After you have bought your new pond liner the last thing you would want to do is damage it during the installation process. If your new pond is large in size it can be difficult to lay the liner over the hole and fill the pond making sure you have enough liner around the edge. And, while doing this you need to make sure you do not accidentally puncture or stress the liner in any way.

The work you do in your initial pond design will be rewarded with less need for maintenance or repair in the future. Repairing a Butyl or Epalyn liner is not a too difficult job but it can be really frustrating to have to repair a new liner before it is used in anger. You can take these few steps when digging and designing your pond to prevent any future pond liner problems:

• After you have dug the hole, remove any stones or twigs that might pose future problems
• Putting a layer of sand at the bottom of your pond can prove to be a great base layer
• Use underlay before you install your pond liner. This will provide further protection to your liner and hence increase the time before your pond may need a repair

If you are in the process of creating a garden pond you will have of course to buy a pond liner. Pond liners come in different materials like Epalyn and Butyl but have one thing in common – they have to prevent water loss into the surrounding earth so must be installed properly.

One of the first problems you will face when you buy your liner is working out how much liner material you will need for your pond. The quick calculation below may help with your pond liner purchase:

Pond liner calculation

The first thing you need to do is measure the depth of your pond in feet. Double this figure and add 2 feet to get a 1 foot overlap on the side of the pond. Add this calculated figure to both the measured width and length of the pond and you have your final figure.

If that seems a little confusing we have a worked example so you can see how it works.

You have dug your pond and it measures 8 feet long x 4 feet wide x 4 feet deep. So following the above, 4’deep x 2 = 8’ + 2’ overlap = 10’. Then add this 10’ to your length of 8’ = 18’. Then add the 10’ to your width of 4’ = 14’. That means you need a liner measuring 18’ x 14’. Voila

If you are currently in the design process of a new garden pond, then you will be looking to choose the right pond liner. With Butyl being the liner of choice for many years it is difficult to look at an alternative liner. But, with advances in rubber technology a new liner has hit the market – Epalyn.

Epalyn does all the things Butyl does and with it becoming more common for other uses in the construction industry and the price of Butyl increasing, Epalyn now stands as a brilliant choice for the new pond designer or owner.

Epalyn has all the excellent qualities of Butyl such as brilliant flexibility, pliability and can be easily repaired just like Butyl. This means that it is excellent to use for your pond application because just like Butyl it is long lasting and if the liner is damaged it can be quickly repaired on site instead of being replaced completely causing untold problems to your pond.

So, if you have only used Butyl in the past, why not try Epalyn. It’s not only just as good as Butyl, it also outperforms it in many test situations.

Planning is the quintessential component you should focus on in any pond design. And, one key choice you will make will concern the pond liner.

After you have made your choice of pond position, you will need to look at the size and shape of pond you want. Try to take into account the stocking level of the pond when finalising the size and depth and make sure you incorporate different shelving levels and a sloping bank into the design. The shelves will provide a suitable place to position aquatic plants and a gently sloping shelf will enable and wildlife that may accidentally fall into the pond an easy route to escape.

When you are happy with the shape and size and have removed any sharp objects from the base of the pond you should line all the surfaces with a layer of sand. This will provide a suitable base surface for your underlay and pond liner.

You should always incorporate liner underlay into the design, it will give added protection to the liner and hence prevent the liner from being punctured by any sharp objects such as twigs, roots or stones.

There is a good choice of pond liners available from online aquatic stores and while Butyl has been the liner of choice for many years, a new and equally good alternative you may want to think about is Epalyn. This can be formed easily to the shape of your pond and is easy to work with. Many stockists of this material offer a lifetime guarantee with this type of material making it the perfect choice for the lifetime of your pond.

In part 1 of this article we discussed general pond design and using an underlay underneath your pond liner. In this article we will try to explain the best way to lay out your liner and fill the pond.

If you have room in your garden, a good idea is to lay out the liner and spread tit across the lawn. Assuming the day is sunny the liner will warm up in the sun so it will be easier to smooth out any creases that may have developed since it was rolled or packaged, this will also make the liner more pliable.

Lay the liner across the complete area of the pond making sure that it is draped loosely across the hole. Make sure that when the liner sinks into the pond there is enough liner at the sides to drop into the pond comfortably and there is still enough liner around the outer edges to be well above the pond level.

Placing bricks or stones around the edges of the pond to keep the liner in place while you fill it will keep the liner in position while it fills. This will mean it only gradually sinks into the pond and does not pull too much in any single direction. Fill the pond slowly using a hose and the pond liner will sink into the pond gradually. The weight of the water will mould the pond liner to the exact shape of the pond and as long as no creases appear when the pond fills there should be no further problems.