Installing a Pond Liner (Part 4)

Cut It Out!

Before I cut any of the liner I put some of the plants next to the areas in which they will be transplanted. This gave me an idea of how far I need to cut in each area. I also put down some rock and gravel to make sure the liner was fully in place in areas the didn't have a lot of water(the bog area and stream).

When cutting, it is best not to cut too much. Always error on the side of leaving extra liner. When doing the landscaping you can then cut off the excess. IMO you don't want any liner showing above the water line. An inch or so won't be bad, but cover it if you can. But for now, don't cut too much.

It's important to keep in mind that this system will fluctuate the waterline a good amount. The grow beds/bio-filters will be "Flood and Drain". That means the water leaving the ponds will not always be the same as what is entering the ponds. If by chance all of the grow beds get full at the same time there will be quite a bit of water not in the ponds. On the other hand, if all the grow beds are empty at the same time the ponds will be at their maximum capacity. These two scenarios are unlikely to happen very often, but they will happen. So when covering the liner with plants, rocks, wood, etc... make sure you extend the coverage down into the water a couple of inches.

Here is what it looks like after the "rough" cut:









Part 5 will be in a few days. The landscaping and circulatory systems will be the next posts since they are the next steps in this project. The yard has looked like hell long enough, and if I let the water sit too long it will start to do all kinds of stinky stuff.