Do pond contractors typically warrant the construction of a pond...more so the Dam? If so, what is a typical warranty period? I would imagine it would be several a years since you won't know if the Dam has any issues until the pond has been full for some time.

I haven't seen any that do.

If it has a catastrophic failure, lets look at it from the other side. Can it be proven that the property owner didn't do anything to the dam to make it fail?

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/26796...awaiinewsnowcom

I am going to disagree with Esshup just a little bit. I feel it's more about the word warranty. Like eshhup said, there is probably no one that will have a "warranty". However, I feel there are a lot of pond builders that would stand by their work, and if something wasn't right they will come back and fix it. The secret is to find those that have a good reputation and a hand shake in their mind is a commitment. Their charge to do the pond right is usually not a "deal", but they have the know how to do it right and know how much it costs to have to come back and fix something if it isn't done right. I would also think that if the land owner starts telling the builder to do it this way or that way, and if the builder disagrees in the owners approach, I imagine the builder will come back to a "problem" later on and say it's not his fault.

Fish n chips, no disagreement at all. That's exactly how I feel. You do the damdest to do your best work possible, and do your due diligence to make sure you know as much as possible about doing the work right.

I think that a persons word should be stronger than a written contract, but sadly in this day and age, it doesn't seem to be, at least not around here. Doing it right takes time, money, knowledge and manpower.

If the owner wants to tell the builder how to do it, the pond builder shouldn't have to warranty the work if it's done how the owner wants it done. At that point the owner takes it upon himself to warranty the work. The owner turns into the general contractor, and the builder just turns into a machine operator at that point.

It's the "written" warranty that I have an issue with. Doing that takes time, an attorney and money. How will the pond builder recoup those costs? I doubt that a warranty can be made broad enough to cover all ponds, and still have enough teeth to protect both parties equally without costing an arm and a leg. Will the pond owner be O.K. with footing the bill for the warranty, or will the dollar rule and he go with a cheaper pond builder if the builder just hides it in the costs? I'm not an attorny, so I have no idea how one would be worded.

I think that it is just a matter of wording by PJB. Warranty is not used in pond building. He may ask the builders in other ways as to what happens "if"....

I learned over the summer that lifetime warranty in Ohio means "legally" seven years!!!!!!!!! What a farce.