Build with fiberglass

[warren]

Sorry for such a long winded post . But does anyone have any experience with building pond out of fiberglass? I have an existing pond with waterfall. The basin that feeds the water wall is framed out of landscaping timbers lined with a cheep liner. I originally lined it with the best liner available but at about 25 years it needed to be replaced. I rebuilt the timber frame and put in the cheep liner to get it up an running. I am ready to replace liner and was considering making it out of fiberglass. I was looking for advice from anyone who has done it before. I was hoping to build the upper pond and water out of fiberglass. Has anyone used fiberglass over an existing liner? Has anyone embedded rocks into th fiberglass? Are there any major problems with this idea. The upper pond is only 24”by36” will not have any fish living in it. I have always had lava rock and hyacinth in it to provide filtration with much success. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Included is a photo the “filter “ is in the center along the back of the pond. Thanks

 

[poconojoe]

Interesting idea. I like it! If it's only 24" x 36" it should be easily doable. If you have experience with laying fiberglass, it shouldn't be hard to do. Will it hold water? Heck, I have a boat made out of fiberglass!

With a few coats of resin you can get a smooth surface.

You got me thinking... a lot of things pond related can be formed from fiberglass. Waterfall weir, fake rocks, filter box, various shaped spitters, fountains, maybe even a small bog filter.

I have some experience with the stuff. Not an expert, but have used it in various situations. I couldn't guide you on exactly which resins or sheets of glass you should use. However, if you need guidance, maybe check out a boat forum I frequent. There are a lot of builds on there where people are using huge amounts of those materials. If you need some help, I'm sure you can research materials and where to purchase them on that forum. The forum is iboats.

Keep us posted. And if you proceed, post up some progress photos.

 

[GBBUDD]

Can you embed rock into the fiberglass yes but if they protrude through the glass you stand a good chance of leaks . ANY items of dissimilar materials will expand and contract at different rates thus crack and when that happens its time for a leak, Can you apply the fiberglass over a flexible liner sure but its only a form you need to make the glass thick enough to hold up on it's own if it's so thin it cracks when you push against it and the liner gives to it's time for a leak .if you apply fiberglass over concrete it can be thin because it has a solid backing . and won't crank with a thin coat

 

[warren]

Interesting idea. I like it! If it's only 24" x 36" it should be easily doable. If you have experience with laying fiberglass, it shouldn't be hard to do. Will it hold water? Heck, I have a boat made out of fiberglass!

With a few coats of resin you can get a smooth surface.

You got me thinking... a lot of things pond related can be formed from fiberglass. Waterfall weir, fake rocks, filter box, various shaped spitters, fountains, maybe even a small bog filter.

I have some experience with the stuff. Not an expert, but have used it in various situations. I couldn't guide you on exactly which resins or sheets of glass you should use. However, if you need guidance, maybe check out a boat forum I frequent. There are a lot of builds on there where people are using huge amounts of those materials. If you need some help, I'm sure you can research materials and where to purchase them on that forum. The forum is iboats.

Keep us posted. And if you proceed, post up some progress photos.

My main concern was if it would crack over the winter. I am in collision repair so I’m familiar with fiberglass. Im wondering if it would expand and contract at a different rate than the wooden “box” it would be installed over. Thanks for the feedback. Will post photos if I decide to do it.

 

[warren]

Can you embed rock into the fiberglass yes but if they protrude through the glass you stand a good chance of leaks . ANY items of dissimilar materials will expand and contract at different rates thus crack and when that happens its time for a leak, Can you apply the fiberglass over a flexible liner sure but its only a form you need to make the glass thick enough to hold up on it's own if it's so thin it cracks when you push against it and the liner gives to it's time for a leak .if you apply fiberglass over concrete it can be thin because it has a solid backing . and won't crank with a thin coat

The filter box/upper pond has landscape timber sides and a wooden bottom. The liner would on be a membrane like you use when you tile a shower. I was hoping it would be backup leak protection if the fiberglass would crack. I can skip putting rock in the glass. I have hidden the liner for all these years by stacking rocks where I need them. It was just an idea to add some creativity to the border to spillway transition. Thanks for the input . Will post photos if I go this route.

 

[addy1]

Beautiful pond! Good luck with your fix keep us posted!

 

[poconojoe]

Great, so you have experience with it since you are in collision repair. That's how I learned to work with fiberglass. Way back in high school I had an auto body shop class.
I think as long as you make it thick enough, you'd be ok with fiberglass over a cold winter. They make those big fiberglass pools then sink them in the ground.

 

[GBBUDD]

The filter box/upper pond has landscape timber sides and a wooden bottom. The liner would on be a membrane like you use when you tile a shower. I was hoping it would be backup leak protection if the fiberglass would crack. I can skip putting rock in the glass. I have hidden the liner for all these years by stacking rocks where I need them. It was just an idea to add some creativity to the border to spillway transition. Thanks for the input . Will post photos if I go this route.

if you are positive you are done with your layers and top coat. you could sprinkle sand on it to make it look more natural. but regardless algae will grow on eather and make it it's own color and texture

 

[GBBUDD]

if I'm not mistaken fiberglass expands and contracts very little by comparison. exposed wood will expand and contract a lot as water is in the wood to some extent no matter what and in the cold you got it

 

[mgmine]

Bad idea. You can't simply put rocks into the fiberglass because it is a mat so you would be laying the rocks on the mat and not embedding it. The second reason is that you have to cover the sheet with resin and then a gel coat and if not done properly it will leak. Also if you trying to adhere it to a dirty rubber liner it won't stick. After you have gone through all the work what do you end up with? You said that after 25 years you had to replace the liner. I would say that you had a pretty good run with the cheap liner. Why not simply redo the pond. Pull out the wood and put in a new liner and be done with it quicker and cheaper than trying to experiment with something that may or may not work. If it works and you are happy with the way it looks fine. But if you are not happy or it doesn't hold water then you have wasted more money than doing it the right way to start.