Matt:

Find out how much good topsoil sells for in your area. Here (midway between Iowa City and Burlington) it brings $10-12 per ton. Figure an area 200' x 200' 2 feet deep of black soil roughs out to approximately $45,000 for him. I'm sure he's more than happy to do $8-10K worth of work for $35K in profit.

Get a contract. Make sure he guarantees it won't leak. Make him responsible for obtaining the necessary hardware (overflow tube, hydrant if you want one, etc.)

Get hold of your local NRCS office and they will tell you exactly how much drainage you have, and will design the dam properly. Make sure he agrees to build the dam and pond to the plan.

In short, this may be the best deal you'll ever find, but it might be the best deal your contractor ever finds as well. Make dam sure you both get treated fairly and get what you contract for.

I finished my pond 1 year ago this month. My contractor was the one who told me all this stuff, and that was before I hired him. In fact, that's why I hired him. He pointed out all the potential problems up front and told me how to handle them. It's a great project...

Matt Clark

In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...