An artificial or natural pond is one of the elements of landscape design that is often used to decorate summer cottages and personal plots. Not only a water source, but also the territory around it should be beautiful and ennobled. How to make a convenient flooring near the pond, the article will tell.
How to choose a place
An unrefined pond on the site is not a very aesthetic sight. Its shores should definitely be decorated with plants or in another way. Near it is very good to break the area for rest. Do-it-yourself platform will help to achieve this goal and give the place near the pond functionality and a beautiful look. The flooring is set on accessible shores. The recreation area can be located at some distance from the pond or hang slightly above the water like a berth. It will require a bare piece of land.
Did you know? The Roman Emperor Claudius Caesar was also fond of landscape design. The ruler decorated the garden with decorative compositions made by himself, grew large quantities of rose bushes.
There are several types of flooring near ponds:
- a platform that is located before the start of the water;
- a pier overhanging the water surface;
- a bridge connecting the different banks of the pond;
- path through the pond.
The choice of the type of flooring depends on the purpose of its installation, the shape and depth of the pond. If the shore is gentle, then you will need to install a multi-level platform with steps. If the descent is too steep, then you can equip several floors by connecting them with stairs.
How to choose the right material
To design the shores of a reservoir, wooden boards or stone slabs are most often used. From wood, one of the best options is the Garapa board. The service life of such material is 30–35 years. Such wood is dense, but it can be processed well. The coniferous tree is also great. Pay attention to the durable and wear-resistant larch, resistant to decay.
Choosing spruce or pine, you should take care of pre-treatment with preservatives. It should be understood that even after treating wood with antiseptics, regular care will be required. The most expensive option is decking. This is a special board made from hard rocks of exotic cultures.
There is another option - the use of a terrace board, which includes composite materials from wood and PVC. This material is very similar to plastic in its properties - it does not lend itself to burning, is resistant to moisture, temperature jumps, and does not require special care. Its main drawback is a strong warming up in the sun, which is why you can not walk on it barefoot.
If the flooring is built above water, the installation of supports is necessary. Traditionally, they are made from paving slabs, wood or concrete, metal. However, today the best option is polypropylene supports. They have many advantages, for example, resistance to rust, destruction, insect pests. For logs, milled boards of the second or third grade with a moisture content of 10-12% are suitable. On the supports, you can take square-shaped bars with sides of 75 mm.
Layout
Any work on landscaping should begin with the layout. In terms of plan, it is important to outline the location of all elements, to indicate their sizes and materials. The location of a pond and a gazebo, a terrace installed on the flooring is considered to be successful. You should plan the approach paths to the pond, as well as the entrance to the water, if the reservoir is intended for swimming. If you plan to sunbathe on the platform, then you should consider its dimensions in such a way that deckchairs and umbrellas are easily installed on it. The same applies to the flooring on which you plan to dine - they need to fit the necessary amount of furniture and organize a good approach from the place of cooking.
Important! The design and materials of which the flooring is made should be in harmony with the general style of the site. So, if the design is made in a rustic manner, it is better to make the structure wooden, in the country house in a modern style - tiled.
The plan should also include plants that are planned to be planted near the water. For this purpose hosts are suitable, buzulnik, marsh marigold, lake reed, male thyroid, two-banded aponogenton. An interesting detail of the design of the water source are the bridges. The key elements are the railing, which can provide 2 functions: aesthetic and safety.
When planning, you should consider the pattern of the flooring. It is necessary to make a preliminary drawing and draw its image on tracing paper. Thus, one can clearly imagine whether the pattern of the future flooring will fit into the overall design.
Laying rules
It is easiest to make a wooden flooring on your own. Such a design will be the most practical and convenient. In addition, it fits well with any style. The platform hides the shores well and is suitable for equipping recreational areas, games, eating, and sunbathing.
For laying, you need boards with the following dimensions:
- 50 × 75 mm;
- 50 × 100 mm;
- 50 × 150 mm.
Use laying material wider than 1.5 m is not worth it, because they do not drain water well. Small boards with dimensions of 50 × 50 mm are bent and deformed. Whichever pattern fits between the boards, a distance of 5 mm should be observed. This is necessary to prevent stagnation of rainwater. It is possible to avoid warping and cracking if the boards are laid with the convex side of the rings up.
For installation and installation, you will need to prepare the following tools:
- roulette wheel;
- square ruler;
- hacksaw;
- screwdriver;
- a saw;
- building level;
- sand paper;
- hammer;
- screws, bolts.
Did you know? The art of laying parks and gardens among the ancient Greeks originated and developed in the X – VIII centuries. BC e. Utility and straight paths decorated with columns, vases, sculptures became characteristic features of the ancient Greek style.
Installation
First, you need to install a supporting structure of concrete slabs in the form of squares with sides of 40 cm and a base thickness of 15 mm. They are made at a distance of 1.4 m from each other, measuring the distance from the center.
Installation is as follows:
- Remove the fertile soil layer.
- Lay and compact the crushed stone layer.
- Pour it with a solution of concrete.
- Place plates on it.
- Level with a level.
- Gaps are covered with agrofiber to prevent grass growth. The fabric is fixed with gravel.
Video: laying a platform near the pond
The next step will be the installation of wooden poles. To do this, you need to make blanks from solid beams or glue them from boards with spikes at one end of 7.5 cm in size. They need to be inserted into the base sockets and bolted to the concrete blocks. Be sure to treat the wooden parts with an antiseptic and a means to repel moisture.
The base frame must be assembled as follows:
- Fix the ends of the external beams by placing them end to end.
- Place intermediate lower beams on shortened posts.
- Level them with a level.
- Make fixation with galvanized screws.
The final touch to the manufacture of a wooden platform is hinging, grinding and varnishing of boards.
Then you can start laying the flooring. It is produced in the same way as ordinary floors are laid - boards are laid from one lower beam to another and placed across the outer frame. After laying, the boards are trimmed so that the edge is even. The flooring is fixed to the platform using screws, nails or clamps. Strengthen the mount is possible using special glue.
Important! To visually increase the space, you can lay the boards diagonally.
Sizes and shapes
The flooring does not have to be rectangular. It all depends on the site where it is equipped. It can be square, triangular, complex configuration. Also, with the help of boards or tiles, laying them in different ways, you can make various drawings. The pattern will depend on the size of the laying material, the laying method, and the dimensions of the constructed platform. The most common way - laying boards in the form of strips located parallel to the side bases. The most complex designs - made in the form of a chessboard, Christmas tree.
So, equipping a pond on a site, you should install a floor near it that will perform aesthetic and practical functions. Its design and implementation can be ordered from professionals. Simple scaffolds can be made with your own hands, using ready-made ideas or choosing their design in accordance with the size and capabilities of the site.
