Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Help w/ bid request package? (& seeking bidders)

An interesting, helpful discussion. Apparently the problem was my use of the word "formalize". Because I certainly wasn't intending to describe a process that locks us into the lowest price. Nor was I envisioning something that locks the bidders into any specific process. Our geology in Chatham County is too weird and unpredictable to think rigidity is a path to success.

Ewest, you say you informally contact the good builders and ask their thoughts. That's what an RFP does. A Request For Proposals is inherently not a "formal low bid process."

We believe we have everything we are told the contractor would need to propose this job: Approvals, dam design, soil survey, samples and test holes. We just need a little help packaging the documents to send them to the good pond builders we know our neighbors have used. We need some means of getting from the pond builders written proposals of how they think it should be done, and at approximately what price.

I admit, I'm a total newby here. And all industries are different. But...

Am I hearing that the pond/dam builder industry has a culture of doing everything verbally up until the contract phase? Or is it that I've just not yet asked the right person to share template documents? (Admittedly, I've not yet had time to consult with either Bob Lusk or Mike Otto.)

Curious.

JohnCackalacky..... A belated welcome to the PondBoss forum. Keep at it, you'll get it figured out and the folks here will help you sort it out........ Tomaytoe/Tomato/Etc..........

John, I have 5 small ponds on my place that don't hold water. I've had 2 cleaned out and hit sand seams. I guess they've never held water. I've tried bentonite to no avail.

I had a backhoe deepen one and hit a spring. I had the dirt put back in and tamped down.

I cleaned one with my front end loader and box blade. It seems to have worked and the hogs love it.

Another one hit rocks. No luck there either.

I have one place where I would love to have a 2 acre pond. It has a lot of run off but I see big rocks in the area where I would need the dam.

The point is this. Digging a hole in the ground has a lot of unknowns and you're never really sure what you will find. Even digging test holes can only reveal what is underground where the test is made. For me, it's been a crap shoot.

Dave...it's really not feasible to make an existing shoreline deeper on a 4 acre pond without draining or lowering the water level....correct? I have a real shallow incline which leads to more aquatic vegetation along my shoreline. Maybe I will take "sealed bids".....lol

A 10 acre pond with a spillway and dam is an easy thing up here. Ya need to hire a PE Firm first! You just sit back in your favorite chair sippin your favorite beverage, and put it down once in a while to write checks

I actually agree with the law up here that states that a pond 5 acres and above with a dam has to be Professionally Engineered.

Not sure about that Zep. I know it would be a lot messier without draining.

How much aquatic veg's do you have?

Dave...below is a picture from 3 weeks ago. Makes casting/fishing from shore difficult. This was our first summer owning the property, but it got much worse than we anticipated, especially after we had almost 100 lbs of Tilapia in there. Overton's says that grass carp should help control whatever it is we have. So this winter we plan on building a grass carp guard on the drain and applying for a grass carp license from Texas Parks & Wildlife.



It is much, much better now...but for all the wrong reasons. We have a local old guy that worked for the previous owner that is sort of a caretaker for us. He mows our place with his tractor, cuts down dead trees, traps some hogs, repairs fencing, meets vendors, runs off trespassers, ect..and he is very cheap...we really like him.

But he did something without our permission that is a big no no. He put in a very small amount of "KarMex" and it has really made a HUGE difference on the aquatic vegetation. "KarMex" did clear up the problem. He treated one side first and the other side a week later. Says he's always used KarMex on on his own ponds and all his buddies use it in their ponds as well. He thought he was doing us a favor.

Luckily no fish-kill thus far, but Lochow stopped by and said eating fish in ponds treated with "KarMex" has been linked to brain cancer. Plus they said it really messes up the phytoplankton which effects the entire food chain.

So we've told the old guy to never put KarMex in our pond ever again and always consult with us before putting anything in our pond. He felt very bad and sincerely apologized....but I tell ya, the pond looks great now....but we won't ever use KarMex again!

Neat place. Get him another kind of chemical.

Hi JC(for short, I hope you don't mind), just curious,did you ever get bids? Please post pics as you go,it would be great to see a large project like that through as many steps as you would mind posting. If not let us know how big,how deep,how long the dam will be,and general shape,and features if any,thanks much.