Pond excavation and other excavation services should never be left to an amateur to do.
We might as well kick this article off with the brutal truth. We love the DIY movement in America as much as anyone else, and we understand the need to save money in these uncertain financial times, but pond excavation is far-too important a job, too technical a job, for any property owner to tackle on their own, not if the end-result is intended to be done correctly.
We are J & A Excavation Services, working out of the Fort Worth, Texas, area, and we tackle the big jobs, like digging ponds, like driveway excavation, and like building pads. Call us if what you seek is the best at pond excavation.
The technical aspects of pond excavation
If pond excavation was simply a matter of digging a hole in the ground, anyone with a shovel and some spare time could do it. But it’s not! Pond excavation is a whole lot more complicated than that. Professional pond excavation includes the following:
- Site assessment
- Understanding soil conditions
- Adding ledges
- Creating a berm
- Sealing the pond
- Continual pond maintenance
Let’s look briefly at each of these.
Site assessment
Where is the pond going to be located? Where is the natural slope in the lawn to help with drainage? Will there be highs and lows in the water level? Where are the public utilities buried?
Understanding soil conditions
What type of soil are you digging in? There is a huge difference between excavating in sandy soil as opposed to clay soil or rocky soil or bedrock. Yes, anyone can dig in sandy soil, but do they know how to create ledges in sandy soil which keeps sliding back after the digging is completed? This requires knowledge and expertise.
Adding ledges
Ledges not only create a natural area for planting water vegetation, but they also provide a safety factor. Most people do not want a pond which drops off quickly into deep water. If a small child were to fall in, or an elderly person, this would create a hazard which is easily avoided simply by creating ledges every foot or two feet.
Creating a berm
The berm serves two purposes: one, it provides a place to locate the piping and the pumps, out of sight; two, it provides an area where landscaping can be done so that the pond is pleasing to the eye. This is especially true of residential ponds which are for visual appeal.
Sealing the pond
How do you seal off the pond so the water does not leak out? Small ponds require a pond liner. Large, livestock ponds are too large for a liner, so a natural substance like Bentonite is used.
Pond maintenance
A pond, once water is added, becomes a living organism. In order for that organism to remain healthy, useful, and pleasing to the eye, regular maintenance is required. Most property owners have neither the expertise nor the time to do proper, regularly-scheduled pond maintenance. Thus, the use of professionals like J & A Excavating Services.
A final word about J & A Excavating Services
Yes, you can do pond excavation yourself. You can rent the equipment, you can watch YouTube videos which will tell you how to do it, and you will eventually do a fairly-competent job . . . but, is it worth the time spent to you? And do you have the time to keep that pond functioning properly.
Call the pros at J & A Excavating Services if you want the job done first time, every time. We are Fort Worth born and bred, and we can handle any job you toss at us.