I rented the equipment and dug my all excavated 1/2 acre pond myself in a few weekends with the help from a couple of friends. The cost was about 15% less than the "estimates". By doing it yourself you are a lot more likely to end up with what you envision, not what the person you hire envisions. I had experience in layout and planning of foundations of other structures but never a pond and I had little experience on equipment. The footer for the house was dug about 3' down in undisturbed soil and I used the excavated dirt as fill for around the house. About 5' deep. In my case the cost savings on excavation for the house and savings for the pond loop vs. trenching for the Geothermal nearly paid for the cost of the pond.
Here's the pond and dirt pile
And a view of the finished product.
