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2008
Blagdon Water Gardens
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Starting From Scratch
LANSCAPING IDEAS
BUILDING BACKYARD POOLS, WATER GARDENS AND WATER FEATURES.
CHOOSING THE SITE AND LINER MATERIAL
If you are contemplating building a water garden or a backyard pool for yourself or if you are wondering why your last efforts were such a disaster, there may be just a small key point of technique in the installation of the liner that may have been missed.
THE secrets of getting it right from the very start, at the basic foundations of any water garden, whether you choose preformed units or flexible liner materials.
PLANNING
When it comes to planning a water garden or backyard pool, this needs to be done on site and with a tape and a piece of hose or even string, map the shape out on the ground. This will help you see how it looks from various parts of the garden and especially the house. For 6 months of the year this is from where you will see it most. Some people like to draw a plan of the chosen site. Others will like to sketch out the idea as they would see it, perhaps on tracing paper over a photograph of the site from a typical viewpoint.
THE SITE: 'Must Bes' and 'Must dos'
1. The pool must be in full sun especially in the UK.
2. Away from trees and prevailing winds that could carry leaves into the pool.
3. Avoid trees with poisonous leaves. In the UK these include Willow, Elder, Poplars, Laburnum, Yew and Oak.
4. Avoid too much exposure to prevailing winds.
5. Avoid boggy areas.
6. Consider now whether you will have waterfalls, fountains, filters, lights and other accessories like Ultra Violet Clarifiers. You will need an adequate power supply and the connections to cope. One of the largest cost factors.
7. Consider accessibility to a water supply.
8. What are you going to do with the excavated soil? Keep the top soil, but what about the rest.
If the terrain of the garden is sloping away from the main viewpoint or if you are planning a raised water feature, formal or informal, hammer in several pegs around the extremities of the shape level with each other that will indicate the final proposed water level. This will give you some idea as to how level the site is, how much water you will see and how much building up is required.
If the pool is flush with or below the surrounding terrain then conduct one or two exploratory excavations to check for possible bedrock and to provide peace of mind in respect to drains and power conduits.
PREFORMED OR FLEXIBLE LINER? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?
Size and shape for the chosen area: If you want a stable pool environment then you must consider a pool with a surface area of at least 3.3 square metres or 30square feet.
There may be the just the shape amongst the array of preformed pools on offer that fits your conception perfectly. On the other hand, armed with your dimensions, you will possibly find that those preformed pools stacked up in racks at the garden centre that look so vast, would seem pretty insignificant in your allotted space.
Estimating the size of a flexible liner, add double the depth to the length and breadth of the proposed size. The minimum depth ought to be 18inches to 2ft or half a metre.
Keep the shape simple and avoid sharp indentations to the shape as these take up liner material. If you do have dramatic curves inwards on the shape like a traditional scallop shape on a formal pool, measure around the shape to allow for the extra liner you will need.
Price. There is not a lot of difference in the cost square foot for square foot, and properly installed the life expectancy is pretty similar. In fact if you were to construct a water garden according to the 'coffee-table books' on the subject littering the shelves of bookshops, in a situation like a perfectly level lawn against a backdrop of a solid stone wall, with a neat stone edging surround and a rockery at the back, the time and effort of installation is pretty much the same too.
PREFORMED POOLS
1. Size limitation. Even the largest sizes of plastic pools are difficult to install level. Very large fibreglass pools are very heavy.
2. Seem easier to install in loose uneven ground. For the very large fibreglass pools, installation is not a one-person project.
3. Easier to keep clean but can look sterile and 'plasticy' in a natural environment.
FLEXIBLE LINERS
1. Can be any shape and any size
2. Need a skeletal framework of blockwork or concrete to cope with loose soil or uneven ground.
3. Can be made to look more 'natural' by facing the inside with rockery. You can even line it with soil.
4. Marginal plant shelf can be where ever you choose.
5. Easily incorporate such features as jetties, decking, stonewalls, brick or wood facing and beaches.
Peter May
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