Did you dig it?

[Melos]

Did anyone else out here dig their own pond?

My pond is about 10 feet by 8 feet in a gentle kidney bean shape and is almost 3 feet deep at the end. I dug it myself - Whoooo! backbreaking work!

I had thought I picked a spot far enough away from my big trees as well, but almost 2 feet down I hit a big root. I actually ended up 'turning around' my pond design so the deeper end was at the other side and kept that root buried.

 

[chris]

Wow, that was a ton of work! Welcome to the forums.

 

[kelkat]

I cheated and had a backhoe do most of the work. I still want to dig an area for a bog and an edge for plants, but the bulk of the work was done by machine, not man!

 

[Melos]

Wow! I never knew you could get a backhoe to come to your house. Or is it through a landscaper or garden pond company?

It did take me about a week to dig the pond.

 

[ninikins]

I dug with soem friends. It took about 4 days but it was fun and very rewarding. We had a party when the fish went in.

 

[kelkat]

Actually, you can't rent backhoes, and termites (tiny backhoes). But there are some companies (look under construction in your yellow pages) that will come out to your house. Sometimes it's cheaper to pay someone else than it is to try to learn when you are paying to rent by the hour or day. The learning is fun, though.

 

[encieno]

I dug mine using a tiller and a trailer to dump the dirt into. I would till for a bit, then just shovel it up. My pond is approx. 20x28 and about 5' deep average. Needless to say, next time I dig something that big I'll have someone else do it with power equipment. The entire process took a month or so, pretty much nightly and on the weekends. Not too fun, but it's worth it now that I'm done.

 

[DrDave]

I dug mine by hand, good exercise. As soon as I can figure out what I am doing wrong with attaching pictures, I'll post some construction and final photos.

 

[DrDave]

Lets try the photo loading again. Here are some progress pictures taken 2 years ago on my current pond.

 

[DrCase]

i dug all my ponds by hand over the years, i just move the dirt to a another part of the yard and make a hill project at the same time , i picked up every rock in my yard off the side of the road up in the hills, i call that rock trips..winter is the time to get it done before it gets hot

 

[rellascout]

I dug my pond by hand. My wife and my son helped. It was a lot of work but fun at the same time.

 

[27goldfish]

My wife and I hand dug ours. 9 ft x 5ft x 3 ft. We hit clay about 1/2 a foot deep. I learned my lesson.:icon_mrgreen:

 

[Q tip]

still trying to dig

hi all, i am new to this and i need some good advise. i have been digging for my garden pond and we came across an underground manhole 3 feet from ground level and i broke a clay pipe that goes to it. now there is nothing coming out of that pipe so have just covered it up and started digging close to the original area to avoid any other pipework. the problem i am having is that there is loads of peashingle and what looks like white chalky stuff that is really hard to break and dig down. please can i have some advise.

 

[DrDave]

Are you on Septic???
Sounds like you found the clean out where the cover gets removed and a pumper truck removes the solids from the tank. The clay pipe is what either feeds it or is the overflow.

If you are on sewer, it may be an abandoned septic system. You need to know...

 

[DrCase]

it is possible that it is a old line ,are you in the country or a city ? i live in arkansas never heard of peashingle