How to make a pond in the country with your own hands?
Artificial reservoirs in the landscape design of a summer cottage create an amazing atmosphere conducive to a comfortable stay. The pond gives a feeling of freshness and serves as an irreplaceable decorative element of the site.
What is a pond?
A pond is an artificial reservoir of a static type, an element of the landscape design of a park, a summer cottage, a garden. It is considered the most common and optimal choice for a site of any size and configuration.
It can be arranged separately or combined into a harmonious composition with artificial reservoirs of a dynamic type: streams, waterfalls, fountains.
A pond is an indispensable element of a Japanese-style site, a rock garden. Water is purified artificially, the bottom and banks are decorated with plants and stones. Sometimes fish are raised in an artificial pond in the country.
Types of ponds
Artificial ponds in the garden can be made in natural or formal styles. Each of them can be constructively recessed or raised. They are made from various materials that are used for waterproofing the bottom - concrete, clay, a special rigid form, brick, special film.
The criterion for the classification of ponds can be a geometric shape. Allocate artificial reservoirs of the correct and irregular shape.
- The first group is round, rectangular, square, diamond-shaped reservoirs.
- The second group - ponds, the configuration of which is close to natural. The choice of form depends on the style of the landscape design of the suburban area.
Stages of building a pond in the country
To build a pond in the country with your own hands, you need to solve several organizational issues. First you need to choose the materials and place for the construction of the reservoir.
The location of the pond should be chosen based on the design features of the site - it is recommended to take into account its size, shape and layout. It is better to locate the pond in a place protected from winds and excess sunlight - this can harm the harmonious development of vegetation. The pond should be illuminated by the sun for no more than 10 hours a day, but not less than 6 hours.
If you decide to make a pond with a pump, you need to consider access to the power supply system. A pump is required if a static reservoir is coupled with a dynamic one.
The most popular type of pond is recessed. In order for the reservoir to be durable, high-quality waterproofing of the bottom is necessary.
Consider the common materials for waterproofing:
- Fiberglass. It is used to produce ready-made rigid forms of various configurations. Most often, small ponds with an area of up to 3-4 square meters are built from ready-made forms. It is not recommended to use ordinary plastic - it will not last long. Forms from fiberglass are reliable and durable. The disadvantage is the relatively high cost.
- PVC or butyl rubber foil. This is a good material for arranging a free-form pond. The material is characterized by elasticity, strength, durability, resistance to aggressive substances, low and high temperatures. PVC film will last about 15 years, butyl rubber - up to 50. The use of the film makes it possible to change the shape of the bottom in the future, to easily carry out repair work. Experts warn that polyethylene should not be used - it is not strong enough. Also for the winter it is necessary to pump out water from the pond so that it does not damage the film when it freezes.
- Reinforced concrete is a reliable material for the construction of an artificial pond in the country with your own hands. The main advantage of reinforced concrete is strength, it is very difficult to damage it. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to work with this material, certain skills are required. When constructing a high-quality bottom for a pond using reinforced concrete, it is necessary to follow the technology, use concrete of a certain grade. Reinforced concrete is indispensable if you decide to build sculptures or a bridge.
Stages of building a pond in the country, we use a rigid form:
- A pit corresponding to the configuration of the selected tank is required. First of all, you need to outline the contours of a rigid shape with a shovel.
- The pit should be slightly deeper than the depth of the container itself - by about 4-5 cm.
- At the bottom, you need to tamp the sand.
- Having installed the bath in the pit, you need to make sure that there are no voids anywhere - they need to be filled with sand. You need to be especially careful if the pit is of a complex shape - for example, terraced.
Construction of a pond with film insulation:
- First you need to dig a pit. The use of film allows you to create a reservoir of all kinds of configurations. The photo shows a pond in the country, created using PVC film.
The choice of film depends on the planned life of the pond: PVC and butyl rubber will create a durable bottom covering, polyethylene is cheaper, it will last for 2-4 years. Polyethylene is the choice of those who like to frequently change the design of their garden.
An important selection factor is the color of the film:- Blue, gray: the pond will resemble a pool.
- Cream: the bottom will be light, and against such a background, plants and exotic fish look beautiful.
- Brown: imitates natural soil. In combination with the natural shape of the pond, such a bottom will look as natural as possible.
- Black: The pond will resemble a mirror. The pond looks fantastically, fabulous - appropriate decorative elements are needed.
- Prepare materials: sand, building level, string and pegs for marking, shovel, hose.
- Dig a pit without sharp corners, the banks should have a slope. Remove stones and roots from the pit.
- The minimum depth of the central bowl is 60 cm.
- Install a sand drainage layer.
- Geotextiles are laid on top of the sand layer. This is necessary to protect the film from mechanical damage.
- The shore needs to be processed. To do this, dig a ledge - it is needed for finishing with tiles, decorative stone, brick.
- The film is laid loosely on the bottom of the pit so that it lies without tension, and fixed along the edges with stones.
- The last stage is the installation of the blind area.
Instructions on how to make a raised pond in the country:
- The main thing for the installation of such a pond is the foundation. It must be poured and allowed to harden. You can create a half-buried pond - for this you need to dig a small pit. A sand pillow is laid at the bottom.
- It is necessary to build the supporting walls and let them grow stronger.
- When the foundation and walls are ready, you need to provide reliable waterproofing by laying a special film.
- Fill the reservoir with water gradually.
It will take several days to make a pond in the country.
When the pond is ready, it needs proper care:
- Remove debris that ends up in the pond.
- It is recommended to clean the bottom with a special mesh once a season. You can use a special vacuum cleaner for cleaning ponds.
- Choose the right plants - they will also "look after" the pond. Oxygen generators (for example, Elodea) will help fill the water with oxygen - it will not turn green in the summer.
- Once a year, mainly in the spring, you can use special cleansers. Do not abuse them - they are harmful to human health.
A video tutorial will help you understand the intricacies of the work.
Very good article, helpful tips. Selected beautiful bright photos.I have long been carrying the idea of creating a pond in the country. The fact is that my personal plot goes downhill, and at the end there is a natural pond. It is small, with a diameter of about 5-6 meters. In hot summer, it decreases slightly, but never dries up. Apparently there is good food from the ground, there is also a well nearby. But this pond is not equipped, it is very cold there. Maybe someone knows how to clean it yourself, how to cover the bottom and what? What kind of ornamental plants are suitable?
people, do not get fooled by advertising, no films and stuff. we do this - we remove the fertility, we plan on the site, we dig with a tractor to a depth of waterproof clays, this is about 3-8 m, radius 10-25-50 m, we try to plan the clay around the edges. then we fill in water, let the earth sit down for a month or a season, pump it out. we lay the geotextile TN (we don’t go for the loot), we fill up the clay with stones, that is, we bring from the quarry that layer where the stones are earth loam, we pour a couple of tonars on the edges, it all sits down, we melt the water, or wait until it evaporates. then at the bottom of the storm with a motor-drill to quicksands, lower the plastic pipe and pump it with a powerful pump from the well, that is, so that the clay from the quicksands goes to the surface. this is a natural colmatage, but the soil should be closer to clay in composition. and so we pump in completely, then the water leaves, then we pump it again and after a year or so the water will not leave only to evaporate. but just do not allow the water to completely evaporate, otherwise the waterproofing will be broken. if there are no quicksands, then there is another technology. it is checked on my pond now we do it to a neighbor the same way. I am the author of this method, there is no such thing in Google to drill to quicksand. the method works forgotten - there should be only gray bentonite clay a water-saturated layer, a red suspension is not suitable
I took off the geotextile, it doesn't work, the clay that should go into the ground lingers on the textiles was more than 5mm. and dug a bigger tractor. then he put the tires from the car from the side of the neighbor and the garden, more than 300 pieces in total, and reinforced 180 on the canal, covered the tires with clay that the tractor dug out. that is, the simpler the better. the colmatation process has not started yet. and on the fire reservoir there is water, that is, the walls are silted up. my pond turned out to be more than 400m3 at the edge, overflowing into the canal. in general, he invested labor and dough, now the neighbors are jealous. making a fence ...
Construction of paradise ponds and reservoirs on your site or cottage.
I did not bother with the garden one, but installed a home pool right in the apartment - it is convenient and profitable and can be used all year round. Although the garden pools / ponds also have their own superiority - in the fresh air, plus if you arrange it correctly, you can imagine that you are on some coast ...
that's what happened three years later ... to the envy of the neighbors P.S. I sell this plot, Krasnodar