Pond liner advice

[keshimakesh]

Hi, all!

I'm having to re-do my pond from last year, liner and all (tldr; maneuvered a 45mil 30x35' liner into place with only two people and ended up with so many holes in the liner that it was a losing battle).

Now that I've finished removing everything from the pond and making some changes (added a bog), turns out there's a liner shortage (at least for 45mil).

How necessary is a 45mil liner? Could one use a 30mil instead? It seems like also with a thinner liner I might get fewer folds in the liner - my pond has a lot of curves and shelves.

I don't have koi so I *can* afford to wait until large 45mil liners are back in stock. I just, uh, don't want to wait. >.> Thoughts?

 

[Mmathis]

To try to answer your question: your liner is the backbone of the pond. You can use any liner you need to use, but keep in mind that a thinner, less robust liner is more likely to fail. Not everyone uses 45 mil EPDM, and not everyone has problems with their liner, so there really isn’t a right or wrong choice — just different choices.

 

[poconojoe]

I don't know how two people installing an EPDM liner can make so many holes. That stuff is pretty tough. It's pretty thick and usually can stretch quite a bit before it punctures.
Are you sure it was 45 mil EPDM?

Was the site prepared properly, removing any sharp objects? Did you use an underlayment?

Anyway, you need a new liner, but don't skimp on the most basic component of your pond. If you do, you'll find yourself doing it all over again.

When installing your new liner, you can leave the old one in place as additional protection as long as there aren't any sharp objects protruding through it.
You'll want to poke holes in the old liner so that water doesn't get trapped between the old and the new.

 

[Mmathis]

@poconojoe I had the same thought, as I had the dickens of a time just cutting into my 45 mil liner. Maybe not EPDM….?

 

[keshimakesh]

I'm pretty sure it was 45mil but chances are it got raked over some sharp stones while moving it. I've been taking the time now to get to be extra thorough and remove anything remotely sharp. My back yard used to be a farm's trash heap so I'm finding a lot of glass, broken pottery, and rusted metal bits & bobs. This time I'll also use a thicker underliner in case I miss any sharp detritus.

Thank you all for weighing in - I'll just need to be patient, sounds like!

 

[GBBUDD]

i would buy a tarp and cover the around around the pond.

i would go 60 mil but id never go 30 edpm

 

[CometKeith]

I'm pretty sure it was 45mil but chances are it got raked over some sharp stones while moving it. I've been taking the time now to get to be extra thorough and remove anything remotely sharp. My back yard used to be a farm's trash heap so I'm finding a lot of glass, broken pottery, and rusted metal bits & bobs. This time I'll also use a thicker underliner in case I miss any sharp detritus.

Thank you all for weighing in - I'll just need to be patient, sounds like!

Hi. So I’m agreed with the above comments about how important a good liner is. When you install the liner try to do it on a sunny day. If you can spread it out in the sun for an hour or so first the heat will make it more flexible and it will be way easier to install. Also it sounds like your pond is a nice size but another trick I used is to get a larger liner than you need. Then just fold up the liner on the edges where you might want to make it larger someday and bury it under whatever you are edging your pond with. This way if you ever want to enlarge your pond or add a small water feature etc. you just open up the folded edges and dig and you have an instantly bigger pond. This trick worked well for me. My wife was against me building a larger pond and never understood how the existing pond was always slowly growing! Good luck!

 

[Sugar]

Halfoffponds does have a lot of 45 mil EPDM liners in stock.

45 Mil EPDM Pond & Waterfall Liner Fish-Safe Pond Liner Waterfall | Half Off Ponds

Rugged pond liner for any water feature. Strong liner great for building a pond. Perfect pond liner for all water gardens. Koi pond liner for pondless waterfalls.

www.halfoffponds.com

 

[poconojoe]

Lay the folded liner down in the middle of the excavation and unfold it from there.
Don't completely open it on the ground and drag it over to the excavation.
It's safer to just unfold it than to drag it over possible abrasive debris in your yard.

Plus, by unfolding it, you're less likely to stretch it. If you drag it, you're pulling on it and possibly stretching it.

 

[GBBUDD]

Hi. So I’m agreed with the above comments about how important a good liner is. When you install the liner try to do it on a sunny day. If you can spread it out in the sun for an hour or so first the heat will make it more flexible and it will be way easier to install. Also it sounds like your pond is a nice size but another trick I used is to get a larger liner than you need. Then just fold up the liner on the edges where you might want to make it larger someday and bury it under whatever you are edging your pond with. This way if you ever want to enlarge your pond or add a small water feature etc. you just open up the folded edges and dig and you have an instantly bigger pond. This trick worked well for me. My wife was against me building a larger pond and never understood how the existing pond was always slowly growing! Good luck!

One slight issue with leaving edpm out in the sun to warm up . As oh boy can it warm up so much so you won't want to be handling it on a hot day. On a 70 degreee day sure great advice on a 90 degree day keep it covered if it's in the sun. Save all the choice words for rocking the pond.