Pond building in NJ. Help me with contractor, pricing, and advice.

[miklnj]

That was what most people bid at ...now if you are talking putting your material inyour building envelope your talking a whole different game meening soils engineering and is structurial soil . .unless your gonna bury a foundation which is not uncommon but expensive

 

[Coyote machine]

Dirt Pan for Sale | Used Dirt Pan by Manufacturer | Fastline.com

Some listings it has all sizes.

Thanks, Farmer2009; do those machines process too or just hold dirt? Looks like they are meant to sift or crush or something else than just hold a load?

To the OP I suggest finding someone near your place that has an actual pond; ask them about it, who dug it, when, cost, references, etc.

 

[farmer2009]

Thanks, Farmer2009; do those machines process too or just hold dirt? Looks like they are meant to sift or crush or something else than just hold a load?

Oh no problem finding them. These machines are self loading and unloading. If you get the correct pictures then you can see that the floor has a cutting edge on it and is controlled by hydraulics. You can also find this set up on a self-propelled machine. But that is mainly used for large build sites and roads.

 

[PhysAssist]

Oh no problem finding them. These machines are self loading and unloading. If you get the correct pictures then you can see that the floor has a cutting edge on it and is controlled by hydraulics. You can also find this set up on a self-propelled machine. But that is mainly used for large build sites and roads.

My uncle used a self-propelled pan to add about 5' of fill to his yard prior to building his house and garage, with the fill coming from his farm field and leaving a very large rectolinear pond about 8-10' deep.

We had to add a measured 4' average of fill to our barn site for our 30'x45' pole barn last year, it was excavated from the banks of our pond by a large tracked excavator and dual axle dump truck over about 5 days with 2.5 guys working about 8-9 hours per day and it cost us right about $10K, if that helps. Of course, we're in rural upstate NY.

Thomas

 

[tkappeler]

To the OP, the excavator I PM'd you about has a self propelled pan as well.

 

[farmer2009]

Pans are nice I think a lot faster than track-loaders or excavators and dump trucks because unless you have enough trucks the loader is sitting and waiting on the truck to return to be loaded. Now that I think about it I would say a $4-6 per yard price range should be close. About 10 years ago I heard of it being $2 per yard and I know inputs have gone up drastically since then. That is my basis for pricing this job. Plus the clearing at $80-100 per hour. Haven't seen the job so not real sure about hours but from the description that would be my guess.

Hope you get a better price. Sounds like that guy want to do a couple of jobs then go sleep the rest of the year.

My .02.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I rented a track hoe for 2k a week. Dump truck was $50 per hr. Dozer would be about 850 a day with operator. Figure 6-7k for machines, dump truck, Dozer and fuel.

Those prices are in the Houston area with you running the hoe. If I was bidding the job for you I'd probably come in around 10k or so. Maybe a little more depending on the site visit and how to finish off the pond and dam/spillway

Brett

 

[Wis Bang]

Even outside the Pineland Commission area you still have to deal w/ NJ DEP.

There is a famous story about someone who placed a pipe across a low spot in the driveway and was fined a huge amount for filling in a wetland...

That is the state agency you need to work with b/4 digging.

 

[Coyote machine]

Even outside the Pineland Commission area you still have to deal w/ NJ DEP.

There is a famous story about someone who placed a pipe across a low spot in the driveway and was fined a huge amount for filling in a wetland...

That is the state agency you need to work with b/4 digging.

Yeah, DO NOT underestimate the govt/enviro agencies in their ability to ruin your life/empty your bank account when it comes to anything having to do with water, wetlands, etc. You err, they swarm.
Trust me on this, my undergrad degree is in enviro science. If you're BP or HEXon then it's a different scenario.

 

[emanaresi]

I don't doubt that you are right. But we also are not dealing with wetlands here. Also, where is the threshold? People put small ponds in their backyard all the time. Is that just small enough to go unnoticed? Oh well, I've nearly given up on the pond idea as I have gotten some better prices for fill and it is almost certainly going to cost significantly more to dig the pond.