Layout and Preparations
The first thing to do is to layout your
pond. Take into account the available space and how much you want to spend on a
liner. Bigger liners are more expensive and bigger ponds require more labor to
excavate. Another consideration can be the surrounding terrain; if you are
going to install a filter, it is sometimes best to place it on the high side of
the pond.
The easiest way to layout the pond is to
take a garden hose and outline the shape of the pond that you want. The more
popular shapes resemble kidney beans or rectangles. Some things to consider
when laying out how your pond will look:
a In most areas of the country it is a
good idea to make part of your pond at least 2' deep. This helps to moderate
the water temperature.
aIt is a good idea to put a 6" deep shelf
around the outside of the pond in order to help conceal the liner.
aTry to pick a spot in your yard that is
relatively level.
aA multi-tiered design: these are
especially good as different plants sometimes need to be submerged at different
levels.
aA sloping floor is also good. Many
ponds have most of the pond at 2' deep but part of it might step up to 18" or
so.
Start by putting the point of the shovel just inside the hose and push the
shovel in. Move the shovel over a bit and keep going until you work your way
around the entire perimeter of the pool. From there, start digging from the
middle out or the edge in. An ax or mattock will come in handy to chop out the
roots that you will inevitably encounter.
In our experience, it takes about 8-10 hours to dig a 5x10 pond, 2 feet
deep. It will take less time if you have help or particularly agreeable soil.
Interactive pond sizer provided by Little
Giant
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