Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction new guy on here

Hello boys and girls. Just joined and need help. A bunch of years ago, a Bass Pro opened and I had to go. Found a magazine rack in a corner and looked at the rags and found a Pond Boss mag and bought it. That was in the time that I hoped one day to own a property and have a pond. I had fish pools in the past, but not a real pond. I subscribed for a while to the magazine and also bought an read I think 3 of the books. I saved money and watched property listing and saw a property on Zillow that was poorly listed and assumed it was bad. Eventually I decided to go look at it and made a deal and bought it. It has a miserable old pond on it. Has several problems. The property has hills around it and water comes off the hills and runs through the pond, but not much help as the spillway is eroded way down. Has other streams that run across the property that also could make places to put small ponds. Been meaning for a while to join this group and see what I can find out. I have had a few contractors come and look at my pond and sems what I get are guys that can run equipment and will take my money. Would ghelp my financial situation if I could DIY a repair.

Welcome to Pond Boss!!

If you can post some pictures, that would be helpful.

The Pond Boss resource guide has some very reputable contractors listed. I contracted Mike Otto to come consult on my pond. Great investment!! Michael Grey is near you, https://www.pondboss.com/Resources?lid=74&lci=9

I would start out with interviewing some local pond guys and get their thoughts and bids.

Depending on the size of the project, you can probably do all (or most) as a DIY project with the proper knowledge.

Do you have experience operating heavy machinery? If so, that is a big help. If not, in my experience, running the equipment is actually the easy part!

However, running the equipment is NOT the most important part. Let's say you are the best guy in the entire world at hammering nails, but have zero experience as a carpenter. I would not want to live in a house you built if you did not have any knowledge about creating proper load-bearing walls.

Another problem with building a small pond, is that under most conditions, you need multiple pieces of heavy equipment to perform each step of the process. Some of which are frequently used in tandem. You could do that all yourself (or with a buddy), but you renting each piece of equipment and operating it inefficiently quickly erodes your margin of "DIY" savings compared to hiring a good pond contractor.

Finally, the biggest cost savings are realized by building the "right-sized" pond in the best location. Lots of new people come on the forum and want to build a dam on a stream - because of course a pond needs water. However, having too much water is just as big of a problem as too little water. During heavy storms, the little creek on my farm has risen by 16 feet. To build a dam on the creek would that could survive a raging flood at peak flow would cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. (And also be illegal.)

If your existing crappy pond is in a good location, repairing it properly would probably be your best option. If it was never properly designed, then perhaps you need to build in a new spot. Do you have a smallish waterway that widens before the natural slopes end? If so, then pinning a small dam between two hills is generally the most efficient way to create a pond.

Good luck on your pond project! I would keep reading old threads on Pond Boss and learning more about the design and construction process. If you ask more specific questions, then there is usually an expert that can give you some decent answers.

To add to FishinRod's very good advice, you should carefully read and reread and study the info in the posts of this pond building thread
https://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92487#Post92487