When you are building your new pond, you should not only be focussed on the pond liner. The underlay and what goes under the underlay are equally as important. In fact, it is just as important that you use an underlay as the pond liner itself and many pond liner guarantees will be void if you do not use an underlay in your pond design.

When you have excavated the pond area, rake the ground and remove any potentially sharp objects such as stones, twigs and roots. After the surface is smooth you should add a layer of sand to the pond base and sides. Ideally this should be a couple of inches thick and will provide a suitable base to the underlay. There are many different types of underlay that you can buy including prolene, if you have stony ground the geotextile material will provide great protection for your liner from stones or other foreign bodies.

The last thing to decide upon is the liner material. While butyl has been the ‘king’ of pond liners for many years now Epalyn is hot on its heals as the new contender. In fact many people now regard this pond liner material as the number one choice.

If you put the effort into the pond build at the start, the longevity of the pond will be increased and hence the maintenance will be reduced.

If you notice that the water level is decreasing in your pond, you might need to check for leaks in the pond liner. At some point in every pond owner’s life they will have to deal with the very real possibility that they may have a leak in their pond. This does not however need to be a disastrous event, there are a few things that you can do to help if you have such an unfortunate situation.

Identifying the leak can be easy, especially if it is towards the top of the pond level. You can let the garden ponds water level drop gradually itself (always keeping an eye on the level). The water will of course stop falling at the level of the leak. If the pond level looks like it is getting too low, you may need to remove your fish. This will depend of course on how many fish you actually have in your pond. If you pond is made from concrete the unfortunate scenario is that you will probably need to re-home your fish anyway so a repair can be undertaken.

Most online aquatic suppliers can provide you with pond liner repair kits that are really effective at providing a permanent repair solution. If however your pond liner has seen better days, now may be the time to replace it altogether.

If you are going to build, and hence design the shape of your own pond then using a flexible pond liner is the right direction to go in. If you choose a prefabricated pond shape then you may be limited to the size of pond and any shelving features you may want to have.

Pond liners needs to thick enough to prevent any foreign body penetrating the pond liner, just using cheap plastic sheeting from a hardware store will not just be a waste of time it will also be a waste of money.
Epalyn is the most commonly used flexible pond liner material used today. It has taken its crown from the previously much used Butyl. So why is Epalyn now used to a greater extent? The simple answer is that Epalyn is much cheaper than Buytl due to its mass manufacture and now extensive use in the building industry. Epalyn is tear resistant, puncture resistant and is not affected by movement, UV, heat caused by pond lights and does not deteriorate because of its constant contact with water. In fact Epalyn products usually come with a lifetime guarantee.

There are many ways you can construct a garden pond, but all of them have one thing in common, they all have to have some sort of liner to separate the pond from the underlying earth. These liners can come pre-formed to the exact shape of your pond or come as flexible sheets of waterproof fabric and are made from PVC, Butyl or the newer Epalyn.

If you use a preformed liner it can be difficult to match the shape of the pond to the hole you dig. You are going to be putting in a very large quantity of water so you don’t want any unsupported sections, this could cause the pre-formed liner to crack or split and all the water will soon disappear.

If you are using an Epalyn pond liner then you should use a suitable underlay beneath the liner. This will provide a protective layer under the liner so the liner will not be susceptible to punctures and will provide a support to the liner if the sub soil is loose. This underlay is available in rolls and is easy to fit to your pond space. When the liner is fitted over this underlay it will stand less chance of being punctured from above or below and should be maintenance free for years to come.

The differing techniques and materials used in pond construction afford differing benefits when compared to each other. All of them have very different implications when it comes to construction. The choice of which to use should be an integral part of the design process rather than a simple after thought based on the assumption that any method will do.

The three common techniques employed in pond construction are the use of rigid pre-formed pond liners, flexible liners or a concrete pond construction. For the traditionalist, or those with luddite tendencies, there is also the option of puddle clay. In the same way that we no longer choose to live in wooden huts, puddle clay is not really in the running as a viable pond liner unless your clear ambition is to create a traditional pond. Puddle clay is both highly labour intensive and high maintenance so most certainly not an easy option.

Rigid pond liners are good value, highly durable and easy to both maintain and install. For the first time pond designer or those with limited space, these are a fantastic and speedy way to install a pond. Whilst not offering limitless design possibilities, thereare huge ranges to choose from and most designs will incorporate commonly desired features such as planting shelves. One key part of selecting a preformed liner is to arrange delivery. Transportation is one of the biggest challenges when choosing a pre-formed liner.

Flexible liners arguably offer the broadest pond design possibilities. High end liners can be joined successfully to allow pond creation on a scale beyond the means of most, so size is no issue. Flexible liners probably offer the broadest range of quality, but even the budget, plastic based, liners offer long guarantees when bought from reputable firms.

Concrete construction is less common in domestic ponds but does offer fantastic durability and the option to create deep ponds with vertical walls. This is the ideal style of pond for large Koi so clearly there are advantages for those with the wherewithal to adopt this expensive construction technique.

Flexible pond liners provide a simple and cost effective approach to creating a pond that can be virtually any shape you desire.

The benefits of flexible liners is that they cater for a variety of budgets, are generally highly durable and are simple to install.

For most success with a flexible liner it is best to purchase the best that you can afford. All but the cheapest liners do come with extended guarantees and will perform for many trouble free years in most circumstances. The advantage of the more expensive liners is that they do offer increased durability with typical 30 year guarantees, ease of repair and also more capability to create a bespoke shape without having to fold significant areas of fabric. The most expensive flexible liners have rubber properties enabling them to be cut and joined with relative ease (although cuts and joins should ideally be kept to a minimum).

Installing a flexible liner does benefit from good preparation but is fundamentally a straightforward process. The pond can be excavated in any form that you desire and simply, all of the pond features such as planting shelves can be easily modelled on an ad hoc basis if you wish, during the excavation. Potentially, the ability to change the excavation as you go has the advantage that if the design is not shaping up as it had looked on paper, it can be changed. Conversely, this flexibility can enable a lack of design clarity, so it is best to not dig completely on the hoof.

Having completed the excavation, the pool should be checked for any sharp protrusions, lined with a protective membrane and possibly a layer of loose sand. Once completed the liner should be fitted loosely to the excavation and slowly filled with water being sure to fit the liner neatly into any and all corners. Once edged off neatly, the pond is completed in a relatively short space of time.

Like most water gardeners or pond keepers, you have most likely ruled out the likelihood of building a concrete pond. Whilst there are certain advantages to a concrete pond there is a more substantial requirement for both specialist building skills and also cold hard cash.

Having ruled out concrete and ignoring the very uncommon use of traditional puddle clay, you are faced with a choice between either a flexible pond liner or a pre-formed rigid liner. Flexible liners are a very popular choice and with good reason but for the more modestly sized pond, a pre-formed liner has some distinct advantages over the flexible liner.

Not only does a rigid liner offer the almost instant pond solution ( dig hole, fit liner, fill liner ) but it also offers durability, a choice of colours, ease of repair, variety of design, readymade planting shelves and last, but not least, a complete lack of any folds in material.

The wealth of designs available is almost as limitless as your own imagination. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is to either decide how to best accommodate an appealing design into your garden or whether to endlessly trawl garden centres and the internet to find the perfect shaped pond liner that compliments your garden. Whatever design is chosen, it is always desirable to arrange for delivery as transportation can be the second biggest challenge.

Epalyn is the most modern flexible pond liner material and is widely accepted as the highest quality liner available. Whilst being very similar to Butyl in both its properties and appearance, it has the unusual mix of benefits in that it is more tear resistant and yet more affordable. Butyl has, for years been the undoubted king of materials for liners. The real benefit of Epalyn is that it retains all of the qualities that have made butyl so successful and yet, due to the scale of its manufacture for building uses it is now available at a lower cost than Butyl.

Coming with a lifetime guarantee in many instances, Epalyn is a highly durable, flexible material that is not adversely affected by water, heat, UV or movement.

Like Butyl, Epalyn can be produced in very large sheets but it also has the benefit that it can be easily bonded into even larger sizes or in the event of an eventual leak, repairs can be easily made to this rubber type fabric.

The easy bonding of epalyn enables the creation of bespoke liner shapes which can mean a reduction in unsightly folds when fitting the liner. All told, if budget will allow when installing a new pond, an Epalyn liner will prove to be a very cost effective investment.

When using a flexible liner to create a pond, following excavation and prior to fitting the liner, it is necessary to first line the excavation with a form of underlay. This underlay material is utilised to offer the liner a cushion between it and any potentially harmful debris such as sharp stones or tree roots. Not only will use of an underlay prolong the life of your pond liner and assist in reduced maintenance, it may well be an essential requirement for maintaining your liner manufacturer warranty.

The standard product in use for pond liner underlay is a geotextile membrane. This material is available in rolls in much the same way that the pond liner itself is. Regarding installation, the material is more user friendly than the liner itself as the sheets can be utilised in easily manageable sized rolls. As this layer does not face the challenge of being watertight, joins do not need avoiding (although they should be minimised so as not to compromise strength). Where separate sheets do meet, it is best to join them together as this will increase strength. Not only do these underlay’s protect the liners from punctures but they also provide strength where, for example, the sub-soil is loose and is liable to create increased stresses on the pond liner.

Once the liner is fitted over the underlay, it is not uncommon to lay and additional sheet of the geotextile membrane as an overlay. This adds a further protective layer that will help to minimise the potential for damage from within the pond. If this approach is taken, the overlay will need securing with stones and other ballast to avoid movement. When securing the membrane at the ponds edge, it will be necessary to bury the membrane in a backfilled trench to avoid the membrane simply wicking water away from your pond.