build5

LINING THE POND - 1997
ROLLING OUT THE LINER

Bill researched pond liners and decided on a plastic composition liner - a three layered high-tech composite which is used for ponds and to cap landfills. Rubber liners are preferable because they are more flexible (heavy plastic is quite stiff) and less affected by uv rays from the sun. But the plastic liner is quite a bit less expensive and will probably last as long as we will be around anyway.

We bought a 50' x 50' sheet of liner material which came in roll weighing a total of 550 lbs. Fortunately, it also came with a diagram of the way it was folded (before rolling) so that we didn't have to unroll it to figure that out.

Hey! Where are the handles?

Getting it home is one thing, but how are we going to roll out 550 lbs of heavy plastic? Our good neighbors Bob (left) and Pat (middle) and Bill (right) contemplate the problem.

Bill had the idea of rolling it right down the middle, then unfolding half at a time up the sides. That way, we never had more than 275 lbs at a time to pull on.

Once unrolled, three strong guys grabbed one edge and pulled.

Once they started moving, they just kept on going until the liner was stretched all the way to the top. Here they are just getting ready to go. When the serious pulling started, the photographer was recruited to help.

Got it covered!

The liner covered the whole pond. The bottom is a little wrinkly but that's OK. We reasoned that the wrinkles will flatten with water pressure and there should be some slack to allow the liner to settle along the bottom and sides without too much pulling.

Two of the guys rest while looking over their work. To the left you can just see the trunk of the little cherry poking out above the liner which is resting on it.

	We bought a 50' x 50' sheet of liner material which came in roll weighing a total of 550 lbs. Fortunately, it also came with a diagram of the way it was folded (before rolling) so that we didn't have to unroll it to figure that out.
	Hey! Where are the handles? Getting it home is one thing, but how are we going to roll out 550 lbs of heavy plastic? Our good neighbors Bob (left) and Pat (middle) and Bill (right) contemplate the problem.
	Bill had the idea of rolling it right down the middle, then unfolding half at a time up the sides. That way, we never had more than 275 lbs at a time to pull on. Once unrolled, three strong guys grabbed one edge and pulled.
	Once they started moving, they just kept on going until the liner was stretched all the way to the top. Here they are just getting ready to go. When the serious pulling started, the photographer was recruited to help.
	Got it covered! The liner covered the whole pond. The bottom is a little wrinkly but that's OK. We reasoned that the wrinkles will flatten with water pressure and there should be some slack to allow the liner to settle along the bottom and sides without too much pulling. Two of the guys rest while looking over their work. To the left you can just see the trunk of the little cherry poking out above the liner which is resting on it.