Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Pond re-construction in East TX

Just purchased a property outside of Canton, TX that has a couple of ponds. I'm trying to get some general information about the costs associated with taking an existing 1/3 acre pond and expanding it to approximately 1 acre or more to accomodate LMB, CC, and BG. I prefer to have someone do the work for me, and doing it right the first time in an efficient manner, as opposed to me doing it myself.

I've just begun my research, so any thoughts/ideas or contacts in the area would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Welcome to the forum! Before hiring someone, I'd get the book "Perfect Pond, Want One?" from the Pond Boss Library. I'd think of what I wanted out of the pond, then do a bunch of planning. I'd keep reading on here and asking questions. The more you know about the pond that you want, the easier it will be to talk to a pond builder (vs. a dirt mover).

I'd make sure that I have all the cover built that I wanted to put in the pond before breaking ground, and have it decided if I was going to run power to the pond for anything in the future. I'd make sure that I had soil erosion control methods planned out and the materials on site so they could be installed/planted as soon as the pond construction was finished. If you want a pier or a dock, the time to install it is when the pond is empty. The hard part is figuring out where the water level will be, but an experienced pond builder will be able to do that.

Than, I'd call the Pond Boss Office to get a recommendation or 3 of pond builders in the area. Meet with them all, ask for references, 1, 3, 10 years ago and go see the ponds. Ask the owners if they'd do anything different during the build process, and if they are happy with the work. Ask them if they'd have that same contractor come back and dig another one.

Now is the time to get everyting all planned out so you aren't scrambling once the machines are on site.

Esshup,

Thank you very much! I've heard one can expect to pay $10k to build a 1 acre pond. I know this is a generalized question, but does this number seem about right? I guess I assume this number would be lower if all you were doing is increasing the size of an existing pond by 2/3rds of an acre. (I'm trying to find out a range of expenses so I am not convinced to ATTEMPT to expand the pond myself.)

Any thoughts are welcome!

JC, I deepened a 1 1/2 acre pond from about 4 ft to about 12-15 ft deep. I spent 15K on the dirt work. Of course it was all mud. It took 2 dozers 10 days to do it. I echo esshup's advise. I was pretty happy with what my guy did but some research will go a long way at the point you are at. There are some things I would have done different. Oh, and welcome aboard!

Giving a price over the internet isn't possible because of the vast differences in soil types, local diesel prices, and local economy. The prices are all over the board.

A friend had a 12' deep 2 ac pond dug in 2008 at the height of the diesel prices for less than $20K.

Today I'll bet it could be done cheaper...... (here)

Esshup,

Thanks again for the response. I figured prices would be all over the board based on many different variances. I took your advice and called the office. I only received Mike's name, but hopefully I'll get some more names to call.

Again, all I'm trying to do is to take a current stocked pond that holds water and make it another 2/3rd's of an acre bigger. Now that the property will be ours, I think it would be fun to start from scratch and do it right...from the construction to the stocking. I figure, if I could pay someone to do it for me it may take them 2 days and they would do it right the first time. We would have to find the equipment and it would take us much longer with more headaches.

This should be a small project, so anyone that has contacts in the area or advice, please feel free to reach out to me.

If you talk to Mike you probably won't need to talk to anybody else.

Call Mike Otto.

Thank you for all the feedback. I have left a message and sent an email to Mike.

I think this job may be a bit small for him since it may be as simple as building up a dam in the back to hold more water. It would also be wise for me to get thoughts from other contractors as well. I'm searching for contractors but have not had a lot of luck. I may start calling some of the local fish hatcheries in the area. I'm sure they know dirt contractors in and around the Canton, TX area.

Again, I think this is going to be a fairly simple job. Looking at the property we are purchasing, both ponds look like they have not lost much water even though this has been a record drought.

Adding height to a dam is a job that requires know how - not just a dirt mover. Been there , done that the wrong way with serious consequences and cost. Doing the seam right is an art. If not done right the water can seep into the seam and the entire addition + water will be moving on downstream.

Trust me, if it were up to me I would have someone come in with experience and knock it out in a couple of days work. Money well spent in my opinion. I personally do not want any part of this job!

I just need to do some more homework to find some experienced people to do the job the right way at a reasonable cost.

Mike Otto, ditto.

If Mike is too busy, I'm pretty sure he will know someone else that is reliable.

Any other contacts out there? I'm having a hard time with getting anyone to return my calls. I'm sure with the once in a generation drought, every pond builder in Texas is sooo busy.

Pm sent with some names.

Thank you salex!