Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Good property to add a pond?

Looking to possibly move in the next year or so and hope to have some land to build a pond. I have contacted some local contractors that the jones fish hatcheries have recommended and am waiting to hear back. Located in SW ohio , curious if anyone has a recommendation or recently dug a pond and could give me some ball park numbers for a 1-2 acre pond. I know the amount of variables make it hard to estimate , what type of land should I be looking for to make adding a pond easier? Am I off by estimating 10-15K for 1 acre and maybe 20-25K for 2 acre? IF removing trees can you sell to help recoup the cost for removing?, should I be looking more for open flat property or maybe one with a natural dam or somewhat of a rolling hills property?

maybe the experts will chime in, but I've always assumed that
"open flat property" does not typically have as much water-shed
as a property with more inclines.

Agree with Mark. Rolling is best with the dam strategically placed.

Good clay soil would also be a plus so you don't have to have it hauled in (if there is such a thing in SW Ohio?).

That's what we did. However, if your dirt guy has to remove and stack the trees for the lumber mill, that additional cost will have to be factored in to his fee.

Then you have to factor in the cost of removing the stumps from the ground, and burning/burying/dealing with them. Wood varies in price, from wood that is suitable for pulp, wood that can be used for pallets, lumber and veneer grade. Talk to the county forrester in the county that you are looking at in regards to timber prices and see what he has to say.

Less dirt needs to be moved for a pond that is built with a dam vs. an excavated pond. Same usually goes for the watershed - it's typically larger in hilly country.

talked with local pond builder today said they usually can't sell the trees, he talked to me a good deal and seemed to know what he was talking about. Said they can build a pond pretty much anywhere but with all the variables (soil,rocks,trees,location etc) difficult to give a price. Said he was working on a 1/2 acre now that is into the 40K due to all the rocks...that scares me a bit given that I buy a property and a 1/2 acre pond will cost 40K...I was thinking more along the 20-25K range for 1-2 acre. He also said not to dig test holes on the site where you want the pond due to potential leakage? test areas around the pond but not in the exact pond location.

I am trying to search through the archives on different cost associated with building a pond but difficult to locate some numbers, I did see some from 7K-15K for 1 acre I believe but different parts of the country and all the variables make it difficult to guesstimate ...

$40K for a 1/2 acre pond seems pretty high

i know there are lots of variables...but jezzz

my ballpark rule of thumb has always been
About $10K per acre of pond if done by a real professional pond builder

I live about 80 miles from you in Indiana and I paid 24K for a 6-7 acre lake. It was mostly field in a valley area surrounded by woods. I don't agree with the test hole theroy the your builder used. I dug test holes on properties before I bought them, as part of the purcahse agreement, to find the right property to build a lake.

I agree, BS on the test hole thing.

Here's why:

You need to find out what is under the surface soil in the area where the pond will be. Think about it for a second. If you dig a hole in the ground to see what's there, aren't you going to dig out most of the dirt surrounding the hole?

If the pond builder doesn't think he can stop a test hole from leaking, how is he going to stop the whole pond from leaking??

Run away, run away fast!!!

Yeah , Zep I was thinking 10 -15K per acre would be reasonable..when he said 40K 1/2 acre I guess he was just telling me you never can be sure but I wonder if that site was not tested etc..or maybe it was and the owner had the $ and didn't care what it cost.

I agree slabman98, I don't think I'd purchase a property without having a good amount of test holes dug, I don't want to find out that my 2 acre pond turned into 1/2 acre because all the variables stacked up against me and my budget was depleted. Can I shoot you a PM with some more questions , sounds like you had a nice area to add the lake with natural valley? Did you do it yourself or have someone build it?

Esshup, maybe I misunderstood the guy? From reading on this forum he seemed like he knew what he was talking about but that stood out as something goofy to me as well...Will def. double check this with him before I'd hire him as part of my purchasing agreement will probably depend on soil samples/ test holes...

beastman I can tell you it is great to get multiple quotes.

For example on our three mini-log cabins
for the glass work we got three quotes.

Quote #1 = $80K
Quote #2 = $73K
Quote #3 = $19K

We went with the $19K and it turned out great.
We later found out the higher priced local glass companies
were "talking" with each other about how to quote the job.
They really wanted to know "who" it was that quoted $19K.
We did not reveal who it was until all the glass was in.

This summer we got lawn sprinkler quotes:

Quote #1 = $40K
Quote #2 = $11.2K

I am not one to always go with the lowest quote,
but when there is such a huge gap, we try to investigate
and make sure the low quote is a good company.

Lots of vendors see "weekend properties"
as places they can jack the price up.

I hired it out and glad I did. Like Zep, we had big gaps with the quotes we got. PM me anytime.

Also, get 'perfect pond' book written by lusk and Otto. Brettski has a Narrative about their search prior to finding their site. Ask yourself a lot about your goals for the property. Don't feel pressured or rushed - it will happen. Take your time, put the word out there amongst realtors about what you want. Often properties are for sale without having a for sale sign on them. You may even find one that already has a body of water on it that would save you the worries of building, holding water, etc.

Built a 1 acre pond in NE this Spring for a client at $8k including core trenching and clay compaction 3 6" lifts.

Built .4 acre and .3 acre pond adjoining for $5k in 2009 including $1,600 in agridrains. So labor was only $3,400.

Just providing some comparable pricing to help you assess. $40k is ridiculous IMO.

Thanks all for the info and some pricing estimates. Going to look at two homes tomorrow, one on 17acre and the other on 6 acre. I will try and take some photos and get some opinions. Also have a list of more pond builders from my county soil and water dept.

When you get an estimate have them break down the cost instead of a flat rate. You might see that the per hour cost for the machines is really high for your area.

I had 2 ponds built a few years ago for $2/yard.

The test hole reasoning is exactly wrong. You want to know BEFORE you dig if it will leak. If you put a potential leak in the pond by pre-testing with a hole, you shouldn't be putting a pond there!

Zep this sounds like a pretty solid rule to me...obviously variables will nudge the price up or down, but otherwise it feels accurate.

Here is an address if you want to plug into google earth and give opinions, will know more later today when I view the property but the acreage is behind the pool and then to the north and west to the main rd.

7819 Thompson Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45247

there are ponds around the area so that is a good sign, not sure how the elevation etc would play out in this property but would say it could help with keeping the pond full, just not sure how the hills would play into the pond construction but I guess they are moving so much dirt they could build up the dam side or build up to level some of it out....
Talked with another builder today, he said 15-20K for 1 acre and an addtl acre would be cheaper , more like 25-30K for 2 acre.