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Owners of summer cottages can always build their own pond, albeit a small one. From what, you ask? Of course, from the old bath, which remained after the renovation! The main condition is that the container should not leak, and then you can make a pond from an old bath with your own hands in no time.
Features of construction
In order for a decorative pond to meet your expectations, it is important to perform all work in compliance with the technological features of the process. So, if your bath is not cast iron, but lighter, metal, it will need to be further strengthened in the pit in order to give the structure the necessary rigidity. In addition, you will have to prepare the inner surface of the container – paint it dark or blue, depending on the desired shade of water. At your request, a small decorative fountain can be installed in the pond. All this should be considered in advance in order to carefully plan the step-by-step sequence of upcoming work.
Video “Do-it-yourself pond from an old bath”
From this video you will learn how to make a pond from an ordinary bath in the country with your own hands.
Order of work
The first thing to start with is choosing a suitable place for placing a pond in the country. Of course, it is better if it is a location next to a place of permanent rest – a gazebo or gazebo. In addition, it is important to evaluate how sunny the selected area is. It is important that the sun does not shine on the pond all the time, leaving it in shading for about half a day. It is also not necessary to equip a pond from an old bath in the lowest place, otherwise it will be constantly polluted by groundwater.
Getting started, prepare all the necessary tools and materials: sand, gravel and cement, a shovel, building mesh, several spatulas, waterproof glue, a bucket, a building level and, of course, the bath itself. To make it easier to take out the earth after digging a pit, you can find a garden wheelbarrow.
Bath preparation
The bathroom needs to be given the right color. Agree, there will be little beauty in the fact that all the cracks on the boring white enamel of the bottom of an impromptu pond will be visible through the transparent water. To make the container more natural, it is painted in the desired color or covered with a special film. In addition, it is first necessary to cement the drain hole located in the side of the bath.
Digging pit
While the treated bath dries in the sun, you can start digging a foundation pit under it.
Think in advance about the shape of the pit – it must match the shape of the container. To do this, you can put the bath in the chosen place and mark the boundaries of the future pit. Now you can remove the top layer of sod and dig a hole.
After installing the bath in the finished pit, its sides should be about 30 cm below the edge of the pit – be sure to consider this rule when controlling the depth. In the place where the bathtub has a drain, it is necessary to provide an additional recess – there will be drainage.
Now we are equipping the drainage itself: we fold a sheet of tin in the shape of a funnel and fill it with gravel 15–20 cm above the level of the bottom of the pit. So it will be easier for you to drain the water from the pond for the autumn-winter period.
Now we cover the bottom of the pit with a small layer of rubble and fill it with sand, carefully tamp and take out the funnel.
Installing the bathtub
In the places of the pit, where the corners of the bath will be, we install several bricks and lower the container on them. It is important that the drain hole at the bottom of the bath line up with the drain hole. To set up the tub properly, you’ll need a winch and a few pairs of strong hands. Now it is necessary to align the bowl of the future pond so that its sides are located exactly relative to the upper edges of the pit.
Pour moistened sand between the walls of the bathtub and the edges of the pit, carefully tamping it down. At this, the main construction stage is completed – the bowl is installed and fixed. Now you can move on to the internal arrangement of the pond.
Decor
On the sides in the bath we install a special metal mesh, coat it with a solution, inserting pebbles in some places – so the bottom of the pond will look natural. Armed with a coil of dense wire, you can make decorative rings from the mesh, from which you will equip thresholds and steps for aquatic plants, while making the outlines of the reservoir asymmetric and natural.
Around the installed bath, we also remove the sod and lay a metal mesh. Thoroughly coat it with a solution of cement and sand, leaving a small strip along the sides of the plant bowl, fill the rest with large decorative stones, fixing them in a fixing solution.
Now you can start filling the pond with water and decorating. Plants play the main violin in the design – dwarf water lilies and decorative lilies are suitable, even ordinary duckweed from the nearest natural reservoir looks picturesque. Around the pond, you can plant perennials that prefer high moisture, and complement the composition with garden figurines – animals or fairy-tale characters.
Pond with a fountain
The pond from the bathroom itself is a real decoration of the garden. But it can be made even more attractive by equipping a small fountain. This will require a conventional pump. You can adapt an old aquarium filter of sufficient power for this purpose.
Be sure to consider the presence of power supply – the wires must be hidden from prying eyes or carefully decorated.
Don’t be afraid to make bold decisions. Making a pond from the bathroom is not at all as difficult as it might seem. In addition, this decoration does not require significant costs, but looks really amazing.