How to Build a Pond Frame

Check with your utility companies to ensure that no water, power or other utility lines run beneath the area where you plan to place the pond.

Determine the dimensions of the pond based on your landscaping needs and space requirements. Drive wooden stakes into the lawn and tie sections of string between the stakes to create an outline of the pond.

Dig inside the pond outline to a depth of 10 inches deeper than the finished depth of the pond with a shovel. Check the bottom of the hole with a carpenter's level to ensure that the ground is level.

Fill in the bottom 4 inches of the hole with pea gravel. Use a gravel compacter to pack the gravel down tightly.

Pour 2 inches of sand on top of the gravel. Pack the sand down with a tamper. Slide a section of a two-by-four along the surface to smooth out the sand.

Cut sections of 3/8-inch-thick plywood 8 inches shorter than each dimension of the pond with a table saw. Cut the opposite dimension of these sections to the finished height of the pond. Attach these sections with 2-inch wood screws at their edges, using an electric screwdriver, to create the inner form for the pond.

Cut four sections of two-by-four lumber 16 inches longer than the inner form. Lay these sections across the top inner form, parallel to each other, allowing 8 inches of overhang on each end. Drive 4-inch wood screws through the two-by-four sections into the top of the form.

Coat the inner form with petroleum jelly to prevent the concrete from sticking to the form. Suspend the inner form over the hole. The inner form should be 4 inches from the edge of the hole on all sides.

Pour concrete into the hole to cover the bottom. Once the concrete has reached the bottom of the inner form, begin pouring the concrete between the form and the edges of the hole to form the pond frame sides. Use a two-by-four to smooth the concrete surfaces. Allow the concrete to cure for at least one week before continuing with the installation of pond features.