Cost of doing a pond

[midngn]

I know there are a lot of variables involved, but wanted to get a general idea of the cost of having a pro put in a pond. Two watefalls, rock backdrop. Soup to nuts. (Not worried about the plants and fish cost) A photo of the pond you have installed, basic dimensions and the cost to install would really help. I am in GA. started the project myself over 2 year ago, but need to get it done. I had one local company tell me $15K and I already bought all the weirs, skimmer box, pump and underlayment. Just wanted to set my mind at ease a little. Any one suggest a good pond installer near Atlanta? Thanks.

 

[Smaug]

Pics are too hard to post here but my pond is 16 ft by 14 ft (approximate ) 3.5 ft deep with liner underlayment and epdm liner. Big pond master skimmer and biofalls with 4000 gph matala pump. Fieldstone surround with rocks in the falls return area for bio filter and wild food source. I have just under 2 thousand dollars in it but I did all the work myself with a shovel. I did pay for the stones which was one big 4ft square pallet.

 

[peter hillman]

Ponding can cost a little or a LOT, depends on what your pond budget is. I have a seasonal coworker who does pro ponds in the summer, told me they did a 60 grand job last year, they provide a one year guaranty and service plan included in the install price. My pond only cost the liner and pump hardware. I did the digging and brought rocks from nearby. Then the second liner because I skimped on the first one don't cheap out on the basics.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I know there are a lot of variables involved, but wanted to get a general idea of the cost of having a pro put in a pond. Two watefalls, rock backdrop. Soup to nuts. (Not worried about the plants and fish cost) A photo of the pond you have installed, basic dimensions and the cost to install would really help. I am in GA. started the project myself over 2 year ago, but need to get it done. I had one local company tell me $15K and I already bought all the weirs, skimmer box, pump and underlayment. Just wanted to set my mind at ease a little. Any one suggest a good pond installer near Atlanta? Thanks.

What size pump (flow rate) did you purchase? This could limit the functioning size of any pond as could the size biofilter, if you have also purchased that.
I am sure that there are several reputable Water Feature contractors in the Atlanta Metro area. Try to find one that specializes in Water Features only. General landscapers are usually a second choice.

 

[Smaug]

Insist on underlayment as well.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I installed my 800g pond by myself, and I'd guess it cost around $700 for the basics (liner + underlayment, flagstone, pump, and everything for my bog filter. The liner was easily half the total cost. For everything else, I went as inexpensive as I could because I had a very small budget for it.

As you know, hiring a company to install it will increase the cost, but as you said, it depends on all sorts of variables such as size, rock bottom vs. bare bottom, etc.

 

[Lisak1]

My first answer - Priceless!

My real answer - around 20k. And we did a good portion of the work ourselves.

We paid to have the pond, bog, and rain exchange excavated and to have the dirt hauled away. We paid to have a 15 foot rock wall installed - on either side of our waterfall, which we built ourselves. We paid for rock (and paid extra for the rock we wanted - could have saved here if we had used granite boulders) gravel, underlayment, liner, pumps, plumbing - all the usual. The addition of the rain exchange added about $2000 to the price - well worth it. The bog added to the cost - an additional vault and centipede plus the additional plumbing. Added a small "stream" - a bit more cost. We've been quoted 50k if we had hired out the whole job. Thank goodness for three strong - and patient, helpful, filled with love for their mom! - sons who gave up about six weekends to provide the muscle.

But as others have said and will say - you can spend a lot or spend a little. All depends on what YOU want and how much labor you can provide on your own. It also depends on where you live as costs can definitely vary from one area to another.

For us, our pond is a little vacation every day so it's worth every penny we've invested.

 

[Smaug]

I also offer up an estimate of the time I spent digging which was right around 25 hrs with a shovel just digging the hole. Another 3 hrs placing the skimmer and the falls with plumbing. 3 hrs placing stone and about another 2 hrs planting. My Scot blood curdle at the thought of giving someone 10s of thousand of dollars to dig a hole,do some rudimentary plumbing and gardening then sign a maintenance contract to keep it nice

 

[EricV]

I had a casual conversation with a pond builder who offered to put in something like what want. About 10'x15', 2,500 gallons. I *think* the price I was told was something like $10k. Maybe $15k. Seems like the initial cost of doing it yourself for a water garden type pond is about $1.00/gallon and builders are more like 3-5x that.

 

[morewater]

Well, consider the overhead. Machinery, vehicles, trailers, labor, dump fees, mileage, tool costs, etc.

This isn't minimum wage work and once the job is done, the contractor owns it and any and all problems associated with its construction.

Check out the cost of flagstone or interlock work, you generally get what you pay for. Get references.

If you want to avoid the majority of the costs, then take on the planning and the work on your own. You'll be surprised just how quickly the bills add up. Don't forget to calculate the cost of a GFCI install and the power conduit.

 

[brokensword]

I echo the others; doing it yourself can save you a lot. My pond is approximately 2700g, 18x9x3.5' and is enclosed with an open wood structure which I screened. I estimate my cost as a little over $2k, and as the others, the liner was the largest cost followed by the pump and deco rocks. Part of my cost though is in the structure enclosing the pond as well as the patio included, hence more rock. Good exercise though; I think I lost over 13 pounds that summer...

 

[Smaug]

[QUOTE="morewater, post: 299271, member: 6326"

If you want to avoid the majority of the costs, then take on the planning and the work on your own. You'll be surprised just how quickly the bills add up. Don't forget to calculate the cost of a GFCI install and the power conduit.[/QUOTE]
Oh yeah I forgot about the wiring. I had about 3 hrs in that as well and I also buried and wired it myself. Materials were around 75 bucks for that. My pond is buit as a natural look and not in a patio situation, that would be beyond me and I could understand an expensive bill for it. As for the homeowner considering his own time,your own time is worthless if you wouldnt otherwise be making money.
Dump fees? That's sorta funny because the first thing excavating crews do is scrape off and keep the topsoil for resale later. The remainder of the dirt can usually be incorporated into the scaping, mine was.

 

[morewater]

It's not just time, but ability.

If you're able to do it and have the confidence, go to it. If not, then hire someone who does. Get references, ask for photos.

Don't pay cash out front, just a deposit. Get a written contract outlining everything that will be done.

 

[peter hillman]

Then in some area's a pond must be enclosed by a fence, an added cost if one doesn't exist.

 

[morewater]

"

[QUOTE="morewater, post: 299271, member: 6326"

Dump fees? That's sorta funny because the first thing excavating crews do is scrape off and keep the topsoil for resale later. The remainder of the dirt can usually be incorporated into the scaping, mine was

As to dump fees, you'd be surprised what comes out of a hole, Smaug. Particularly in new subdivisions. I've pulled out asphalt shingles, paint drums, metal banding, everything that the builder just dug a hole for and got rid of the "easy" way. After all, no one is ever going to dig a hole in the back yard, right?

If there's no dump, there's no dump. Excess liner is garbage, stone cuttings are garbage, cut lumber is garbage, clay is garbage. Tree roots, and sometimes trees are garbage. A bin rental counts as a dump fee. It all costs time and money to get rid of. Who keeps excess soil? It's not worth the effort to remove it, then store it, then reload it, then try to sell it. Topsoil is about $15 a yard.

Then there's the clean-up on the way out of the yard, re-leveling of tire tracks, reconstruction of existing fence (if any), or installing a new fence, relaying of interlock that the excavator may be shifted, pressure washing of the driveway, water treatment for chlorine. Pallets need to be returned for refund, there's premium fuel/oil mix for gas tools, diamond blade wear, business insurance, CVOR vehicle insurance....yada, yada, yada.

Years back (about 10) I did my own backyard, no labor. Cost me $15K in materials alone and I own all the equipment.