{"id":407,"date":"2014-01-14T20:54:20","date_gmt":"2014-01-14T10:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swimming-ponds.theownerbuildernetwork.co\/?p=407"},"modified":"2025-11-03T10:40:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T00:40:31","slug":"swimming-pond-build-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/2014\/01\/14\/swimming-pond-build-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Build your own natural swimming pond – The Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I covered the basics of natural ponds and the many reasons you might consider either installing one or converting an existing conventional pool. If you didn\u2019t catch the post, you can find it here<\/a>.\u00a0As promised, today is all about getting your hands dirty. \u00a0Remember that this is a guide, not a bible. Soil types vary as do locations. Keeping that in mind, let\u2019s get started\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Desired<\/a>
Desired depth will determine width<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Layout<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get your hands on the shovel yet!\u00a0 Before we start digging we need our plan.\u00a0 Flexibility of design is one of the great benefits of natural ponds.\u00a0 You can choose a conventional shape such as rectangular but keep in mind that there are no square corners in nature.\u00a0 The more random the shape, the more natural looking the end result!<\/span><\/p>\n

The very first thing to consider is the depth you want.\u00a0 The deeper you go, the larger the surface area due to the sloping sides of your pond.\u00a0 Keep the following ration in mind:<\/span><\/p>\n

For every metre of depth the sides need to extend three metres.\u00a0 So if you want a \u2018swimming lane\u2019 2 metres wide x 1.2 metre deep, you will need to allow for a total width of 9.2 metres.\u00a0 This will give you a nice, easy slope resembling a natural pond.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have that much space, don\u2019t despair.\u00a0 Over the next few days we\u2019ll show you some great ways to get around this.<\/p>\n

Once you have this decision made, a simple design aid is to join a couple of garden hoses together and use them to mark out the shape.\u00a0 Adjust it until it\u2019s what you want and then use marker paint for a more \u2018permanent\u2019 result.<\/span><\/p>\n

How will you excavate?\u00a0 It is definitely possible to excavate by hand, but do you really need the pain?\u00a0 An eight tonne, rubber tracked excavator will make short work of the job.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have sufficient access for a machine that size, there are mini-excavators that can fit through a 900mm gate!\u00a0 They\u2019ll take a lot longer to excavate because they will use smaller buckets, but they will still be many times faster than digging by hand.\u00a0 Expect to pay between $75 and $100 per hour for your excavator.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you know what you are doing, consider hiring a self-operate excavator for the weekend.\u00a0 They are usually available at discounted weekend rates \u2013 often two days for the cost of one.\u00a0 All the larger hire firms have them available.<\/p>\n

Start digging!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Use<\/a>
Use a garden hose to mark out a free-form pond<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Installing additional features<\/strong><\/p>\n

After we\u2019ve reached the desired depth, we can then install additional features. First on the list are the steps. These are needed because getting in and out of the pond can be difficult because of the sloping sides. Next in the list is the regeneration zone. This is the shallow part of the pond where the plants and natural stones are placed. This area needs a barrier to prevent the plants from migrating into the pond. \u2018Natural\u2019 doesn\u2019t have to include avoiding floating plants while swimming!<\/p>\n

What about circulation?\u00a0 Now is the time to lay your pipes.\u00a0 It\u2019s also the time to be putting in the foundations for your deck.<\/p>\n

\"Steps<\/a>
Steps and regeneration zones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seal or liner<\/p>\n

You have two options. You can either compact and seal your pond or use a liner. As there are many liner options, ranging from PVC through to concrete, I’m going to stick with the simpler options today. I’ll address liners in a later post.<\/p>\n

Compacting and sealing the soil<\/strong><\/p>\n

The soil needs to be compacted before sealing takes place to prevent leaks. This is boring and tedious work, but it\u2019s a task worth spending time and effort on, knowing that your natural swimming pond will withstand the test of time. To make the job easy, you can employ a soil compactor like the one below. \u00a0Once again, they are available from all builder hire outlets.\u00a0 Ask for a \u2018wacker packer\u2019 if they look confused.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A pre-loved Wacker Packer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now that the soil is well compacted, it\u2019s time to seal it. In doing this most builders choose bentonite clay as it is the cheapest and most effective sealing material.<\/p>\n

(A very inexpensive alternative is a polymer sealer.\u00a0 These high tech products have the ability to seal even highly porous soils including those with high gravel and soil content. These are added as the pond is filled so the following instructions refer to a bentonite seal.)<\/p>\n

\"Back<\/a><\/p>\n

Add the finishing touches<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the seal has dried, we can then add the gravel to the bottom of the natural pool, place the natural rocks on the regeneration zone, and plant the submerged vegetation and bog plants in the rocks. Finally we add water, and there you have it, a piece of paradise right in your back yard!<\/p>\n

\"A
This natural pond was designed and built by BioNova<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Are you thinking of building your own natural swimming pond? What area of construction do you think you think is challenging? Do you have other questions about natural swimming pool construction?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I covered the basics of natural ponds and the many reasons you might consider either installing one or converting an existing conventional pool. If you didn\u2019t catch the post, you can find it here.\u00a0As promised, today is all about getting your hands dirty. \u00a0Remember that this is a guide, not a bible. Soil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Learn how to build a chemical-free swimming pond in your backyard. Step-by-step guide with soil prep, design tips, and eco-friendly basics.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sma_last_campaign_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[467],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-natural-swimming-pond"],"modified_by":"DW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theownerbuildernetwork.co\/project\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}