BUILDING FOUNTAINS AND PONDS - Fountain
and Garden Pools 12
Metal-lined pools
Metal-lined pools require some skill
in the shaping and joining of metal,
but, for anyone who has this skill
or can acquire it readily, this method
of construction
has many advantages. We have already
mentioned the fact that
such pools are not easily damaged by
frost. Except for the fact that
frost heaving sometimes causes leaks
at the points where the supply
and drain pipes pass through the metal
lining, it might truthfully
be said that such pools are never damaged
by frost action.
Lead is the most satisfactory metal on several counts
and also the easiest to work. The sheets are purchased
in sizes
which can be fitted most economically to the shape
and dimensions of the pool. Each sheet should be trimmed
so that it roughly fits the section of the pool where
it will be put down. Allowances should be made for
the edges to be turned up at the pool sides and also
for the additional width needed for seams. After cutting
it to the rough shape, each sheet is placed on the
pool bottom and hammered with a large wood mallet
to fit the contours of the excavation.
After the sheets have been shaped, the edges are turned
up on each
one to form the seams. A detail of a seam of this kind
is made by first turning up at right angles the edges
of the sheets which are to be joined. The shorter edge
should be turned up at east 1/2 in., and the longer
edge about 11/8in. The turning operation can be done
most conveniently with roofer's tongs, but, when these
are not available, the edge can be turned up with a
hammer and a
block of wood cut from 2 in. by 4 in. lumber. Two lines
can be
scored along the block to mark the heights of the short
and long
edges. After the edges have both been turned at right
angles to
their sheets, another block of wood which is about
1/16 in. thicker
than the height of the short edge is pressed against
the short edge,
and the long edge is hammered down on the block. Next
the block
is placed in the corner of the long edge and its sheet,
and the tip
of the long edge is hammered down so that it lies against
the still
upright short edge. The next step is to flatten the
folded seam
against the sheet with a wood mallet to produce the
interlocked
form. Finally, after all the seams have been folded
down, they are
soldered as shown. The seams must be soldered up to
the water
level or the pool will leak at the edges. They are
rather easily
formed and soldered in the parts of the lining where
the curve is
not sharp; but where the curves have a very small radius,
as at the
point where the sheet is turned under the coping stone,
it is usually
necessary to make the seam first and then beat the
sheet to the
shape of the curve with a mallet. Soldering should
be done after
the curve is made. The joints around the supply pipe
and overflow
pipe are made with solder. Lead is a very malleable
material and,
therefore, it is not readily injured by hammering it
to such shapes as pool bottoms. It is easily cracked
or even pierced by sharp points, however. Therefore,
it should not be hammered down against small
sharp stones.
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