avoid pushing gravel through the liner. I am an old lady with 2 artificial knees and an artificial ankle, none of which have a full range of movement, no kneeling is allowed. Will be an interesting effort.
I know there are a couple of large lumps of rock that have fallen in as well as stones and gravel all of which cut down the water capacity. Lifting the rocks up and out will be an exercise in itself.
I made a start yesterday by pulling out a large quantity of pond weed, leaving it to drain on the side for the critters to crawl back into the water, there were a few tadpoles around but not much else that I saw. I was amazed at how cold the water at the bottom of the pond felt, compared to the temperature of the surface water.
I am going to spread the job over several days to allow the water balance to level out as I had to top up the water after taking out the weed.
My choice of clothing I think, is going to be old shorts and T shirt, old fluffy socks, the mind boggles, and my GPS locator, just in case!
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