Pros/Cons of Digging a Pond While Building a House

"The road to success is always under construction."

-Arnold Palmer-

As our last post discussed, we decided to jump in feet first and dig a pond while building our farmhouse.  Now that the craziness is over (knock on wood), I can look back and see why this is a potentially good option for some situations and not others.  Here is our brief non-inclusive list of some of the pro and cons that we experienced:

Cost - This will appear as both a pro and a con.  If you particular home site is one that will require a lot of fill, and you are considering one day digging a pond, then you should consider the option of digging it during the home build

• Pulverized topsoil costs approximately $30-35 per cubic yard
• Fill clay is approx $25 per cubic yard

So each dump truck is approx. 5 cubic yards, so approximately $150/dump truck for the soil + delivery charges.  Recall that the excavation subcontractor for our home estimated that we would need approximately 175-200 dump trucks of fill soil hauled in for our house.  

175 dump trucks x $150/load = $26,000+

Let that sink in...we would have had a potential $26,000 change order just to level and fill around the house.  Then we would have also had the cost to dig the pond at a later date (and potential hauling off of the soil from the pond dig).  

Coordination - I had assumed the coordination factor would weigh against digging the pond and building the house at the same time.  After all, we would be trying to coordinate two different contractors, a large movement of a whole lot of soil, and all the while also following the building of a complex project (the house). 

However, our builder's excavator commented that it would have been much more difficult to coordinate the delivery of 175 dump trucks.  

Insurance - If you can get the same contractor who is performing your home excavation/site work to dig the pond, that is totally ideal.  Although after working with Rock You Pond, I realized that pond digging/construction is quite a unique skill.  The lining of the pond with clay, the clay core, the overflow and spillway construction..oh my!  So in the unique case where you can find a contractor that does both home excavation and pond digging, and that contractor is an approved sub with your builder, then you are set!  

However, it is likely that these two contractors will not be the same, and that raises some issues.  If you have your home builder hire the pond contractor, then the builder (more likely the builder's project manager) will manage the insurance considerations.  Typically, a home builder will provide Builder's Risk insurance, which is essentially a policy that covers the "project" replacement costs in case of a peril (like fire, flood, wind, etc.)  

So how would this policy be impacted by pond construction?  In our case, the hauling path for the two dump trucks circled the house continuously for about 12 hours a day, which made a lot of sense for the purposes of hauling fill and dumping it where the home builder needed it for the house.  See below:

However, consider the risk that the home builder faces when large dump trucks are continually circling the project.  That is a larger-than-normal risk that something (i.e. dump truck crash) could damage the house.  There are ways to solve this problem, like confirming that the pond contractor had enough insurance to cover the risk.

Parting Thoughts - The biggest piece of advice we could give is to try to make this decision earlier rather than later.  We were so incredibly fortunate to be able to accomplish the pond dig with two whole days of planning.  The process would have been much easier if we had started earlier!

Feature in Kiplinger Retirement Magazine! Thank you!

"Family is not an important thing.  It is everything."

- Michael J. Fox -

I was recently contacted by Kiplinger Retirement Report senior editor, Eleanor Laise, with interest in discussing our multi-generational living situation.  I was completely floored, especially since we have always regarded Kiplinger as the standard for retirement information.  Completely humbled, I had to say yes!

This is a great article about multi-generational living with lots of great information!

Thank you again, Eleanor Laise and Kiplinger for featuring our situation and educating other on why this may be a great solution for them!

Kiplinger Retirement Report - Piece Two Homes Together

It's POND-imonium! Digging a Pond and the Adventures Along the Way (Part 1)

"As a rough rule of thumb, I would say the smaller the pond, the more belligerent the fish."

- Craig Brown - 

When Matt and I were first looking at land, a pond was on the "must" list.  We both love fishing and hoped to have a situation where we could relax after work and fish.  The pasture we purchased did not have a pond, which was definitely a disappointment to us.  But as I previously discussed, not every piece of land is perfect.

While the pasture did not currently have a pond, we had identified a spot that one could eventually be dug.  Our expectation was that this would happen several years from now...after all, let's focus on the house!  Well, that changed quickly when we realized that we were going to have to pay for a lot of fill soil to be hauled in to be used in and around the house foundation.  The estimate was about 150-200 dump trucks filled with clay...Matt made the comment, "man, it seems a bit ridiculous to pay for soil to be hauled in only to, a year later, pay for soil to be hauled out when we dig the pond."  And thus, the idea took shape quickly.

We were so grateful to J.S. Robinson (for the 100th time...) for alerting us to the need for so much fill soil.  Rather than surprising us with a large change order, they gave us the information early to allow us to brainstorm an awesome solution.  

There are definitely some considerations to think about when deciding whether to dig a pond, where to dig a pond, and when to dig a pond.  Here is a hit list of considerations:

Location

There appears to be two main questions when digging a pond:  (1) will it hold water consistently, and (2) will there be sediment that runs into the pond.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are preliminary concerns with permitting and aesthetics.  I would suggest checking both with your city and county permit office to determine what restrictions may impact your decisions.  

In unincorporated Johnson County, we just need a simple land disturbance certification because our pond will not be larger than one acre.  Not-so-coincidentally, any ponds over one acre require a permit (thus driving our decision :) )

No Brainer - Picking the Right Contractor

Much like our decision to choose J.S. Robinson, our pond contractor made our process so enjoyable.  Our timing (as usual) was not great--apparently excavation companies are very very busy around Thanksgiving (which was when this idea formed).  They are often trying to fit in all the work they had before the ground freezes and the workers don't work.  So my experience calling excavation companies online went pretty much like this:

Me:  Ring Ring Ring...

Contractor:  .............

Luckily, we found the contractor Rock Your Pond!

Doug is the owner and has been designing ponds for 20+ years.  He was quick to respond and was able to fit our project in (they actually started over Thanksgiving weekend...remarkable).  Doug's crew was completely amazing--they were so nice, tidy, and were always positive and willing to accommodate my daily visits :)  Thus began the pond dig.  

I would highly recommend their services.  Highly.  These guys seriously rocked...our pond!

Contact them through their website:  Rock Your Pond

The Process

So, digging a pond over Thanksgiving means little-to-no rain, thus the pond will not fill up for a while.  However, check out these awesome progress pictures!

Rock You Pond begins ripping out the trees and brush!

After the brush and trees are cleared, the bulldozer scrapes the soil to the side while the excavator beings breaking up the topsoil.

Did I mention that Rock Your Pond was a super amazing crew?  They were so sweet to my budding engineer Charlie and let her see and play with her favorite construction equipment!

 But back to the pond...

The tree in the foreground will become a little point in the pond.  Doug mentioned that a perfect circle pond looks man-made, so little curves created.

And thus began our "topsoil situation"...we were told by many contractors that we could expect about 6-18" of topsoil.  While most people would love a lot of topsoil, we really needed orange clay.  Rock Your Pond used the clay to line the pond (2 feet thick to prevent leaks) and our excavation crew at the house needed orange clay for fill.  Well, we were blessed with approximately 4-5 FEET of topsoil.  You can start seeing the topsoil ridge that began to be created...

Matt appears thrilled by the amount of topsoil!

And finally...drum roll...ORANGE CLAY APPEARS!  Full disclosure, I became so anxious about the amount of topsoil, I began to wonder if we would ever hit orange clay.

Rock Your Pond was excited when they noticed the water pooling in the bottom.  They told us that this meant our pond would fill with some spring water (meaning the pond water would be clearer than a normal muddy pond).  Not guaranteed, but fingers crossed!

Rock Your Pond dug further and further down, creating the one acre pond that was about 12 feet deep.  While the inside of the pond was lined with orange clay, the top and sides of the pond was covered with topsoil to facilitate grass growth.

To give you a sense of size...there are Matt, Charlie, and Madelynn walking in the pond...

And for our hopes of clear water, here are the latest water clarity images :)  We continue to do the rain dance and will update you later in the year once this pond get filled.  

In the spring, we will be stocking it, seeding it, and as always, LOVING IT.

"Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after."

-Henry David Thoreau-

Finally, because we are nerdy, we like to be able to track the water level rise (as slow as it is).  Matt placed a stake in the pond with a ribbon to track the level.  He placed the bottom of the ribbon at the top of the water level each time we checked.