Not all ponds are created equal, and if you're creating a pond or water feature on your property, you'll find out that sometimes it's all about the pond liner. Finding the best pond liner for your new pond or water feature has certain criteria you want to learn and then use the knowledge you acquired for your property's advantage. You can buy a pre-formed plastic pond liner, but sometimes those don't add anything to the look of your pond's water features.
Any water feature added to your landscape provides the benefits of enhanced beauty and a relaxation factor to the overall ambiance. It also improves most landscapes by adding monetary value to your property. That being said, it’s important to learn about the best pond liners on the market, and then you can use the one that best fits your pond's needs.
Read on to learn more about pond liners, how they enhance your pond, and all the benefits it brings a new pond creator and owner.
A Pond Liner and Why It's Important
Before we go over all the benefits and enhancements, a pond liner can bring to your pond, its good to start by defining what a pond liner is and why it's important. A pond liner's basic definition is it’s a material that's made of rubber that's used to line ponds to help prevent leakage. But the other functions a pond liner provides is as much as a definition as holding in water to prevent leakage.
A pond liner can help keep your pond water clean, and it helps reduce the cost of building a new pond. If you're creating a pond, you want to make sure you have all those benefits. Buying a pond liner is almost always vital for a durable and healthy pond.
Therefore, one of the first things you do when building a pond is calculating the size of the pond liner you'll need. Your pond’s liner helps keep the water contained within the pond; therefore, getting an accurate measurement for the width and depth is essential to making that happen. To get an accurate measurement for your pond liner, you always want to multiply by two the pond width plus the depth.
You then want to add 24 inches for overlap. You do the same measurement for the depth until you have the pond's dimensions needed. As you may notice by the measurements listed above the pond's liner is always going to be substantially more than the actual pond itself.
Options Available for Your Pond Liner
There are more than a few options available when it comes to choosing a pond liner material for your new pond. Every option will have some benefits, strengths, and weaknesses, so you want to try to figure out the applicational purpose of your pond liner before making a final decision on what type to purchase. Something you always want to remember is the seal or liner of a pond is much like the foundation of a building.
What happens to a pond liner affects everything above, which is the pond itself. That's why it's also important to sometimes have an underlayment in place to help protect your pond liner from any outside environmental factors like rocks, roots, falling objects, etc. The most common and used type of pond liner is the EPDM Rubber, which is an acronym for ethylene propylene diene monomer or RPE which is an acronym for reinforced polyethylene.
Finding a pond liner that has strength, benefits, and longevity is when you have a win-win for your pond. A case in point is the Firestone EPDM pond liner that helps a pond receive high-performance from the liner no matter the application you choose for your pond. This includes reflective, decorative, and koi ponds.
Every pond liner option you consider should combine both aesthetics with design flexibility and long-term durability with easy installation. You also want a pond liner that's widely available at a reasonable cost.
Natural Pond Liners
It is important to understand that some pond liners aren't as good as others, but there are other types of pond liners you can look at if the synthetic pond liner isn’t what you want. One of the things you may want to look into is having a natural pond liner for your pond. The two most common natural pond liners are enhanced soil pond liners and natural clay pond liners.
An enhanced soil pond liner is a pond liner that's made with soil additives like sodium bentonite clays that are combined with the chemical product ESS13. The natural pond liner is a much cheaper type of liner to get but you need an experienced applicator to know how to put it in so it effectively seals your pond. This type of natural pond liner and its soil sealants offer extensive absorbing capacities that help trap excess nutrients.
The other natural pond liner is a natural clay pond liner. If you have high-quality clay, your pond will have an extremely durable and strong natural pond liner. It still needs a professional applicator for the best results but you can do it yourself. However, you should have the clay pretty close to where the pond is otherwise, the back and forth may prove to be too much.
Also, you may need a soil tester or scientist from an engineering lab to test the clay you're using for your natural pond liner because not all clay keeps water from seeping out.
Your Next Step
If you opt to use the best EPDM pond liner, you've made a wise selection for your pond. Finding a pond liner that has strength, benefits, and longevity is when you have a win-win for your pond. Every pond liner needs repairs from time to time and when that happens, it's good to know you have the supplies and tools you need close at hand with Carlisle EPDM pond liner retailer.
No matter what pond liner option you select, you now know the benefits and components that make up both synthetic and natural pond liners. By moving forward and creating a pond, you’ll enhance your landscape while giving yourself a sanctuary of peace and calm. Reach out to Aquatic Ponds for your pond creation and maintenance needs.
There is nothing that compares to having a pond on your property. By using the best pond liner, you'll have the pond oasis for a long time.