Constructing permanent shelf’s

The first stage was to construct the permanent shelf’s. There were three shelf’s that needed to be built, the main shelf under the large rockery would provide a new edge for the pond liner to rest on and the other two smaller ledges would be for the natural zones. The idea of these two natural zones was that the ledge would be 2 inches from the surface, rocks would sit on the ledge so would be partly covered in water, the liner behind the rocks would be filled in with soil and therefore not only hold the liner in place but provide a continuation to the rockery area and no liner could be seen around the edges making it aesthetically pleasing. These natural zones will also allow amphibians to get in and out of the pond easily and the areas will be heavily planted to provide food sources for the pond life.

The shelf’s were made using concrete and were all leveled to the same point, the very top of the pond. Shuttering was used to keep the cement in place while it was wet, 12-18 hours later the shuttering can be removed.

Removing the last debris 

The next stage was to remove any last bits of stone or gravel that were in the bottom of the pond. The ponds old underlay was almost intact so this was going to be kept to give an extra level of security for the pond liner. This old underlay needed a good clean, it was hosed and brushed down and all the remaining water and rubbish was removed from the pond, all the shuttering was also removed.