Dig a small pond with a backhoe?

[oakman]

I was interestd in finding a more economical way to dig a small 1/3 acre pond in my backyard. I have never operated a backhoe before but I do think I would not have a problem learning quickly.

The plan is to rent the backhoe about a week and dig the pond. The area I am digging has dried out pretty well and is open. I am just dreaming or do any of you experienced backhoe operators think I have a good chance?

I plan on digging it 8 ft deep all the way across. Any Suggestions or tips?

Thanks for any Help!

God bless!:usa

 

[digger242j]

That's a pretty general question.

In order to give any sort of thoughful answer we'd have to make some assumptions, and of course, the quality of the answers you get will depend on the quality of the assumptions we make.

Can you give a little more specific information? For starters, what size backhoe (assuming you mean a rubber tired backhoe, and not an excavator)? Where are you going to put the dirt? How much of a slope will there be to the sides of the pond? I could ask more, but you get the idea.

There are certainly some regulatory issues that need to be addressed too, but that's not my area of expertise. I believe we've got a member or two who know something about that stuff though.

I don't know for sure, but just off the top of my head it sounds like an awfully ambitious project for one week....

 

[donlang]

A third of an acre eight feet deep is 4517 cubic yards of material. If you had a sizable excavatoe and a couple of trucks, a week could probably do the trick. THe time factor comes in to play with the amount of experience that the operator has, and the equipment on hand. That would be a bunch of work for just a backhoe! Grade the sides to what slope............compact the bottom and sides...............layer of clay to hold the water in..............spillway.............drain............

Lots to consider. Hire Digger242j, he has the ability to do big work with little machines!

 

[lamarbur]

irregardless of renting a backhoe or and excavator, you have a serious learning curve for one, you have to apy someone to move the machinery to your job site and return it, and, where will you put all the spoils? It isn't going to take very long and you'll have a huge pile of spoils, which means move over to move that out of the way, then go back to digging. I think I would ask more questions, get prices on rental units and ask what the renters require out of you. Then compare your rental prices to some local contractors and see which will be better.. Do you have the ability to take a week off and stay right at it? DO you have a final area to place all those spoils? How is it going to be moved there if some distance from your pond. I htink it best to keep researching and try to narrow it down quite a bit more..

 

[cat320]

I would get an excavator to do this job I would think it would be the most eficent way to dig it.I have dug a very small pond nothing this big.But you will need to know where your spoil will go.

 

[RonG]

Sounds like a dozer would be a natural for that job. Ron

 

[LaLaMan]

I think id want a Cat 330, D4, Mack Granite, Biggest AL dump trailer body I could get, to do this job. With that equipment It could probally be done in about 2- 3 Days, thats being generous.

 

[Dirt Diggler]

Sounds like a job for 2 8520's with some 17 pans, 3 12 hour day should do it!

 

[Electra_Glide]

As usual, lots of good advice. First and foremost, you need to understand what regulatory issues you need to deal with. I have a friend with a pond on his property (actually more like a small lake), and he has to submit annual reports to the state DEP as well as having his dam and spillway inspected every few years.

We did a job last spring where we moved 5600 cu. yds. with a 318 Cat excavator loading two tri-axles. Spoils were going about a half-mile down the road from the site. Took us just over a week. Problem was that the excavator was sitting idle for maybe 25% of every day waiting for trucks.

LaLaMan man has the right idea: a big excavator and a small dozer to dress it all up when you're done. How you deal with the spoils really dictates your plan of attack. 4500 cu. yds. is a lot of dirt...

I like donlang's suggestion...hire Digger and me :drinkup

Hey Digger, they make car seats for excavators, right? That way, you can just bring the twins with you... :eek2

 

[digger242j]

Well ideally, I'll have them trained to operate by their first birthday. Then I can just send them out while I hang around here in front of the computer.

you need to understand what regulatory issues you need to deal with.

A fellow I know has a home that fronts on a lake. The lake had become pretty silted up over the years, so they bought some sort of dredging machine and proceeded to start cleaning it out. The DEP tried to stop the work, insisting that they were trying to enlarge the lake, against some sort of regulation. Now, aren't these the same people who are ready to bust your chops if you let silt get *into* the water? Here they were trying to keep the guy from *removing* 50 years worth of silt from his water. It turns out he had aerial photos from around 1960 that showed just how large the lake had originally been, and they had to back off.