Cost of small pond and waterfall

17 years ago

Hi:

We are planing to get someone to build a small waterfall and a pond. The quote was $6800. It was for a 8'x6' pond with 15' stream and a waterfall. This included all installation including 4 tons of rock. Is that reasonable?

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Comments (5)

philips
17 years ago
Around here in Michigan it costs $60/hr to rent someone with a Bobcat type dozer. That hole will be dug pretty quickly.

What you are paying for are the tons of rocks, and a huge labor bill. Understandable. There is much you can do yourself and with the help of that dozer. Keep an eye on them and make sure they work according to your plan, not theirs.

Seearch for other contracted posts.

Go get at least 2 more quotes. Do not allow anyone to line the bottom with rocks. Makes it impossible to clean and too many places for noxious waste to gather. You'll need to do a total cleanout once year or a really good one.
Do some pump research on your own to see what pumps you'll need to make that waterfall impressive or a dripping faucet.

Consider maintenance, plumbing and electrical. Along with the buried electrical, I have plumbed 1/4" hose to the house for water refills. Didn't have an issue with freezing pipes this winter. That hose could also be used for an air pump for air stones. Think long term.
bugsb
17 years ago
I brought the following forward for you to read. It is entitled "Lessons learned dealing with pond contractors".

Here is a link that might be useful: My pond the way it was before the freeze.
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Thanks hardin and Liz, I have to giggle a little at the compliment, since it seems so puny to me, compared to so many larger ones! haha But I do appreciate it! The important thing for me was angling all the stones slightly forward and supporting the big one on the bottom with dirt at an angle. Also, my bottom rock is so big, I didn't want it resting right on the lip of the stocktank, so I set it on 2 smaller flat rocks. From the side, it looks a little tilted, but gravity keeps the water from going backwards. Plus, the flat rocks need to not have any big lumps/bumps in them that might hinder the forward motion of the water. I do have the liner pulled up behind the lower rocks, with soil holding it up, so if the water does flow backwards, it can drain back into the pond. I'm always just quickly glancing at the water level throughout the day too....in case the tube becomes dislodged. I use one of those rectangular box filters. I put the pump inside it, and then direct the tubing to the waterfall. The force was too much, so I used one of those little clamps to slow it down a little. As the filter gets a little clogged, I open up the clamp. I have the clamp on the tube behind the rocks, so I can easily get to it. Thanks again for the compliment Liz. My head's a little bigger now. :)
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1sst, thank you very much for the info. My current pond that I have in my yard was with the help of many people on this forum. It's been 5 years now since my first pond and I'm now looking at adding more (a stream from one pond to another). I know from the work on my first pond that it takes a lot longer than 48 Hrs, It took me 2 days just to dig a 5' x 9' hole 30" deep. No matter how old you get, you just look for easier ways even though you know it's too good to be true. Thanks again eh
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love_flowers
Original Author
17 years ago
Cannot get on your site.
bugsb
17 years ago
The post I brought forward "Lessons learned dealing with pond contractors" is on this site not mine.

Here is a link that might be useful: My pond the way it was before the freeze.
lefty7
17 years ago
That sounds like alot to me. You can do alot of work yourself
and save some money. I bought my pond kit online at Graystone
Creations everything you need comes in the kit. I dug the hole myself and gathered a lot of rocks. I don't have more than
2,000 dollars in mine including plants inside pond and out.My
pond is about 10 x 14 with a waterfall.Bought water lilies from Texas Water Lilies you can get them cheap.

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Cost of small pond and waterfall

Comments (5)

philips

bugsb

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love_flowers
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bugsb

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Cost of small pond and waterfall

Comments (5)

philips

bugsb

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love_flowersOriginal Author

bugsb

lefty7

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love_flowers
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