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Take The Plunge
Buy A Pond
Before installing a pond you first have to decide exactly where you are going to position it. A lot of people buy a pool and then install it without considering its simple requirements that can make the difference between making it an attractive feature and an eyesore. If a waterfall is to be added to the pool then it must obviously be sited next to a suitable raised area such as a rockery. After deciding on the location and size of pool required for the site chosen then the next thing to consider is the type of pool. Basically there are 3 methods of construction available for garden pools;
1. Concrete.
2. Preformed.
3. Liner.
1. Concrete pools are expensive and a lot of hard work to make. They must be 4 to 8 inches, or 10 to 20 cm thick depending on the type of soil and the strength of the concrete used. After making the pool it must be waterproofed with, either a waterproof coating such as pondseal, or else by rendering with a mixture containing a waterproofing additive. Finally a concrete pool must have the lime in the cement neutralized if it has been rendered, by coating it with poolglaze, or by letting water stand in it for many weeks and then repeatedly changing it.
2. Preformed pools used to be made of fiberglass, but as these have become more expensive they have lost favor and now the majority of pools offered for sale are made of plastic. They are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes although they don’t come as big as the fibreglass because of the lack of strength in them. Most of them are black as this has been found to reduce algae growth. The guarantee offered on plastic pools is generally 20 or 25 years, but with some of the cheaper ones is only 10 years. This guarantee is against the sunlight deteriorating the pool and not against puncturing with a fork when breaking the ice, or some other careless act. When plastic pools are punctured they can sometimes be repaired with fiberglass, or a plastic repair patch but very often they have to be thrown away and replaced.
3. Liners. The main drawback with a preformed pool is the limit to the choice of shapes and sizes, whereas with a liner the size and shape is virtually unlimited. Of course a big problem with liners is that they are relatively easily punctured.
The autumn is a good time to install a pool because it has all winter to settle down before spring and the introduction of fish. By the spring the pool will be teeming with insect life of one sort or another which is very good natural food for the new fish and will get them off to a good start.
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