Cost to build a pond??

[herdfan]

I am in the beginning stages of building a house and suggested that the contractor dig a pond to get the fill dirt needed for the site work.
The fill from the pond will need to be moved about 200 feet.
The pond will be nearly 1/2 acre in size.
Any idea on how much I might expect to spend to get the pond in place and the fill dirt moved?

Thanks
Eric

 

[GerardC]

That all depends on if the pond is dug by the hour or it is done by the job. Around here they can get $65.00 per hour. G

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Eric,
It obviously depends on a lot of things including how deep, the material, how wet, and in general the setting of the pond. I would be hesitant to have a contractor who has not specifically built ponds dig one. Without testing the solt (test pits) etc. and engineering it (do you need a core trench) do you have material to line it (is there clay down there etc.) It is possible that you might end up with a big whole and not a pond. My 1/2 to 3/4 acre pond cost about $6,000.
Larry

 

[theboman]

Check with the county too on what you have to do to build a pond. They can slap you silly if you've not followed thier regulations.

 

[SPIKER]

around here you can stick a shovel into the ground and remove the dirt it will fill up by the nest rain... mostly clay so leaking ponds usually don't happen.

1/2 acre ponds around here run 5~8K depending on how the slope and how much grading is needed afterwards. and if dirt has to be hauled or graded out.

Since you need the fill else where (though 200 feet is a wase to grade it.) it should be in the 5k range. make sure they remove the top soil at the fill location prior to grading the fill in, that way you have the extra top soil to use as yard dirt around the new house after all the building it done. have them move it to the high side and build a small knowl untill everything is done. then you can grade it down hill using smaller equipment ...


Mark M

 

[herdfan]

There's lots of clay around here too, so leaking shouldn't be a problem.
Our contractor has dug these before and even asked if I wanted to be charged by the hour or the job - of course no $$ quote on the job yet.
Anybody ever work an hourly agreement to be capped at the complete job quote?

 

[DavidJ]

Yes, it's called a T&M (time & materials) not-to-exceed contract. We do it regularly. The only caveat to this is it almost always takes the full amount to complete the job. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[SPIKER]

yep ask for a Time & Mat quote, usually they will want time only and most of the tiem if you have other stuff for them to do they will treat you fairly. one thing is to try and track the time they are working you're self. this way you KNOW if they are keeping track accuratly. also check to see if they will quote the job per first as you may get off cheaper that way if you have lots of top soil to move out of the way first and then dig pond and footers for house level, grading ect...

Mark M

 

[herdfan]

We're basically building behind our existing house, so logging their hours is fairly easy to do. The contractor already knows that I'm frugal, so hopefully that will weigh in on the price. I already volunteered the use of my old dump truck for hauling the fill /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[PineRidge]

Eric 5 years ago we built a pond about the size of Larry's. We hired an engineer and an excavator, did the soil samples, dug a core trench, and had clay moved from one part of our property to the pond site using a pan. Construction took about 2 weeks of hard constant work with heavy equipment and the pond turned out to be a right nice addition to our property. It wasn't cheap but going out my back door whenever I want to fish with my fly rod is priceless. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Most of my friends whom also fish might also agree.

I think you'll be sorry later if you don't take your time and plan accordingly. I wish you success with your project.