Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Contractor in Dayton OH area recommendation

Good luck with that. Does he have compaction equipment? Please don't make the same mistake we did with the first pond. Tried to compact with a bulldozer, didn't work.

I'm going to get a sheepsfoot. A lot of them don't believe in it just because I have lots of clay.

Not compacting well won't work if you are building a dam. The only kind of clay that will not leak is the kind that peels out in large sheets, and looks polished. But, that only works for a purely excavated pond. That's the kind of clay I have. Only the excavated portion held water well. The dam part leaked.

There's not anything more we can do for you except give our sincere advice. If you choose to use a dozer only, well......

Did you get the leak fixed? Going to price a compactor.

Having very good clay and then using a compactor; using the compactor is cheap leak insurance. It is much better to have a very tight, well sealed pond better than any other type of pond. As mentioned it is most important in building a dam. It would be possible with good clay that it is peeled and layered in sheets the water could work its way through or between the sheet layers. A sheepfoot compactor knits and interlocks the sheet layers together.

No, haven't been able to get anyone to do such a small job. They want multiple days or nothing.

That's a bummer. Going to call up the contractor tomorrow and have him bring a compactor. If it costs more so be it.

If he's not enthusiastic about using a compactor, then you will need to watch constantly to make sure he uses it properly, or he likely won't.

I might drive it myself. I'm taking friday off.

Two men with two machines will require around 3 days to build a 0.3ac dug pond.

Yup it's gonna be a blast.

Pond area cleared of oak trees, grass etc. After just 2 hours. It took them most of the day to get the dozer over to my property. It's actually a D6H. We're going to use an old sheepsfoot compaction. Will post pics on a different thread when it's done.

I suggest you keep all your pond information together in one thread for all references to your pond project.