Finally Installed the underlayment and EPDM liner

[DaneDad]

Wow this project has been dragging along since June. Well the framing for my above ground pond was completed in July. The DIY Filters are done, I have the Sequence 3600GPH pump.

Just never found the time to install the underlayment and the liner. Well yesterday with the help of my wife we installed the geotextile underlayment and the .45 mil EPDM liner.

My pond is 8x8x3 and holds approx. 1550 gallons. We filled it up about 1/4 of the way and everything is looking good. It's just that I have plenty of excess liner to trim off. I purchased a 20x20 liner, way too much but better than not enough.

Looking for some suggestions on how to work out the corners, making the correct folds and trimming etc....

Any suggestions out there?

Thanks in advance

 

[sissy]

You are better not cutting the liner just rolling it under itself incase you may want to go bigger ,I'm not sure how much room you have and if that is an option or not

 

[j.w]

Agree w/ sissy about keeping that liner in one piece. All you have to do is fold it over and tuck it down in the dirt to save it. You never know what you might want to add around the edge using that excess. You can make a short shelf all the way around and put large rocks on the liner and then make a stair like setup w/ another set of rocks above that one so the lower rocks are in the water hiding your liner and the top rocks are your edging ones. You can make more than one or two or three of that step set up. It really ends up looking nice and you can tuck plants in between the rocks in the water and they'll grow well. Fish like to hide and nibble on goodies they find in there also. Or you might want to make a bog garden all the way around the edge w/ the attached leftover liner. All kinds of ideas for it. I did it w/ my pond below.

 

[Waterbug]

I like what is basically a hospital corner. Flatten the liner against the sides all the way into the corner. That gives you a wedge shaped flap sticking into the pond. Narrow at the bottom, wide at the top. Fold that flap over to one side or the other making sure the liner against the side stays tucked into the corner. At the top the flap has to be secured with a nail or soil, whatever, after the pond is completely filled. Water pressure will not keep it in place.

The easiest way to form the flap is while the pond is being filled because water pressure will push the liner against the side and hold it in place, as you are forming the flap. The flap will not be pushed but the 2 liner surfaces will be pushed together making it easier to deal with.

Works best in a vertical 90 degree corner but can be adapted for others but normally you get some puckers. Since I rock over the liner I don't worry too much about puckers.

Cutting the liner
The only thing you absolutely have to do is make sure you follow the edge of the liner with your fingers to make sure an edge wasn't tucked under some place and is below where the water line will be located. The entire edge has to be above the water line. The flap will cover such a mistake and look perfectly correct by eye. That will be a major leak. An easy leak to find, but if you've already cut the liner...you'd probably be screwed.

What was said about not cutting the liner is kind of true. I've cut many a liner short. However there is a reality of dealing with too much liner. There can be so much liner you can't form the corners, Catch-22. So rather than give you an absolute rule I'd say be careful cutting the liner. That may seem obvious, but it isn't after you've cut it short. Don't try and do one perfect cut. Cut just enough to allow you to do whatever task you're doing. Especially in the corners. Trim the sides if needed but leave more in the corners. When completely filled, even over filled, you can cut away.

 

[sissy]

It's the you never know future thing ,thats all we are saying .I have changed the depth of mine 2 times and lucky I left the extra liner plus i think the soil settled down under my liner and I could tell that by the pulling of it so loosened it and left the liner sink down even more .May be the earthquake did that not sure but liner when I left it loosen up went down another 4 inches .I marked the liner so I could see how much farther it sunk down .Guess it has settlement issues

 

[whiskey]

very good advice, my top pond has sunk 2-3 inches, hence new liner in spring on the cards, one problem with walled ponds if you get movement underneath you could get " hammock " liner supported by top slaps only.

 

[sissy]

I'm just glad I had the extra liner because all the things on pond sights I found seem to tell you to cut the liner off so you don't have that bulge of liner .I guess you really have to think twice about some of the stuff you read .I guess the old saying still goes better safe than sorry .

 

[addy1]

I didn't cut mine and have now used most of the liner that was around the edges doing changes. I would vote for not cutting.