Early in december I started to do the last few things....last few things – yah right.

Waterproofing.
Here you can see me preparing the surface of the cement before starting the painful job of water proofing the koi pond. The surface must be free of sand and loose cement particles.

The formula for putting this stuff on is as follows:

• 50% water + 50% bitumen – Paint the whole surface of the pond and leave to dry for about 30 minutes.
• 100% bitumen. Add a thick coat of  bitumen to a area about 50cm by 50cm and then while the bitumen is still wet place the water proofing cloth  over the paint and make sure that there is no wrinkles. After you have smoothed the surface of the cloth put another thick layer of bitumen on the cloth and surrounding areas. Repeat this process until the whole pond has been done. Make sure that cloth overlaps each other with about 5cm.
• Leave the pond for 2 days and make sure that it does not come in contact with any water! After 2 days apply another coat of bitumen on top of the painted cloth.
• Here you can decide to give it another coat or not after 2 days.
• After 14 days has passed you can add water. This is important – WAIT 14 Days!!! It might seem dry after 2 days but it is actually not dry below the surface. I Only waited 7 days here and it was a disaster. If you add water and after a day you see that the black paint seems brown then you must know that the paint was not dry and that the paint is being dilluted by the water...You might as well start over as you will probably have leaks.