Content
- Stick pond liner - how does it work?
- Situations where gluing is required
- Types of pond sheets
- PVC film
- EPDM sheets
- Sheets made of PE
- Geoilien
- Gluing for repair
- Bonding with PVC films
- Stick PVC film correctly - step by step
- 1. Preparation
- 2. Treatment of the splice
- 3. Bonding
- 4. Post-treatment
- Stick EPDM foil
- Tips
Sometimes pond liner must be glued with pond elements
Stick pond liner - how does it work?
Again and again you get into the situation that you have to glue pond foils. How to do that, what differences there are with individual pond liners and which adhesives and bonding methods are suitable, read in detail in our article.
Situations where gluing is required
The bonding of pond liners is only necessary in certain special circumstances:
For the installation itself, a film does not have to be glued. As a rule, the manufacturer provides the film already finished in the required dimensions. From the manufacturer, the film is welded together from individual webs - this special industrial welding processes are used, which you can not even use on site.
A self-welding is basically possible only with PVC films, this you have to use solvent welding. The procedure is complex and prone to errors and generally not recommended for layman use. Bonding is definitely the safer alternative.
Types of pond sheets
First, you have to deal with which one Kind of pond liner you want to stick at all. There are
PVC film
PVC films are still the most widely used despite their many disadvantages. But they are the most cost-effective films and are also used in professional GaLa construction for lining ponds.
Their durability is quite limited, they are only bad environmentally friendly and due to the ongoing chemical conversion processes (escape of the plasticizer after a few years and thus embrittlement of the material), older films are often no longer clean and tight glue.
EPDM sheets
EPDM foils are the slightly more expensive, but very ecological and environmentally friendly variant. They have a tremendous durability and are the easiest to repair in practice. The gluing does not cause any problems here.
Sheets made of PE
PE films tend to be rare but are still occasionally used. They are a little more environmentally friendly than PVC films. For them, the same bonding methods as well as the same adhesives as for PVC can usually be used, but the bond strength is usually somewhat limited here - this should always be taken into account when gluing the films together.
Geoilien
Here are sometimes very different materials used, but you will find them very rarely in pond construction and virtually not in private ponds. If such films have to be glued or repaired, a professional repair is almost always required.
Gluing for repair
Foils take - no matter how durable and tear-resistant - always damage. Bonding almost always makes it easy to repair foils, with the exception of PVC foils, where gluing can often become problematic after just a few years. In these cases, however, the film is usually already so brittle and so leaky that it should then be completely replaced or renewed anyway.
Bonding with PVC films
For PVC films special adhesives are used, which should create a tight connection. These adhesives can usually also be used for PE films. Many of them liquefy the material during the exposure time, creating a stable bond in the margins when the material that has flowed into each other has become solid again.
Before gluing but there is a lot to consider - the correct procedure can be found in our short guide:
Stick PVC film correctly - step by step
1. Preparation
Place the film with the planned splice on a completely flat surface (for example a board). The film must be completely clean and completely dry before bonding.
2. Treatment of the splice
The film must be roughened and pretreated with a primer. Then the glue is applied. He must act according to the manufacturer's instructions for a certain period of time.
3. Bonding
The seams are then placed against each other and firmly pressed together. After that, you have to stay weighed down with sandbags for a while so that the glue sticks well.
4. Post-treatment
For greater tightness, the seams must then be sealed.
Stick EPDM foil
Bonding is much easier with EPDM films. For simple and easy repairs, you can easily liquid pond liner use. The liquid pond liner is simply painted in 2 - 3 layers over the damaged area.
For a repair with glue, use a special rubber glue. When sticking, always follow the manufacturer's instructions exactly. It is best to additionally secure a splice for EPDM foils with a special EPDM adhesive tape.
Tips
After a repair, you should always wait at least 1 - 2 days before the repaired area comes into contact with water again. So refill your pond after this rest period. In order to find a damage at all, already a high expenditure may be necessary - how you proceed the best, read in this post.