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News and articles about products used for the containment of water and the use of flexible rubber liners for many environmentally enhancing projects.

How we help with garden pond builds: types rubber pond liner we're using

A garden pond can be of any size from a container to one covering a larger area. The shape, size and intentions of a garden pond should all be within budget. Build time management, affordability and space available are also important considerations. When planning pond builds it is best to position where there is a maximum amount of daily sun. The next step is to list all material requirements. These would include type of pond liner and accessibility for an energy supply to run a pond pump and filter.

A garden pond ideally needs around 8 hours of sun daily particularly if you intend growing water lilies. They need sun to photosynthesis and produce a magnificent display of colour when in bloom. 

The key role of a pond liner is to prevent water lose through ground seepage. There are a variety of pond liner materials available on the market. The key differentiating features are cost and durability under extreme conditions. Russetts Developments Ltd (RDL) are renowned for their supply of high quality rubber pond liners including Epalyn EP and Butyl.

RDL role in garden pond builds

RDL step in where garden pond builds are of a more complex design, of a formal vertically sided shape or cover a large surface area requiring professional expertise in pond liner installation. Russetts Developments Ltd (RDL) have over 40 years of experience in the water containment business and have worked alongside landscapers in pond construction. 

  • Raised vertically sided, curve shaped pond - RDL was approached to line the concrete and brickwork with a 400g/m2 protective geotextile underlay and pond liner which were then both held in position by rivets drilled into the brickwork. The design brief for this uniquely shaped pond was to install a pond liner without any folds or creases.
  • National Trust garden pond build was leaking and required the installation of a suitable pond liner without damaging the surrounding landscape or disturbing the flagstones around the pond, some of which featured inlaid ceramics that had been designed and installed by the original owners. The refurbishment had to be achieved without lifting these. 
  • In-ground, shallow, formal garden pond with a design brief that requested no folds or imperfections. The customer initially considered a flat sheet pond liner. He soon realised that the creasing would be substantial in a shallow pond. Instead, RDL was contracted to fabricate the pond liner on site using hot air machines. This was done to create a smooth finish in keeping with the formal pond design.
  • RDL was approached regarding the refurbishment of Buscot Park’s famous Peto water garden feature (Grade II listing), which consists of a series of formal ornamental ponds, weirs, cascades and canals. The design brief was to install a suitable pond liner ensuring it terminated at water level to avoid covering the original stone features. The shape and size (135m long) of the water feature meant that the pond liner would have to be completely fabricated onsite to ensure a perfect fit. 
  • Formal shaped ponds where a box-welded pond liner is ordered from RDL. RDL will be prefabricate the pond liner to the customers bespoke requirements using either 1.0mm Epalyn (EPDM) or 0.75mm Butyl pond liner. The box welded pond liner will come with a 25 year guarantee provided it is installed above a protective underlay. All box-welded pond liners are fabricated to fit the exact shape of the garden pond design with an overlay lip upon which flagstone or other edging material can be placed to secure the liners in place.

These are just some of the examples of RDL's role in helping with garden pond builds. We use a rubber pond liner for all the positive features they offer as we have listed here.

A rubber garden pond liner offers the following unique features:

  • very durable and more flexible than PVC,
  • fabricates to any size build,
  • UV resistant (PVC liners are not UV resistant)
  • readily forms into the contours of any pond shape with the ability to be folded and pleated over.

It is highly advisable to use a protective underlay liner to place between ground and pond liner. The underlay protects from damage by stones pushed up through ground movement. 

Epalyn EP rubber pond liner

This type of rubber pond liner is of the highest quality and is likely to last a lifetime. Installing above a Geotextile underlay liner will shield your liner from sharp stones and gravel. Epalyn EP is more expensive relative to a PVC liner due to it's superior physical properties. Epalyn EP is flexible, resistant to sunlight and adverse weather conditions with no cracking or physical damage. Other features include:

  • readily shaped to fit the unique contours of any pond allowing for design flexibility
  • less expensive versus Butyl (cheaper to manufacture) - both of which have similar properties
  • won't release toxins into the water therefore fish and aquatic plant friendly
  • puncture resistant

Butyl rubber pond liner

Butyl rubber membrane is, without doubt of excellent quality. However, since the emergence of Epalyn EPDM, many pond suppliers no longer sell Butyl. The reason is due to price. It is expensive due to the rising cost of the rubber polymer used to make this liner.  Butyl is flexible with fantastic stretch qualities and is highly puncture resistant.  

A rubber pond liner can be welded together for more formal garden pond designs. For ornamental and formal pond designs, the best option is a box welded pond liner. Box-welded liners have no folds in the material. This versus a flexible liner which can trap debris and cause bacteria to build up. Bacteria build-up can adversely affect the water quality and health of the pond. 

For more information on how we can with garden pond builds, please get in touch.

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