Instructions for Buildins Pools of All Sizes ... How 
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ools for water gardening may take many forms and sizes, but all 
of them should, first of all, be located where they receive plenty of sunshine. Usually 
lawn and garden conditions will require the construction of a concrete basin for the 
Pool, which will, according to your own preference, take on an informal arrangement 
resembling the natural pond as to shape, or a formal arrangement in round, rectangu¬ 
lar or square shape with straight walls. Construction of Pools may, when soil condi¬ 
tions permit, be as simple as merely scooping out a pond-like area in the ground. The soil must be 
of such a character as to hold water well. Some soils not quite sufficient for this may be made so by 
lining the scraped-out pool with a layer of well-tamped clay. 
All larger Pools should be 24 to 30 inches in depth to allow 8 to 12 inches of good soil in the bot¬ 
tom and a sufficient depth of water for growing purposes and adequate winter protection. If pre¬ 
ferred, large pots, boxes or tubs may be used as containers for soil instead of covering the entire bot¬ 
tom of the Pool, which helps keep the pool water clear, and has the further advantage of containing 
individual plants and preventing overcrowding. Also soil in containers is easily fertilized, which is 
important for vigorous growth. The Pool may well be designed to duplicate on a small scale the 
conditions of lake and pond shores, giving water depths from 2 to 10 inches where plantings of shallow 
water growths are desired. 
The INFORMAL POOL is shown in cross section drawing below, which illus¬ 
trates sound construction methods. Inlet and overflow connections are not neces¬ 
sary unless you want a fountain or running water, but are always convenient. 
ROCK LEDGES 
FOR SHALLOW 
WATER PLANTS 
4a 
OVERFLOW 
PIPE / 
REINFORCING RODS 
OR WIRE MESH 
DRAIN SHOWN FOR CONSTRUCTION 
THE INFORMAL The most popular and 
POOLS inexpensive Pool, and the 
one affording opportu¬ 
nities for the builder to exercise his own 
tastes in design, is the informal, or irregularly 
shaped Pool. FIRST, stake out and mark 
with twine the OUTSIDE limits of your 
Pool. Excavate the center 30 inches deep, 
then slope the sides at about 45 degrees 
toward the center excavation, following the 
twine marking, letting the bottom be per¬ 
fectly flat and as large as the size of the 
Pool naturally makes it with these sloping 
walls. Tamp sides and bottom well. Mix 
a stiff concrete with 1 part good cement, 2 
parts clean sharp sand and 3 parts j4" to 34" 
gravel or cracked stone. Mix thoroughly 
while dry and add water just sufficient to 
make a thick mixture that will lie on the slop¬ 
ing walls. Plaster the walls of the excavation 
from the bottom to the top with 2 to 3 inches 
of this concrete. Immediately place wire mesh 
over the concrete, taking care to overlap the 
mesh on bottom and sides by 4 to 6 inches. 
Be sure the mesh is large enough to permit all 
gravel or stone pieces to pass through freely. 
Cover the mesh with another 2 to 3 inches of 
concrete, tamping smooth and then smoothing 
surface with trowel or block of wood. Cover 
with building paper or damp hay or straw for 
12 hours. Apply a thick paste of cement and 
water, painting it on with broom or whitewash 
brush. Recover the work and let it stand for 
48 hours. Remove covering, fill with water and 
soak for 2 or 3 days. Empty, stirring water 
constantly to wash out all sediment. The Pool 
is then ready for use. 
It is not necessary to provide drainage for 
Pools, and a large Pool without drainage may, 
instead of being filled and drained, be washed 
out thoroughly with a strong fine stream from 
a hose while brushing sides thoroughly with a 
stiff broom. Bail out the water and carefully 
sweep up and remove all sediment remaining. 
the FORMAL Rectangular, square or 
POOI 8 round Pools with vertical 
.... sides are used for formal ar¬ 
rangements of the Water Garden. These may 
be built in any soil by excavating the desired 
space and building forms for the side walls. 
These forms may be of wood, steel or of gal¬ 
vanized iron sheeting, reinforced with wood. 
Wood forms should be wetted before pouring 
concrete; metal forms wiped with oil or grease. 
PURPOSES IF DESIRED --NOT NECESSARY 
TO A SUCCESSFUL POOL 
COUPLING- UNSCREW 
OVERFLOW PIPE TO 
DRAIN POOL 
Ledges and other elaborations of construction, 
if desired, must, of course, be provided for in 
building the forms. It is good construction 
practice to make the inside form six inches short 
of the bottom of the outside form so that, when 
pouring the concrete for the walls, it will flow 
out inside and form a lip into which the 
bottom concrete can bind and seal the joint all 
around. Of course the bottom must be poured 
before the outflowing concrete from the wall 
forms has set. Smooth finished walls as de¬ 
scribed above and paint with cement paste. 
Reinforcing of the concrete in walls and bottom 
with wire mesh as described above, or with 
light reinforcing steel, is desirable to avoid pos¬ 
sibility of cracking from frost. 
The labor and expense of building forms may 
be dispensed with in firm soil by excavating at 
first only the width of the walls and using the 
trench thus cut for forms. Firm soil carefully 
cut and smoothed will give a smooth inner wall. 
After the walls have set in this procedure ex¬ 
cavate the interior and construct the bottom, 
taking care to seal the joint between bottom 
and side walls carefully to prevent leakage. A 
paste of pure cement and water should be 
painted over the joint between bottom and 
sides when the finish surface is applied. 
SIDE WALLS should be at least six inches 
thick and bottoms may be 4 to 6 inches thick. 
Many finishing treatments for the top edges and 
borders of formal Pools are possible and should 
be decided upon before construction is started. 
Brick trim should, of course, be set in place as 
soon as the walls have been poured so that it 
will set thoroughly in the concrete. 
6 
HOOSIER AQUATIC GARDENS 
