See how an old bathtub was transformed into an elegant pond for just £50

Have you ever found yourself throwing something out, only to have it sitting in your hallway, garden or drive for months on end before you finally make a visit to the dump? If so, it might be worth you thinking about another use for that item. You never know, it could be turned into something completely different just like this bathtub garden pond transformation.

Related: Upcycling ideas for the garden – from budget planters to making DIY garden furniture

Sheffield-based couple, Rachel Ball and her partner Kieron had removed an old bath after it became damaged but had left it outside in their garden for over eight months. 'I finally contacted a removal service, who wanted to charge between £60 and £80 to remove it,' Rachel told money-saving site Latestdeals.co.uk.

'Kieron and I wondered if it was possible to make it into a pond. Our daughter's birthday was coming up and she had been asking for pet fish. However, I didn’t like the idea of a fish tank as we don’t have much space for one in the house.'

Bathtub garden pond transformation

Once they'd decided what they were going to do, it took the couple just three days to complete the transformation. Not only that, but they didn't have the hassle of getting the old bath removed and it only cost £50.

Before

Having been left out in the garden, the old bath was the ideal vessel for a new pond. ‘We placed it at the top of our garden, where we had paving slabs,' says Rachel. ‘Last January and February there were severe winds, which had left us with fence panels that had blown through. We decided to use these as a base and frame for the new upcycled pond.'

Getting it water-tight

‘I made a pond guard out of some old dado rail and garden netting from the shed,' says Rachel. 'Then I looked for a fish pump on Facebook Marketplace and came across one for £30.’

The couple's old swimming pool had burst and was lying around in their shed, so they used this as a protective sheet for the hole and plug, filling it up with a hose pipe that they connected to their jet wash. ‘Unfortunately, the next morning it leaked,' says Rachel.  'I rang my local garden centre and they helped me with getting a pond liner, which was £22.99.'

Building the frame

Once the new liner was in and the pond was watertight, the couple began building the top frame and started the front panelling. 'We secured the panels with an additional piece of wood,’ says Rachel.

After

You'd never guess that the finished pond is in fact an old bath, would you? See more of Rachel's garden project here.

Related: 29 easy garden ideas – simple, low-maintenance updates to transform your outdoor space

Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, says: ‘Creating a pond can be costly, so repurposing old items, such as a bathtub, is a great way to get the project done on a budget. If you want to use your own tub to create a pond, I’d recommend keeping it above the ground so that small animals aren’t at risk of falling in.'

'Don’t forget to find a decent recirculating pond pump and filter, which should be sufficient for the estimated water volume of the tub. And decorative ponds often contain aquatic plants – don’t get these mixed up with tropical pond plants, which need to be stored indoors if you live in a particularly cold area.'