preparing the pond and rendering ready for g4

hello all,
             today we will go through the render and g4 finish on a pond,the principal
difference with g4 over a liner is that the finish is not flexible so the finish is only
suitable for brick and concrete constructed ponds,
when preparing the pond for rendering it is considered better to remove tight angles
from the pond,the most obvious method here is to angle a block or brick in the
construction stage,so as not to have 90degree angles in the corners[bottom and sides]
this is so we do not have dead spots in the corners,or sharp angles that will be hard
to render and paint,
    if you can afford it it is nice to get somebody in to actually do the render but you can
do just as good a job yourself if you take your time,once again the more time spent the
better the finish,when you are preparing the surface for rendering you must look at the
finish,if you have used concrete blocks then the surface will be rough so you can lay
straight onto this with the render mix,and you will get a good adhesion,but if you have
used smooth bricks then you are better using a pva glue on the surface so the render
will stick,
   when mixing the sand and cement we add chopped Fibreglass strands into the mix this
prevents cracking due to slight movement as the mix dries,we also add a plasticiser as
this allows the mix to become more slippery making it easier to work with,the secret
here is to start with smaller mixes until you become more confident so avoiding waste
and the urge to rush,when applying the render onto the wall try to keep an even pressure
to the float as you push the mix onto the wall,at this stage do not try to smooth it to much
but apply more to the next part of the wall until you have a reasonable area covered at
this point go back to the beginning and start to smooth the render if it is still to wet give
it a little time to cure,if it is a little dry then spray a little water on to it as this will make
it more fluid,keep moving along the wall until you have achieved a good finish,i prefer
to use a wet sponge for the final polishing because you can put as much or as little water
onto it as required,and i find easier than finishing with a float,once you are satisfied with
the finish leave to dry,the drying time depends on the weather but we usually find three or
four days in the summer is fine,once dried you will need to check for any rough edges,if
there are we cheat a little bit and use a rough sand paper to rid the pond of the edges,we
then need to use a blow lamp to remove any strands of fibreglass that may be sticking out
of the render,as if painted will become razor blades on the side of the pond,after this brush
and vac the pond removing any dust or debris from the bottom,and you are ready for the g4
finish,we will cover this tomorrow,and once again we will discuss preparing pipes and
bottom drains at a later date,
regards paul
teesside koi