Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Trouble getting contractor to dig

Has anyone else had a hard time getting a contractor to dig a pond? My first contractor started digging when the ground was too wet, left, and never returned. Contractor number 2 has been putting me off a week or two at a time since August. Seems to me that a 2-week job just doesn't draw them in compared with other opportunities. Any recommendations for a contractor near Gonzales Texas? I haven't given up on contractor number 2, yet, but I'm starting to wonder...I've got stratified soils, so I'll be double handling the clay, using it to line the sides of an excavated pond. I need someone with experience.

I am west of you maybe 40-50 miles.

http://photobucket.com/albums/b165/ahvatsa/

Email me if I can help.

Took me 3 to find a good one!

Yes, been there done that! I haven't figured out if they are really that busy or just lazy. (At least around here) The first hurdle was having them return my calls, then the next is getting them to come out and give you an estimate. After that it's getting them to start. My first contractor didn't show up for 6 months. What really burned me up was when did finally show it was so late in the year I didn't have time to get any grass going, and had major erosion problems which irritated the gills of my trout. Lost me money because I had to basically give them away, as the gill coveres on those particular trout were deformed due to a bacterial infection as a result of the irritation.

The first one will never come out again anyway as he wouldn't listen to me and put the dike on top of sod when I wasn't looking. You guessed it - seepage.

Out of five contractors contacted last year only one showed up to give me an estimate and that one screwed up the estimate so bad I couldn't use him. Ended up finding someone else that wasn't one of the five that is finally dependable.

Good Luck!

I will be starting the process of talking to contractors soon. Are there any questions/answers to ask that automatically throw up red flags? I figure references, years in business, #ponds built etc. Anything to look out for in particular.

Quigigo...
I just went thru this same process this last summer. There is another thread in this forum that has some relative input, including notes from Bob Lusk: Pond Const Costs
I interviewed 2 guys to do the work and the difference was night and day. Without going into great detail, the bottom line is this: YOU have to be the pond boss...it is your responsibility to understand the process as much as possible. The more you know, the more you can sniff out a rat. Start boning up by reading the somewhat few publications that are available and talk with the NRCS office. During my search for property, I got exposed to about 5 different NRCS offices in 5 different counties. Each one provided a great education and offered different twists of information. The more you know, the more you will be able to identify who "walks the walk and talks the talk". This forum will be one of your greatest resources, also. Another is called Publication 590...it is a booklet available thru your NRCS office that is technical input regarding construction of ponds...get a copy. If at all possible, try to get the NRCS office in your county involved...they should have a listing of recommended contractors that you can peruse. They should also be able to provide some level of input and involvement in the actual construction. Use this input to consider and make decisions. Remember, tho, that it is ultimately you that should be controlling this project...not an NRCS agent or excavation contractor.

One comment I would add:

I believe you have to be careful to not give the impression that you are going to be pinching every penny and/or bargaining the contractor down at every chance.

I'm not at all saying to give them an open check book, but you have to be clear about what you want and what they are going to deliver. Clarify what the unknowns are for your specific pond, especially in the contractors mind, so that you know where you will get into extra dollars.

Pinching pennies during the construction could be a long term mistake if you get a crappy job done.

I would ask for references and actually visit the references and look at the work. Ask those references if there was anything they wish "they" had done differently. You'll get some really great ideas here.

Also, ask the contractor about ponds that didn't work out well. If he says he's never had a bad one or never had a failure, "Run, Forrest, Run!"