Using A Bridge In Your Backyard Design



You may want to consider building a bridge in your garden if you have enough space for it. It can really add a rather original and attractive angle to your design scheme. Overall adding a bridge would a fairly quick process, and there are quite a few ways to go about it.

Add a pond and a bridge to your landscape

Ponds are a great focal point in any garden and also add a very chilled and relaxed feel to your overall design. For instance you could locate the pond close to your patio or decking, then add a path and bridge so you can easily cross the expanse of water. It is guaranteed to add quite of bit of pizzazz to your décor!

Doing It Yourself vs. Hiring A Specialist

If you're planning to add a bridge to your back garden, you can either decide to do all the work yourself, or get a professional in to get the job done. This last option may work out to be rather costly so you may want to consider building the bridge on your own – this would also give you greater satisfaction showing off your handiwork!

How To Go About Building A Bridge In Your Yard

In addition to some creativity you will need basic materials such as timber and nails to build a footbridge to go over an existing water feature like a pond. Then, before you get started in earnest you will need to consider the particulars of your backyard such as whether there will be a path going from the patio to the bridge, how long the bridge needs to be and what shape would best fit with the rest of your scheme.

How to Get Started

Before you get digging you should plot out the area where the pond will be using paint. Once this is done you can get your spade out, remembering to dig a few inches deeper that the intended depth of the finished water feature, say about 15 to 20”.

Cleaning Up The Rubble

As you need you will unearth pointed rocks and hard roots that could pierce through the lining of the pond: you therefore need to remove all debris that can get in the way, leaving the surface even. If this is not done properly then you run the risk of the overall result looking off once the pond is filled with water.

Using a Layer Of Sand

In order to help keeping the pond liner firmly where you need it to stay you can use a layer of sand underneath. You can always cut any additional material that is not required but you should keep enough liner to put over the edges of your pond. A useful trick to make the liner more flexible and help it stretch is to leave it to warm up in a sunny spot first.

Putting The Bridge In

When you are finally ready to install your footbridge in its intended location you should position stones all around the edges of your pond. You can be quite creative there and add even more interest to the feature by choosing rocks of particular shapes or color. As you put your bridge in place ensure that it is completely stable and is properly anchored, so you can enjoy its great decorative effect straight away.