Fibreglass - Day 3

Into day 3 of the fibreglassing and the weather was looking considerably better compared to the previous few days. The glassed ponds were looking fine with no further water ingress or drips plus the whole area was looking less damp. So it was on with the top coat.

In no time at all Keiran's pond was completed and Matt from GRP Lining Services moved straight on to the header pond. In fact he almost ran the short distance from one to the other. The inside of the header pond was soon completed with the black top coat which was followed by a well earned cuppa and a quick breather before moving on to the main pond.

Keiran's Pond

Header Pond

The last swig of tea was soon followed by a quick calculation check before the top coat for the main pond was mixed. No sooner was the top coat mixed the whole application process started again, but this time on a much larger scale. The walls were first to be coated before moving on to the floor area. Matt worked his way back towards the window opening before jumping out and finishing off the floor area where he'd just been stood with a roller on a pole. Job done!

Main Pond

Yet another major part of the new pond build process out of the way and although there's still quite a bit of work for us to complete, we definitely feel that with the pond now glassed, the majority of the work on this project is now behind us. What's more, although it's not full of water yet, we actually feel that we now have a pond again!

Fibreglass - Day 2

The amount of rain we'd had the day before really was unbelievable. The site was protected very well by the cover that had been erected, albeit from the odd drip which worked its way through or down. We'd managed to survive a deluge that was for sure, with the only evidence being half full buckets which we'd strategically placed around the area to catch the run offs from the cover in order to prevent that from then running across the ground towards the pond.

After a good look round the previous days work as well as taking stock of the site area, Matt was soon bringing in sheets of glass and tissue in readiness for glassing the main pond as well as Keiran's. By the time the first few sheets of glass had been applied the heavens opened up once again, and more rain descended upon us .... followed by more .... and more .... and more ..... yet more! We thought the previous days rainfall was phenomenal and yet it was nothing compared to what we were now experiencing. The situation was now beginning to cause concern.

Matt had completed glassing half the main pond and was just moving some sheets of glass out of the way when the alarm bell started to ring. The sheets being moved had a damp patch! There was no way it could have come from above as this was directly under the main polycarbonate pond roof so Matt checked the floor immediately. WATER!

The amount of rain we'd had the day before coupled with what was now coming down was clearly penetrating the ground around the site and was subsequently soaking through the walls and under the PU foam. Matt quickly rectified this dilemma whilst more buckets were strategically placed around the edges of the cover where the water was running off the most in order to prevent as much run off water reaching the ground immediately around the pond area. Sweeping brushes and anything else we could get our hands on were positioned to try and channel the water from the cover towards the lowest point where a paddling pool had been placed. Matt continued to work around the problematic area until eventually the water situation was back under control. He then quickly glassed this last area whilst yours truly continued to rush round emptying trugs and buckets, puddles of water with a jug whilst also ensuring the water in the paddling pool was kept to a minimum.

After glassing the main pond it was straight on to Keiran's. This proved quite challenging simply due to its small size. It was now a case of waiting for the fibreglass to cure but with the rain still coming down in droves, Matt decided it would be better to come back and finish off. Plus the weather had been forecast to be more lenient than we were currently experiencing.

Fibreglass - Day 1

Possibly one of, if not THE most anticipated tasks of a new pond build .... the day the pond gets fibreglassed. Although a lot of time, effort and money has been put into the project so far in making the new structure look like a pond, it's not until the fibreglassing has been completed that you actually sit back and think "there's my new pond". And that's before putting the water in!

Tuesday 19th July was the scheduled start date of our fibreglassing experience which as previously mentioned, was being lovingly applied by GRP Lining Services. After a quick safety brief from Matt (over a cuppa of course), he was soon at work and cracking on with the task at hand. After a thorough look around the main pond, the header pond and Keiran's pond for anything untoward, Matt was soon applying the first of many sheets of PU foam lining. The PU foam is cemented direct to the blockwork so there's no need to render. It presents a great surface with which to apply the GRP (glass reinforced plastic) but also offers thermal properties too - so it's a win win situation, especially if you're going to be heating your pond.

Straight after completing the main pond it was on to the header pond for the PU foam lining treatment, quickly followed by Keiran's pond. It was about the time of lining the header pond that the heavens decided to drop it's full content of water onto Market Weighton. It absolutely chucked it down! It's no wonder that Matt insists that ponds are fully covered with ample over hang. There's no way work could have continued without the cover, in fact what had already been completed would have simply been ruined without it.

Time was just about on our side and so Matt decided to glass the header pond also. He'd pre-cut the sheets of glass to length and so after a quick mix of resin, he was soon rollering and applying the sheets to form the fibreglass finish.

After enduring an absolute torrential downpour for the majority of the afternoon, we'd managed to keep the area clear of water contamination apart from one small white splash mark (caused when water interferes with the curing process and discolours the fibreglass) in the header pond caused by a solitary drip from the cover. Things could easily have been a lot worse.

Under Cover Operation

It would appear that we're now enjoying our typical British summer time weather, so we've been making further progress with our new pond build between torrential downpours. Until that is the under cover operation was initiated.

No it's not some new crack down on the tabloids or anything to do with the police for that matter (although some might say Police Squad is more apt). No simply the fact that we've erected a cover over the pond so that no matter what the heavens throw at us, the glassing of the pond can be completed as scheduled. What's more, not only have we managed to cover over the pond area, but the majority of the area where the pond is sited.

Under Cover Operation

Because the majority of the area is now covered, we've been able to carry on working and titivating around the pond even when it's been absolutely throwing down. We've had to dodge the odd shower when the water's run off the top but apart from that we've managed to stay out of the wet. This has meant that we've been able to make further progress as and when it's suited us, rather then having to wait for dry spells which seem to be few and far between at present. For example we were able to complete the blockwork for the filter house area yesterday despite frequent and heavy showers throughout the day.

The blockwork's been completed by Gaz again, a local builder who was on site first thing again. He's so reliable you really could set your watch by him, and he does a great job at the same time. He's definitely been an asset on this build.

We've also managed to remove the "peaks" from the concrete that forms the pond floor so that it's a lot smoother ready for the application of the fibreglass. This work is scheduled for a week on Tuesday and we're very much looking forward to meeting Matt & Lucy from GRP Lining Services who'll be completing this work for us. In the meantime we'll be continuing with our under cover operation.