Which Pond Liner ?

To me the word pond liner only conjures up one mental image and one image only, and that is of several  giant rolls of rubber ,of various widths hung on the wall at a garden center or store selling pond supplies, from which you can have cut your desired size of pond liner as is appropriate to the intended size your garden pond . Of course there are a few other materials on the market offered as  flexible pond liner. Flexible Pond liners  can  be made of either PVC (Polyvinylchloride), HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer)  my liner of  choice  Rubber pond liner

Ok so what are the differences well briefly and basically when I was doing my research before I purchased my first pond liner which is a few years ago now the main differences were:-

PVC pond liner which is basically very thick plastic ,is very cheap in comparison to other pond liner materials,  is very easy to install and use. PVC conforms to the pond sides with little effort  ,so the garden pond when complete can be very natural looking. Now the drawbacks of choosing this kind of pond liner are that its life expectancy is only   around 10- 15 years in most cases. This may seem like a long time when looking ahead but believe me those ten years will pass in a flash. I wanted something that was longer lasting, in addition PVC pond liner is not suitable for use in cold winter weather areas, as it does not endure  freezing weather very well direct sunlight also appears  to have  detrimental effects on this material ,so for me living in Canada where we have winters that drop way below zero  and summers in the high 80’s it didn’t seem like a sound investment ,even though it was the cheapest flexible pond liner available.

Since I was deciding on which pond liner to go with, they have now introduced  PVC pond liner in different thicknesses ,which do stand up to wear and tear and weather a bit more substantially .But in the manufactures effort to compete with rubber pond liner for longevity they have increased the cost on the new thicker PVC liners, so if PVC is your choice in pond liner shop around as there are some very good deals to be had on the net,and  with PVC weighing considerably less than rubber pond liner it is not only easier to handle but doesn’t cost anywhere as much to ship.

Pond liner made with HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) pretty much sits in the middle between PVC and rubber pond liner in that it is a bit more expensive than PVC  but not quite as costly as EPDM pond liner more long lived than PVC but not as hardy as EPDM pond liner.
Rubber pond liners, are probably what most people have in mind like me when they think of a pond liner they think of a rubber pond liner . These liners are long-lasting, not affected by sunlight or freezing winter temperatures, have a life expectancy of 30 plus years. EPDM pond liners are fairly easy to work with, though they are sometimes hard to fold for neat corners and shaping to the form of the pond . Rubber pond liners tend to be thick and heavy so if you are building anything but a small garden pond you will need helpers to maneuver the liner into position  .Often homeowners purchase epdm rubber roofing membrane rather than official epdm pond liner as it is often a great cost saving over actual pond liner. I have not been lucky enough to come across it myself when ever the time was appropriate ,but would not hesitate to use rubber roofing membrane as a pond liner, even though the distributors of authorized pond liner claim it is a different kind of EPDM .Even though most of it by and large is all manufactured by one company Firestone, pond suppliers  maintain it should not be used, and is in fact harmful to fish , I personally know several people who have used it and their fish are all extremely healthy , plus the fact it is hard for me to believe that Firestone would put additives in one kind of EPDM and not in another , surely the one that has the additives the roofing membrane would then be the more costly because of the added extras,  and it isn’t, its the other way around ….but that’s just my opinion .

Determining the type of pond liner you are going to go with for the construction of your garden pond  will most likely be one of the most important gardening decisions you will have to make  as its one you will have to live with for many years .Possibly the first and best question to ask yourself in determining what pond liner to choose is whether you wish to design the pond around the liner choices available either to your area or to your budget or to purchase a garden pond liner that conforms to your idea of  your perfect garden pond .

Despite the fact when most of us think of pond liner we think flexible rubber pond liner there are other choices available such as
Preformed pond liners
Concrete pond liners
Fiberglass pond liners .

In the case of concrete and fiberglass pond liner if you are building anything other than a small garden or fish pond the cost factors alone can be quite prohibitive. Unless of course you are blessed with suitable DIY skills to complete the project yourself ,but concreting and fiber-glassing skills are not common skills in most DIY ers and it is more often necessary to hire the skills of a professional if a concrete or fiber glass pond liner is your desire.

Hard sided plastic preformed  pond liner unless custom made are not usually deep enough to successfully  over winter pond  fish in cold winter areas.

That is not to imply that preformed pond liners do not have any advantages as they do, they come in many shapes and sizes, planting shelves for pond plants are already incorporated often simplifying the choices that have to be made ,you just pick a shape you like and dig the hole, throw in a few inches of sand to bed down the preformed pond liner, make sure its level at its base and  at ground level and fill it up, what could be simpler. These type of plastic preformed pond liners often come as part of a pond kit including both pond pump and pond filter sometimes even a fountain these make excellent starter ponds for the first time garden pond enthusiast they are also great for small gardens and of course creating indoor pond water features.

Some complain that preformed pond liners have the disadvantage of not allowing the pond owner to choose their own shape but in my experience preformed pond liners  come in so many different shapes and styles it is quite often difficult to decide which one you would like to take home with you.
It is also sometimes possible to obtain preformed pond liners made from fiberglass but these are usually considerably more expensive than its counterpart the  plastic preformed pond liner. But if I suddenly became rich and famous over night and could suddenly afford my dream garden pond I think a fiberglass pond liner would be the way to go but it would be one of almost swimming pool proportions so would need to be constructed on site .I have always fancied the idea of being able to swim in my garden pond along with the pond fish .

Fiberglass has been in use for  swimming pools for almost a hundred years it is extremely tough and weather resistant .A fiberglass pond liner like the hard bodied plastic pond liners are not flexible and, therefore, the garden pond must be designed around the pond liner. But for  sheer strength and durability, there are few better choices than a fiberglass pond liner ,although some people prefer concrete.
Many of these fiberglass liners  come with built in features  such as planting shelves  and skimmer housings its important to note that these type of features must be supported by the contours of the hole that is dug for them a preformed pond liner either plastic or fiberglass cant just be plonked down in to a bowl shaped hole of roughly proportional size as that would place all water weight entirely on on the fiberglass structure which though strong is not strong enough to withstand gallons of water pressure,one must also add a layer of fine gravel or very compacted brick dust to the bottom of  the hole to ensure they have a firm footing
The big disadvantages of Preformed pond liners is that they tend to look rather artificial and are just a little more  difficult to install than a flexible pond liner.

If money really is no object and you can really afford to push the boat out  then a  concrete pond liner might be the right choice it is the most expensive of all options but a pond liner of  Concrete construction is incredibly strong durable and likely to out live the person that installed it ,a concrete pond liner can be  patched and repaired when  ever necessary for years and years . However, installing a concrete garden pond  will  in most cases require the services of a  professional.
It is thought that concrete pond liners tend to encourage the growth of more pond algae  on there surface as it offers them more purchase than other materials  but there are treatments for this .

Flexible pond liner  offers a more  natural look in my opinion they definitely lend themselves better to waterfall and bog garden construction. These type of pond liners are usually dark in color and almost seem to  disappear when  water is added, often creating optical  illusion of great depth. They are by far less distracting to the eye  than concrete or fiberglass pond liners.

A fiberglass or concrete pond liner is much more restrictive where shape is concerned when compared to the very flexible and versatile pvc and epdm pond liners.Though epdm rubber pond liner is far more  malleable to the pond designers preconceived notions  of pond shape and is certainly more fish friendly rubber pond liner can sometimes be a little more difficult actually  adapt to very curvaceous  and flowing pond designs in real life than in the imagination of the home garden pond keeper.But it is and will always be unless of course one day I really do become rich or famous be my first choice in pond liner.