Firestone PondGard EPDM Pond Liners

A 45 mil EPDM rubber liner made for ponds. It goes into koi ponds, water gardens, streams, waterfalls, fountains and reflecting pools, and the flexible membrane follows curved walls, planting shelves and irregular bottoms that a rigid preformed liner cannot reach. The same product is now sold under the Elevate brand after Firestone Building Products became Elevate.

Yes. Firestone Building Products became Elevate after joining Holcim, and the Firestone name was phased out across its building and lining products. PondGard stayed in the range throughout. Older stock still turns up in Firestone PondGard packaging. Newer material is labeled Elevate PondGard. The membrane inside is the same.

45 mil, which works out to 0.045 inch or about 1.14 mm. That is substantial enough to hold water under real load and thin enough to stay genuinely flexible, so the sheet folds into shelves, curves and changes in depth instead of bridging over them. Weight runs roughly 0.284 lb per square foot, which puts a 15 ft x 20 ft sheet at about 85 lb.

Yes. PondGard is formulated for aquatic use and does not release harmful chemicals into the water around it, which is why it goes into koi ponds, goldfish ponds, wildlife ponds and planted water gardens. The liner is only one part of a healthy pond. Filtration, circulation, stocking density, source water and anything added later decide the rest of it.

Sheets run from 5 ft x 10 ft up to 30 ft x 35 ft, and full rolls reaching 100 ft go through distributors. The common backyard sizes are 10 x 10, 10 x 15, 15 x 20 and 20 x 20. Choose the size after calculating the excavation at its maximum length, width and depth. Availability moves around by seller, so the exact listing decides what you can actually get today.

Use maximum dimensions, never averages. Length = pond length + (2 x maximum depth) + 2 ft Width = pond width + (2 x maximum depth) + 2 ft That spare 2 ft leaves about 12 inches of liner beyond the excavation at each opposing edge. Anchor trenches, waterfall returns, thick coping and irregular profiles all want more than the minimum.

About 7 ft wide by 12 ft long at 3 ft deep, leaving roughly a foot of liner outside each edge. Drop to 2 ft of depth and the same sheet covers around 9 ft by 14 ft, because every foot of depth costs 2 ft of membrane in each direction. Shelves and complex contours push the requirement back up, so measure the finished hole rather than the plan on paper.

Yes, lay geotextile underlayment first. It separates the EPDM from soil, small rocks, roots and concrete edges, and it spreads out pressure those points would otherwise concentrate on one spot of membrane. Underlayment is not a substitute for preparation. Pull the roots, take out the sharp stone and clear the debris before anything goes down.

Yes, and the flexibility is exactly why it works there. The membrane bends around a winding channel and follows changes in elevation that a rigid product cannot manage. Size a stream liner from the whole channel rather than the width of flowing water. Carry it up both banks well above the expected level, overlap correctly at each drop so water runs forward instead of underneath, and add protection where boulders concentrate load.

Yes, using the compatible EPDM seam system. Adjacent panels need a 4 inch minimum overlap, QuickPrime on the prepared surfaces, QuickSeam splice tape and a pressure roller over the finished splice, with both sheets lying flat and free of tension. Household tape and general construction adhesive do not bond EPDM. The seam area also has to be clean and dry, so nothing gets spliced in rain, condensation or standing water.

Usually, without touching the rest of the liner. Expose the damage, clean and dry the area, prime it, then set a compatible EPDM patch that extends well past the hole. Check the usual suspects before draining anything. Waterfall splash, a low spot in the perimeter liner, plumbing and plain evaporation all look identical to a puncture when you are reading the water level.

PondGard installations past 40 years are still holding water. EPDM resists UV, oxidation, frost and heat while staying flexible, which is why it ends up where the waterproofing needs to be forgotten about rather than maintained. Substrate preparation, installation quality, physical protection and chemical exposure all move the real number. A sheet cut by a rock on day one is not going to see 40 years.

It resists long-term UV and weathering, so exposed rubber does not fail quickly. Even so, cover the perimeter with stone, coping or gravel. That advice is about damage more than sunlight. Covered liner survives foot traffic, string trimmers, pets and shifting hardscape, and a finished pond looks considerably better without a black margin running around it.

Elevate, the building products brand created after Firestone Building Products joined Holcim. PondGard continues the Firestone lineage that has gone into decorative ponds and water containment for decades. Both labels remain in circulation, so an older Firestone-branded sheet and a current Elevate-branded one can sit on the same shelf at the same seller.

Because the pond gets shaped around the landscape instead of the landscape being cut to fit a molded shell. The 45 mil EPDM stays flexible around shelves and curves, comes in sheets large enough to skip seams on most backyard builds, and takes a patch if something goes through it. A rigid shell still makes sense for a very small standardized pond. Past that size, EPDM gives far more freedom on depth, outline and shape.