Pond Foil
About Pond Foil
Using a pond foil when you are making an aqua space or a pond for your home offers a lot of advantages over a natural bottom. Even though this will add to the initial cost of installing a pond, you will end up saving more than what you pay for in t he long run.
Basically, pond liners are watertight membranes that hold the water in a garden or public pond. Even though natural bottoms work for small and shallow ponds, they fail to contain the water as the pond gets bigger and bigger. As the head pressure of the water rises above a certain point, it can push the water into the natural bottom. Synthetic pond liners offer great benefits over natural bottoms. They can hold a lot more water and can last for many years with proper maintenance. This article will tell you everything you need to know about pond liners.
Different types of pond liners
A pond provides much more than just adding visual appeal to your house. You can also use it to grow plants and fish. Furthermore, the addition of a nice pond can increase the value of your property. But to keep the pond looking beautiful, you should do regular maintenance of it. Installing a liner at the bottom of the pond can reduce the need for maintenance as it prevents the growth of unwanted plants and leakage. And just like ponds differ from each other in their sizes, shapes, and depths, the liner that each one of them also requires changes. Here is a list of four of the most common types of pond liners.
EPDM rubber pond liners
This type of liner is very suitable for small to medium-sized ponds. It is soft and bendable. Also, because it is easy to confirm EPDM liners to irregularities and curves in the construction of the pond, it is really popular for decorative pools. But the downside of this property of the material is that it is really easy to puncture the liner if any sharp objects come into contact with it. Installing it is a bit of a challenge because of how dense it is. You have to be careful while fixing it in a swimming pool so as not to tear it accidentally.
Butyl Pond liners
Butyl is a type of artificial rubber that is flexible and strong. So, just like any other reinforced rubber, this one is pretty strong and durable. The malleability of the liner makes it easy to fit it along with any type of contour. Even if the pond has many sharp nooks and crannies. To fix this material along sharp bends, technicians often use the heat-welding technique to join two pieces of the liner. You have one more reason to choose butyl pond liners if there are fish in the pond. Thanks to the manufacturing process of these liners, they do not release toxic chemicals that will harm fish.
Reinforced Polyethylene pond liners
These days, the most popular material for pond liners is RPE liners, which is an acronym for Reinforced Polyethylene. This is not very surprising because RPE offers a couple of clear benefits over other materials. Not only is it three times stronger than EPDM, but it only weighs a third as much. You might think that because of these benefits, it naturally would cost more than EPDM. Well, no. It is less expensive than EPDM by a small margin. Furthermore, the weight of RPE is also a bit more manageable than EPDM pond liners.
Welded Polypropylene pond liners
These liners combine the best of both RPE liners and EPDM liners. Basically, these liners are custom made liners that are welded according to the shape of any specific pond. A liner made for one pond is not going to work for another one with a different dimension or shape. The benefit of this method is it reduces the chance of water leakage through the sieves of the liner. Because this particular liner uses a box welding method, the joint is a lot stronger than the conventional heat welding technique or glue. However, this one is more expensive than the others.
Tips on how to buy Pond Liners
Finding the right pond liner can be harder than you might think. There are so many different liners out there made from at least half a dozen different materials. To make things even more difficult, they are not visually much different from each other. This is especially true if you are new to this. That being said, it will become easy for you if you know what factors to consider while selecting a pond liner. Here are some tips that you can use while shopping for them.
- Size – Every pond has a different size. Therefore, the first and most important requirement for any kind of liner is that it should suit the size of the pond. There are two things to consider here. Firstly, the actual surface area of the pond. The liner should be large enough to cover the entire area of the pond. Secondly, the dimensions of the pond. But this is in case if you are buying the liners in precut pieces, it should fit the dimensions of the pond correctly.
- Type of the liner – The physical properties of the liner will change according to the material. The key features to consider while choosing their strengths, flexibility, ability to confirm irregularities, and weight. Also, the type of liner plays a major role in the overall cost of lining the pool.
- Aesthetics – Most people overlook the fact that liner can affect the aesthetics of your pool. The way water looks in the pool will change depending on the texture of the pond. HDPE liners offer the best finish in this regard. Furthermore, a pool that is above ground will require a liner different from that of a pool that is dug into the ground.
- Toxicity – Liners are sheets made from synthetic rubber or polymer sheets. So, some liners do slowly leach chemicals into the water. While these chemicals are not necessarily harmful to people who are swimming in the pool, they can affect the fish. If you are planning to grow fish in the pond, you should buy a liner that does not leach toxic chemicals.
There are other essential pond supplies items that are necessary for a pond apart from a pond liner. These include things like pond bins, pond filters, pond foil, pond piping supplies, pond care, pond pumps, pond hoses, pond lighting, pond heating, float switches, and water ornaments. The good news is that you can find all of them easily using our shopping search engine . You can also compare the prices and features of different products and pick the best one among them. Finally, don’t forget to check out other useful products from the Garden category.
Question & Answer
What is the optimal thickness for a pond liner?
Most pond liners are either .75mm or 1mm thick. If you are planning to install flat sheet pond liners, then it is better to go for those sheets that are 0.75mm thick. Beneath this sheet, install a puncture-resistant material like Geotextile. This layer is necessary in this case as otherwise sharp objects like stones, root growth and debris will damage your pond liner. In order to protect the top part of the layer from animal claws and stones, you should also add some kind of protective layer on the top portion as well. 1mm thick liners are suitable for bespoke ponds with fitted liners. Such liners do not need additional protective coatings.
What can you use instead of a pond liner?
If you are looking for the cheapest alternative to pond liner, then it is the polyethene liner. While this material holds the water really well, it is not at all durable. So, it might not be worth the time and cost of installing this liner. Another option is a tarpaulin liner. To be honest, using tarp at the bottom of your pond is not something you want to do if you want your pond to look enticing. But they do work and are durable enough. In rural and agricultural areas, people have been using lime and clay layers as pond liners. But the downside is that this lining needs to be redone once every few months.
How long will a pond liner last?
The durability of the pond liners varies greatly depending on the type and material of the liner. Precast flexible PVC liners are some of the most durable liners out there. If there are protective layers above and below, such liners will last for more than twenty years. Rubber pond liners are also pretty durable when you consider the cost. A butyl pond liner will last for about ten years before you need a replacement. However, in most cases, you can get away with minor maintenances instead of a complete replacement. If there are small punctures on the liner, it is better to fix that puncture instead of replacing the whole liner.
If you are looking to buy pond liners online in the UAE, look no further as you are in the right place. There are more than 500 shops and brands offering them here on Shops.ae. Here you can find shops that offer products from popular brands like Firestone, Oase, Pond Shield, Above Ground Pond, Gordon Low, Lotus, and Menards.