How to Properly Fit Dining Chairs For Custom Slipcovers

Slipcovers are the perfect item for home improvement. They offer a wide range of amazing prints, colors, and textures to create just the right look for any desired atmosphere in the home. In addition, slipcovers protect furniture, can cover old stains or tears, and increase the usable lifetime of any piece of furniture.

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There are three important steps when it comes to getting the right chair slipcovers. Homeowners need to pick the right style to complement their home's design, ensure they get the right measurement, and choose the right accessories to finish the look.

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Choosing The Right Style Of Chair Slipcovers

Thankfully, there are a large number of options and styles when it comes to picking out the right type. For example, the home designer has the choice between a long skirt and a short skirt. Full length skirts are very elegant and can also disguise chair legs that show signs of wear or no longer match the desired decor. However, short skirts will do the opposite and show off chair legs, which is a good choice when the homeowner wants to show off this feature of a dining room.

Chair slipcovers can be designed to fit any type of chair from ladder back, parsons, Queen Anne, colonial, Chippendale and most other styles. Other choices include straight, curved, round or square, wooden or upholstered backs. The sheer amount of prints, colors, and patterns available is too numerous to list, but there are offerings to match any style of classic or contemporary tastes. The choice to have ties in the back or not is just one of the many available options.

Best of all, the overall design of a chair cover can incorporate multiple elements into an attractive combination. A straight skirt can have a split kick pleat in the center of the chair combined with a pair of ties in the back while using any type of color or pattern to please the visual palette.

While the many choices can seem daunting, in the end, the flexibility in styles and options is the best way to guarantee any homeowner can find the perfect fit for their home.

Making The Right Measurements

It might seem to be an easy task to measure out a chair and use those dimensions to specify a perfect fit for a custom slipcover. However, there are a good number of precise measurements that have to be made in order to achieve that perfect fit. Let's take a moment to better understand how to measure our chairs in order to make the right purchase.

First, for chairs without arms, measure the seat width at both the front and back ends of the chair, not all seats have a constant width. Then, measure the seat's height from the floor to the top of the cushion and the depth from the front of the cushion to the back of the seat. Get the overall chair height from the floor to the highest point, and then move onto the seatback. Find out the height from the top of the seat to the highest point on the back, the width at the top of the seatback, and finally the depth at its widest point.

When the chair has arms, there are a few different measurements for the chair slipcovers. The overall arm height is measured as the distance from the floor to the top of the arm, while the arm height itself is just the difference between the seat and the top of the arm. Get the length from the front of the arm to the connecting joint and the width of the arm itself. Finally, measure out the greatest distance between the arms.

Custom Slipcovers For A Custom Look

In most dining room sets, there are usually two chairs with arms and four without. This means that in order to get a uniform design, a homeowner's best choice is to order a cover for each chair individually. Pre-made sets might not include the right mix of chair slipcovers with and without arms. Custom slipcovers can be ordered in the right quantity and can incorporate all of the design choices from above. Take the time to dive into the design process to end up with a product that is truly unique and matches the particular design of a home.

Overall, it is a fairly straightforward process to find the type of chair slipcovers that will make a room and an entire house really pop.

How to Properly Fit Dining Chairs For Custom Slipcovers

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Bailey Leaning 5-Tier Shelving Unit, Black 2011 Deals

Dec 03, 2011 01:52:35

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Bailey Leaning 5-Tier Shelving Unit, Black Feature

Contemporary 5-tier leaning shelving unit for books, CDs, and display from Winsome Wood
Constructed in solid beech wood and composite wood; matte black finish
Shelf depth increases from 4-inch deep top shelf to 13-1/2-inch deep bottom shelf; 23-inch shelf width
Easy home assembly with hardware included; matching leaning desk unit available for separate purchase
Measures 24-2/5 inches wide by 14-2/5 inches deep by 74-3/5 inches high

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Bailey Leaning 5-Tier Shelving Unit, Black Overview

Winsome Wood's new Bailey collection of leaning home office furniture in black finish is contemporary and compact. The 5 tier shelving unit can stand alone or be paired with the desk in a modular fashion. The shelves range in size from 13.5 (bottom) - 4.0" (top) deep and are 23" wide. Constructed of wood, it is sturdy and durable.

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Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Black

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Black 2011 Deals

Dec 02, 2011 05:02:24

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Black Feature

Crafted of solid beech wood which is light and airy
Reliably sturdy with bull nose rectangular shelves, open ladder-style sides, and back support rails
Black finish bookshelf folds up for easy moving and storage
Shelf measures 11 by 14 by 51inches and it folds down to a mere 3-1/4-inch

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Black Overview

4-Tier Folding Narrow Shelf, Great for small area or even in the bathroom or closet. Solidwood in Black Finish.

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Black Specifications

Add, subtract, and relocate your shelving to meet your changing needs with this folding 4-tier shelf. Run out of cabinet space for kitchen appliances? Tuck one in the kitchen. Have an insatiable reading appetite? Place two side by side for books. Got brave and decided to host a big Thanksgiving in a studio apartment? Easily collapse the whole unit by its hinges and slip it into a closet. Crafted of solid beechwood, this simple piece is light and airy yet reliably sturdy with bullnose rectangular shelves, open ladder-style sides, and back support rails. It is available in Black, Natural, and Antique Walnut finishes to complement any décor. The shelf measures 14 inches wide by 11.4 inches deep by 51.3 inches high, and it folds down to a mere 3.25 inches deep. Some assembly is required. --Kara Karll

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Creative Uses For the Modern Shed

Outdoor sheds are not something new but the major difference between the old outdoor shed and the modern shed is in terms of its looks and utility purposes. The contemporary shed is no longer an ugly, old building lying neglected and decrepit in a corner of the yard and entered into only when absolutely necessary. It is also no longer used for just storing things. Apart from belongings, outdoor sheds can act as a spare room which can be used or specifically designed for a particular purpose. The new garden shed can be put to various creative uses and not just used as a dump house for all your miscellaneous stuff (although there is no denying the value of this purpose also!)

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If you are an avid gardener, why not create a combination gardening and storage shed where all your gardening paraphernalia can be stored in one place as well as give you your own private space. This way you will not have to hear constant complaints about the soil dirtying the kitchen or the patio or family members tripping over your gardening tools. If you love having family and friends visit often but wouldn't want either party to live on top of each other for long periods, then a comfortable guest room can easily be fashioned out of the numerous DIY barn kits available in the market and this will ensure privacy for both you and your guests. And the times when you don't have guests over, it can be your own quiet corner of retreat. You can keep it stocked with books and some music which will be enjoyable to both your guests as well as yourself. Budding or earnest artists, carpenters, sculptors can use the shed for their artistic endeavors. A sportsperson can store their sporting goods like tennis rackets, fishing rods, bicycles, kayaks, gym equipment in these sheds; the list is endless.

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In fact, why not have your very own gym in your garden shed? The shed can easily be converted into a place to exercise and who knows, the sylvan surroundings may motivate you to work out more sincerely! Prefabricated and DIY shed kits can meet your vocational as well as your storage needs. Beautiful wooden shed kits, plastic sheds; the choice is plenty and all you have to do is to match your utility purpose and budget to the material of the shed kit. Assessing your storage or/and guest room needs before you make the purchase will help you make the right selection. Also, don't forget to include estimates of shelving and whether you need built-in or stand-alone shelves. These economical DIY modern shed kits can provide you with that much needed extra living/storage space.

Creative Uses For the Modern Shed

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Eco-Friendly Shelving - Closet Making Tips For the DIY-Challenged Individual

The same way that not all of us are blessed with green thumbs, not all the individuals in this world can proudly say they have a talent for arts and crafts. Some people still have difficulty recognizing the difference between one end of a hammer and another. If you're one of them as well, you'll no doubt find the words building and crafting alien to your ears.

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Why Making an Eco-Friendly Shelving Closet is More Complex than Usual

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If you think building a simple table or knitting a sweater is a challenge, you'll probably find yourself giving up even before you've started when you're required to complete a DIY eco-friendly shelving closet project. That's because you need to exert twice the usual amount of care for each step in building the said type of project. In each phase, you always have to ask yourself two questions: "am I doing it correctly" and "can what I'm doing be considered eco-friendly?"

Checklist for DIY Eco-Friendly Shelving Closet Projects

For each step you perform in making your own eco-friendly shelving closet projects, consult this checklist to ensure that you're not violating any environmental safety guideline while you're completing your work.

PLANNING - Determine where you wish to build and install your eco-friendly shelving closet. At times, the proposed location for shelving closets can already serve as one of the reasons why it's considered as eco-friendly. Clutter, for instance, can make your room feel warmer and more humid than it really is. With the help of shelving closets, however, clutter disappears and causes room temperature to go back to normal. Consequently, there's a lesser need for you to use air-conditioning, which of course is known for releasing harmful freon-containing compounds to the air.

MATERIALS - After determining the measurements, type, and proposed location of your eco-friendly shelving closet, the next thing to do is to purchase the necessary materials so you can start on your project immediately.

If it's all the same to you, consider purchasing secondhand materials to negate the need of more trees being cut, for instance, just to replenish stock of wood and other plant-based materials in the market. Of course, when purchasing secondhand materials, do make sure that you're getting your money's worth. Always compare rates and check the quality of your purchases before paying for anything. Buy from a reputable seller as much as possible. If any of your purchases require deliver, trust only a well-known courier service to handle delivery of your purchases.

Secondly, on buying any type of material or product to be used for your DIY eco-friendly shelving closet project, do make sure that the supplier or manufacturer of the products you're interested in purchasing all comply with environment standards when creating their goods.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT - There are certainly various tools and equipments that you'll need to complete this project. Again, on purchasing anything, make sure that the seller or manufacturer complies with the required environmental safety guidelines. Secondly, make sure that the equipment doesn't release or emit any harmful gas to the air.

INSTALLATION PROCEDURES - Trash and litter is almost always a by-product of all DIY projects. Neglecting to properly dispose your trash will automatically defeat the purpose of making your shelving closet eco-friendly.

DECORATIONS - There's nothing wrong about adding an enhancement here and there to make your eco-friendly shelving closet beautiful. Just keep in mind however that beautifying your closet still doesn't allow to use any material or product that is even slightly harmful to the environment such as non-biodegradable plastic or spray paint that contain toxic compounds.

If your project satisfies in this checklist, you've done a great job! Congratulations!

Eco-Friendly Shelving - Closet Making Tips For the DIY-Challenged Individual

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Oak Wine Racks

The Latest Bookcase Is A Do It Yourself Bookshelf

Would you like to know some more about the leaning ladder bookshelf? If so, in this article we are going to take a look at what happened before they were invented and a bit about books and bookcases in general. We will then find out when and where they were first used and then move on to some special types of bookcase and on to where we see the future taking us.

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Some form of system of writing things down has been happening for perhaps as long as 10,000 years. Of course they were not books as we know them then, they were just engraved on anything at all such as the bark of trees, tablets of stone or simply clay.

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It was not until around 3500 BC that the Egyptians started using paper or papyrus as it was known then.

Books in a form similar to today were first scribed by hand on parchment paper and then bound together. They were written in small amounts and normally related to religion in some way or other. Thus they were kept by the clergy and stored in cupboards or on shelves, usually made of a hard wood such as oak. They were maybe even just like type of ladder bookshelves that we see nowadays.

The earliest recorded bookcases date from about the very late 1500s and they were more just ordinary rooms with shelves where books were kept.

There have been various styles of bookcase through the ages. Sheraton and Chippendale who were famous wood furniture designers in England made them very ornate with glass doors so that the owner could see what books were inside. They were the first people to turn a humble bookshelf into a piece of desirable furniture. Before that they were purely functional.

In the public libraries that emerged the shelves and stanchions were often made of iron as it was felt that they would last longer in that material and the fashion was not too relevant.
In the economy of the world as we know it today people often like DIY "do it yourself" and the building of bookshelves is an ideal way to save money.

It does not take a lot of woodworking knowledge to get some plywood, cut it into the lengths you require and fit it all together. I think this is the future way as it is certainly a lot cheaper to build a leaning ladder bookshelf in this way than to pay a lot of money from the stores.

The Latest Bookcase Is A Do It Yourself Bookshelf

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Bailey Leaning 5-Tier Shelving Unit, Black 2011 Deals

Nov 30, 2011 11:14:31

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Bailey Leaning 5-Tier Shelving Unit, Black Feature

Contemporary 5-tier leaning shelving unit for books, CDs, and display from Winsome Wood
Constructed in solid beech wood and composite wood; matte black finish
Shelf depth increases from 4-inch deep top shelf to 13-1/2-inch deep bottom shelf; 23-inch shelf width
Easy home assembly with hardware included; matching leaning desk unit available for separate purchase
Measures 24-2/5 inches wide by 14-2/5 inches deep by 74-3/5 inches high

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Bailey Leaning 5-Tier Shelving Unit, Black Overview

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Top Ten Uses For a Coffee Table Or End Table

There are some things a home can't be complete without, like a refrigerator, a bed, or a television. A home is not a home without things that can provide comfort and convenience, and can allow the household members to relax and to unwind. Included in this varied list, among other things, should be a dependable and versatile living room table. Many people do not realize how indispensable this piece of solid wood furniture is. It can certainly do more than serve coffee, or hold lampshades.

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A table for coffee, traditionally, was necessary in the middle of the living room. Home entertaining was a serious affair in the old days, because of the ceremony of afternoon tea. When a guest makes a house call, he or she must sit in the cushions, and must be served tea or coffee, with some biscuits or crepes. These will be arranged in a tray, with a delicate china service, and then served and placed upon the coffee table. Then, the afternoon will be whiled away with conversation, stories, and news.

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The practice of proper entertaining is almost a lost art. Today most people are too busy to make house calls, let alone entertain their visitors in a fastidious fashion. However, the coffee table has remained a staple object inside the household, and it is interesting to list down how many ways homeowners have devised for utilizing their own tables.

The same can be done with an end table, which usually goes into the corner between two cushions. A lamp or clock is usually placed on top of it. Most homes tend to do away with it nowadays in order to save space or money, but this piece of furniture will actually have extended value once it is seen as a versatile piece.

Here are some of the best examples of other uses for these unassuming pieces of solid wood furniture:

1. A coffee table makes a good foot rest - more often than not, working people want to put their feet up after a tiring day of sitting down or running around for their job related tasks. An end table is usually the same level as the sofa or seat, and thus becomes an instant ottoman. Raising the feet or legs in this manner is a great way to allow blood to circulate normally back through the feet and legs. And if this is done while watching TV or sipping a refreshing drink, it makes for a total relaxing moment at the end of a long day. Working people can also do this while reading, doing some sewing, or talking on the phone, in order to prevent cramps.

2. As a magazine or photo rack - most variations of the end table would usually come outfitted with drawers, or "a second floor" in the form of a shelf between the legs and under the table surface. This space is ideal for stacking magazines, newspapers, or photo albums. These things then become instantly accessible when any member of the family needs a quick reference to a recipe or a movie review, or simply wants to browse through pictures and relieve memories. Then they can also be just as easily kept away - simply drop them back under the table.

3. An instant display shelf - if space is a constraint in the house, a medium-height wood table can be pushed towards one side of the wall, and become an instant surface for knickknacks, flowers, or displays like photo frames or awards and trophies. Be inspired and change the display from time to time. Displaying photos or special mementoes are always guaranteed to bring life and personality to a home.

4. An impromptu workstation - Again, more often than not, space considerations have converted the erstwhile table for coffee into a table for just about anything. If one of the family members wants to work undisturbed, the living room table makes for a reasonably isolated workspace for homework, planning, or typing on a laptop computer. This is practical especially in apartments or studio flats. The living room can serve the double function of an office or den.

5. Play games in the living room - board games or cards are always excellent means to solicit some bonding time in the household. Bring out the game box, gather the family around the table, and have a good hour playing UNO or monopoly. Parents, no matter how busy they are, should try to allocate some time during the weekend to be with their children. Kids who spend time talking or playing with their parents are known to grow up more emotionally secure. Besides that, board games are also known to increase children's mental capabilities, so they get not only precious bonding time with the family, but some serious brain exercise too.

6. The best place for snacks - especially if a teenager has friends coming over for a movie, or for a study group. The coffee or end table is a great place to serve snacks while they do their homework. Bring out a big bag of chips and open a jar of their favorite dip, and prepare some cold drinks too. Kids can gather around the table, cross-legged, in a relaxed fashion, and exchange serious gossip while attempting to study for their calculus examinations. The parent can then be free from worrying about young visitors running around the house, while giving them reasonable privacy at the same time.

7. No ladder? No problem - Yes, a sturdy table can be used for instant elevation when a light bulb needs to be replaced, curtains have to be changed, or dust webs require to be swept away from ceiling corners. But never attempt this, of course, on glass or wicker tables. Only solid wood furniture types fit perfectly for this particular use. This can be another consideration why a wooden table is a better investment than a glass one - aside from the other common fact that glass is fragile and very dangerous, especially in a household full of children. There are numerous instances wherein a homeowner would need that extra height, especially for emergencies.

8. A clear space for doing arts and crafts - If the table is not going to be used for displaying items, it can be left clear for sessions like doing artwork, finishing crafts like scrapbooks, puzzles, or assembling toys like wooden sets, cars, or robots. The small surface of a coffee table is large enough for both materials and some elbow room, but it is comparatively easier to clean and clear away than the floor or the dining table top. For precaution, place some protective sheet or paper to prevent permanent streaks on the wood. The height is also ideal for sitting down sans chair in a comfortable position for hours.

9. An anything goes surface - on most homes, a low table often ends up simply as a place to put things down when people come in from work, school, or anything else. Bags, backpacks, shopping bags, and even shoes, sometimes. These things can temporarily find their docking place on the living room area, until someone remembers to return or keep them away to their proper storage shelves. This valuable function of an low, flat table is usually overlooked, but is actually one of the most important uses.

10. For making guests feel welcome - because even if it might seem farfetched, entertaining important guests, especially elder people, could still happen at home - even to busy adults. It might be a little awkward to serve drinks or wine to an important person in the kitchen counter or the stairwell. Just in case, already having a serving table is a good way of ensuring and showing that a homeowner can still play the part of a good host or hostess very well.

These examples comprise just a small part of the endless and innumerable ways homeowners can benefit from their small solid wood furniture. The limit to uses and options is the imagination. Unexpected circumstances will always bring forth surprising ways to benefit from these things, too.

But in order for the tables to serve their multiple functions well, they have to be made of materials that last. Solid wood furniture must be made of sturdy, dependable wood, and must be constructed to withstand heavy weights or constant moving. Ideally, it should also undergo treating so it will be scratch- and stain-proof.

The size and the design of the table is completely up to its owner's tastes and immediate needs. There are many available variants of living room tables that homeowners can select from. Or else, wood makers would always be more than happy to create a customized table for their customer's specifications. Contacts and information are available in directories, newspapers, or the internet.

Furniture in the living room - or the home for that matter - just does not look quite complete with an accent piece that doubles as useful furniture. And if it is used in many ways, and taken care of properly, then it could very well turn out to be one of a homeowner's best investments.

Top Ten Uses For a Coffee Table Or End Table

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Natural 2011 Deals

Nov 29, 2011 14:22:17

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Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Natural Feature

Crafted of solid beech wood which is light and airy
Reliably sturdy with bull nose rectangular shelves, open ladder-style sides, and back support rails
Natural finish bookshelf folds up for easy moving and storage
Shelf measures 11 by 14 by 51 inches and it folds down to a mere 3-1/4-inch

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Natural Overview

4-Tier Folding Narrow Shelf, Great for small area or even in the bathroom or closet. Made of Solid Wood

Cyber Monday Winsome Wood Folding 4-Tier Shelf, Natural Specifications

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Camera And Printer Docking Station

How to Build an Inexpensive Goldfish Pond in a Weekend Or Two

How to Build an Inexpensive Goldfish Pond

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Building a small goldfish pond in your yard can be a fun weekend project and the kids will enjoy it all summer. Depending on what climate you live in, the pond will have slightly different requirements for those areas with sub-freezing temperatures. You can however with a little but of junk hunting, build your pond for only a few dollars. In cold winter areas it is important to have a way to drain the pond for the winter to clean it. A drain piping explanation is further down this article.

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First pick the best area of your yard for the pond. You do not want it in full sun or full shade all day. A mixture of the two would be real nice. It will help your plants thrive and also keep the algae growth down as well. I have one pond in partial or mottled shade all day and it does very well and stays perfectly clean. If the pond will have a natural outlet and be filled occasionally with a hose that is about the best scenario you can get. I have a small pond that is filled by a very small underground spring that drips into the pond all the time but it also has an outlet pipe that exits into a wet area so the pond never needs filling of emptying. The small pond measures eight feet long by five feet wide by 2 feet deep. I keep thirty small goldfish in this pond and they do very well. Aside from eating bugs and mosquitoes the kids love to visit every day and put a few pinches of food in for them.

I selected my pond space in a shaded area of my yard near some large Maple trees as I wanted to be able to sit in the shade on hot summer days and enjoy the fish and the sound of the water without being in the full sun. I also built several raised planting beds at different heights around the pond out of flat field stones available on my property. There are many shade tolerant plants including Hostas, Varigated Hostas and Dead Nettle which spread with each passing year and with the different shades of greens and white leaves and purple flowers on the Nettle, the gardens have more then enough visual interest.

Once you have decided how large you want the pond itself, you have really two choices of pond types to choose from. Pre-made PVC pond liners are available in many shapes and sizes today. Many liners have built in plant shelves and light openings if you wish to add lighting to your pond. They range in sizes from a 1/2 barrel to huge ponds which require large filter systems and pumps to run. The small ponds you may be able to excavate by hand, the larger ones will require some heavy equipment like a backhoe perhaps to move that much earth The pond size and heavy equipment will certainly raise your price of course.

Another way to build a pond is to use rubber roofing membrane. You will find articles telling you not to use it because it has chemicals on it etc., etc. I washed mine before using it with a good soapy solution and rinsed it well to remove all soap residues. The membrane comes in twelve foot wide rolls and every time I see a school getting a new roof you can pretty well bet there are large scraps of rubber in the dumpsters. Almost all commercial buildings today use rubber membrane roofing available with some small effort of dumpster diving. Remember the pond should be two feet deep so four feet plus at least six inches on each top are wasted for a total of five feet. That would allow you a seven foot wide pool bottom. Depending on the length of the piece you get, just deduct two and one half feet on each end for the walls and top edging. Twelve foot long pieces would end up seven feet across the bottom. That's a seven foot by seven foot pond, two feet deep. That's a lot of water and can hold a great many goldfish.

I decided that I wanted my last pond raised up instead of flush with the ground. Using flat field stones I built oblong shaped pond walls two feet high. I placed several bags of play sand in the bottom and raked it smooth. Make absolutely sure there are no rocks or sticks in the bottom of the pond area. Any sharp protrusion can poke a hole through the liner material. Be somewhat careful on the sides as well to avoid pointy rocks facing or projecting into the inside of the pond. The water weight will force the liner to assume the shape of the inside walls so keep them as smooth as possible. A friend of mine used masonry stack blocks meant for a retaining wall for his side walls, lined the inside with the membrane and placed finished cap blocks on top. You can sit on top of the wall and watch the gold fish as they dart back and forth.

After installing my liner, I used large flat stones for my cap block after folding the last six inches of membrane over onto to the top of the walls. The folds do not have to be perfect as they will not be seen below the stones but make sure the stones do not rock back and forth when they are in their final positions. You want the cap stones to hang over the inside edge of the wall a couple of inches as well so the liner is not visible where it folds onto the top of the wall. A small portion of the vertical side wall will show depending upon on how high you keep the water level of the pond but the shadow produced by the overhanging cap stones makes it almost invisible. Black liner hides any small folds you leave behind as well. I have not tried white liner although I know they do make it. Goldfish show up very well in black ponds.

Next add a couple of water plants. There are hundreds to choose from and a trip to your local Koi or Garden store will open a whole new gardening experience for you. Many come in pots that are placed directly into your pond. I recommend you presoak the plants until water runs out of the bottom of the pot before placing it into the pond. This will help prevent loose dirt from floating out and making your pond dirty when you sink the pots into the water. The added water weight in the pot may also be required to actually make the pots stay on the bottom. If the plant is too short to reach the waters surface, get creative by adding some flat stones to make the plants work. The fish will love the added little nooks and crevices to hide in during sunny periods or just when they are playing.

If your pond is a closed system meaning no fresh water supply or discharge channel, give some thought as to how you are going to empty the pond for cleaning once a year. It can be done with a sump pump or add a two inch PVC discharge pipe open to free air if it is available. Many locales do not allow you to discharge pond water into the sewer system so be careful. If you have free air, install a two inch PVC pipe under the pond and turn it up into the pond using an elbow. Glue the elbow to the pipe with the proper PVC cement.
Wrap a small plastic bag over the elbow to prevent any sand or dirt getting into the pipe while you build your pond. Bury your pipe and commence building your walls. Once the walls are complete and the base sand is installed, place your liner into place. Using your lightest helper, cut a small X directly over the elbow, but make sure it is smaller then two inches long on each cut. Now carefully push the membrane down around the elbow leaving the rubber as tight as possible on the elbow. Using a stainless steel hose clamp available at any auto parts store, securely clamp the rubber membrane to the elbow making a watertight joint. At the open air end of the pipe install a two inch PVC gate valve. This valve can be opened for draining and cleaning of the pond whenever necessary.

Fill your pond with clean fresh water. I use a small fish tank aerator pump to provide additional oxygen to the fish. The large surface area of the pond should be more than sufficient to aerate the water but the bubble pump will also prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in the moving surface waters and it can provide yet another pleasant sound at your new goldfish pond. By scrounging both the rocks and membrane I spent a total of for materials for my pond. Goldfish in my area are 27 cents each so twenty nice fish is a grand total of .40. Not bad for a couple days work. Enjoy your new pond and gardening project.
Pete

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