The Landscape Timber Pond is a versatile structure. I've built them as above ground ponds (no digging!), in-ground ponds, and my favorite, a pond that is half in-ground and half above-ground.

The above ground pond can be considered mobile. If you move, or want to put it somewhere else later, you can take it apart and do just that. The in-ground pond uses only one or two layers of landscape timbers to give you slightly raised sides that keep run-off from getting into the pond. It's also handy to attach netting to, for predator protection. The half-in, half-below version makes a pond that is easy on the back to work around, but provides thermal stability to the pond.

In it's simplest form, you are somewhat limited in pond size by the length of the landscape timber, which is typically 8 feet. Taking the width and thickness of the timber into consideration, this will give you, at most, 7 feet to work with. If you want to make it a little more "rustic," you can overlap the ends of the timbers when stacking them, creating a "log-cabin" look. It really isn't hard to make sides greater than 7 feet, but for now, let's keep it simple.

Using the seven foot sides, and the full width of sheet plywood, a square Landscape Timber Pond could yield a total of 1282.909, what the heck, let's call it about 1,283 gallons. That is, if we fill it to 3 ½ feet deep, leaving 6 inches of freeboard. Put this pond half in-ground, half above, you'd use only 4 timbers per side. With a Permalon liner, this would mean about the basic pond would run about $200. Add to this, the plumbing, pump, and filter system, and you get the total cost of the pond.

It could be done with EDPM liner, but at a somewhat higher cost and you'd have the problem of fairly bulky corner seams. I haven't tried to cut-and-seam EDPM, but if you could do it, that would help. Permalon can be ordered cut to fit. Again, I'd not build the timber frame until I had the liner, right there. That way, you could adjust the frame to the liner for an exact fit, as you build it. If you choose to use a flat sheet liner, Permalon will make nice, tight "hospital corners." Fold them so the excess material is between the plywood and the liner, so you don't have the excess material inside the pond, itself. This is *much* easier to do, than it is to explain!

Some people make the sides of the pond solid, one timber right on top of another. This makes for a *very* sturdy structure. I prefer to start by laying two timbers on the ground, parallel to each other, as the first layer. I normally lay the timbers on their flat side (about 5 inches wide,) so they'll stack well. The next two sides go on top of the first two, in something of a "crosshatch" pattern. ( # ) The next layer is laid on top, in the same way.

This leaves a gap between the layers, the thickness of the landscape timber. Panels of pressure treated plywood are then cut to fit inside this frame. I've used half-inch PT ply, but if I'm lucky the local Home Depot will sometimes have 3/8 inch PT Plywood. The half-inch is overkill, the three eights is cheaper.

There are many ways to fix the timbers in place; it depends on what is available and on what you want to do. If you might want to move the pond one day, then you can drill a hole where the layers overlap at the ends and slide a piece of rebar down through them. Make certain that the hole is slightly oversized, so you will be able to take the frame apart.

I don't like moving ponds, even above ground ones. So, I pre-drill three holes in the ends of the landscape timbers as I lay then down, and drive in 60d spikes. I alternate the layout of the three holes as the frame is built up, because the spikes will go completely though two landscape timbers laying on their sides, and part way into another. I've also used a "landscape timber nail," which is a 60d nail that has a twist, so it turns as it goes in, like a screw.

When making the plywood-lined version of this pond, I'd suggest cutting the panels first. Lay out the first layer of timbers and stand the plywood up, inside the frame, bracing as necessary. Leave the panels in place as you build up the timber frame. This will ensure you get a good fit. If you are going in-ground with the panels, you might want to stop building the frame up after the first two or three layers. Then dig down, letting the panels drop down as you go.

You'll find it much easier to dig this way, as you won't have to raise the shovel full of dirt up over the top of the wood frame as far as you would have, if you had completed the frame before you started digging. Again, this also gives you a much better fit than if you dig the hole and then try to put the plywood into place.

If you can get the walls straight up and down, with reasonably precise corners, you will have an easy time of it, should you decide to make a PVC frame divider, to separate fish, or to help catch them.

I like to make sure there are several inches of clean sand in the bottom of the pond, with the PT plywood going down into it. Before I drop the liner in, I grade the bottom to a slight bowl shape and build up a little sand around the bottom where the panel meets the bottom, to avoid best way to go, center it in the pond and slope the bottom towards it.

There's no problem using a bottom drain in one a sharp corner. If you are using a submersible pump, decide where it will sit and slope the pond bottom towards it. If using a bottom drain, and that *is* the better way to go, slope the bottom towards it. When the bottom has been "sculpted," and the drain set into place, dig a trench across the bottom from the drain to the side of the pond. Then, tunnel under the side of the pond with a narrow-bladed shovel, or posthole diggers, a foot or so. On the outside of the pond, dig down with posthole diggers and join that hole to the trench. You can only dig so deep with posthole diggers, so you may have to start with a shovel, so you'll be able to dig the last few feet with the posthole diggers. This is really easier than it sounds!

The reason I like the plywood-lined version of this pond is that you are left with very smooth sides, inside the pond. With a solid timber pond, you are left with a ripple effect, as the sides of the timber are curved. I suppose with a 45mil EDPM liner, this would not be noticed. But this type of pond is perfect for the thinner HDPE liner, Permalon.

Permalon will leave much neater corner folds because it is thinner and will take a crease well. Also, for just a few dollars more, you can order it cut and seamed to fit a square or rectangular pond. In a wood frame pond, Permalon's one drawback, a low resistance to abrasion, will not be a factor, as you won't be stacking rocks on it. You'll also save a lot on the shipping of the liner.

In a pond that is half above-ground and half in-ground, I prefer to have the plywood panels go all the way down to the bottom, rather than stop at ground level. But, I have done it the other way, with the plywood only going down a few inches into the ground. No real problems from doing it this way, but the fully paneled version makes for a neater installation.

Fittings that must go through the sides of the pond don't represent a problem. If they are too big to fit in between the timbers, you simply use an extra timber to cut two, foot-long pieces to place under the timber that you cut a section out of to allow for the fitting. These two pieces, or "chocks," are then spiked to the timber they sit on, with nails that are long enough to go through them, and about halfway through the one they sit on. When the next layer of timbers is laid, spikes the same lengths are driven down through them, into the chock pieces. This *does* call for some pre-planning! I must add though, that I have done some retrofitting to get an "after-thought" added to a pond.

It is very easy to add an extension to this frame for an attached flowerbed, a sump, or attached biofilter. The added part shares a wall with the pond; you are adding the other three sides. It is an easy thing to bring a bottom drain line up into such an attachment. This is a good place to use a standpipe instead of a valve, but I've done that both ways, as well.

The top edge of the pond can be finished off nicely, by adding two extra timbers, cut to fit where the gap would be if you had gone up another layer. A wide, flat, *NON-pressure treated* board can be added to make a bench seat that goes all the way around the pond. Or, you could put it only on one side, two sides, or three. Another non-PT board can be fastened on the inside of the pond, at the very top, to hide the top edge of the liner. Don't over-fasten this one, as you want to be able to remove it one day to replace the liner or move the pond.

You can also make a bench attached to the pond, using the pond side as one side of the bench. You really have a lot of options with the landscape timber pond!

The landscape timber pond does not limit you to building only square or rectangular shapes. You can approximate a round pond by going to six sides, eight, or more. I've seen some nice, informal ponds that are "free-form" made with landscape timbers. And some quite large, as well. You are limited only by your imagination.

Mostly above ground, only partly in-ground. Plywood painted black for contrast. Lots of overlap on the corners.	Variations on the Landscape Timber Pond, used to make small bogs, for aquatic plant production.
Inside, during a re-build. The notches on the back wall are where the 2in. PVC siphons rested on the original version of this pond.	Behind the pond, you can see the DIY vortex sitting where the settlement sump use to be. Also seen is the 3-way valve that splits the pump output to feed twin TT filters.
Overhead view of the pump installation. The pump sits on a bed of river rock, 2ft. deep, for drainage.	Terrible picture, but this one does use the entire length of the landscape timbers.
Timbers overlapped to make long grow-out tanks for aquatic plants. One is all above ground, the other, mostly in-ground. Cover that PVC frame with heavy plastic and it makes a dandy greenhouse!	Had to re-plumb a no-niche skimmer for 3in. pipe, to correct an excessive draw-down problem in the vortex.