Digging a pond

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Digging a pond
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creeper

Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Vale of Belvoir - Leicestershire

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 8:27 am Post subject:

simon wrote:

Hi creeper

Just saved your beautiful picture as the prefect "desktop wallpaper"

Hope you don't mind, S

It's a good job I didn't post the ones I took last week then - all I can see is mud, mud, mud and tree spirals as well as a dirty great big hole that is slowly filling to become my pond

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 10:53 am Post subject:
Nice, did you dig it yourself? How long did it take?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 10:55 am Post subject:
I feel the word a-r-t-i-c-l-e forming in my mind for some reason.

creeper

Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Vale of Belvoir - Leicestershire

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 10:58 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Nice, did you dig it yourself? How long did it take?

I must admit I cheated in the digging - used a JCB

140 tons of earth and clay is more than I think my back could take, all the new hedges (360m of them) where planted by hand so I felt the use of the digger was justified

Even with digger it took 2 days to dig the pond and 4 gate post holes

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 11:22 am Post subject:

creeper wrote:

I must admit I cheated in the digging - used a JCB

One of those tracked mini diggers or full size?

creeper

Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Vale of Belvoir - Leicestershire

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 11:37 am Post subject:
Full size JCB SiteMaster - 140 bucket loads in total - each about a ton.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 11:40 am Post subject:
Looks like I'd need a week with one of those littluns to do the same then

creeper

Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Vale of Belvoir - Leicestershire

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 11:55 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Looks like I'd need a week with one of those littluns to do the same then

I guess it depends on how big you are going to make the pond - for mine we used two furrows and took the ridge between away to make the sides abit more interesting and to blend into the field better, it is about 40 feet wide and 60 long but it won't fill to the top with water - I think the water area will be closer to 25x40 feet but will have gental sloping sides for the ducks etc.
It may be worth considering a big digger and driver as this may be more cost effective than a week with a mini digger - I pay �150 (cash) for a full day (8am til dark) digger hire including driver and fuel

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 11:58 am Post subject:

creeper wrote:

I pay �150 (cash) for a full day (8am til dark) digger hire including driver and fuel

Be almost double that round here I reckon. Might talk to the farmer next door.

creeper

Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Vale of Belvoir - Leicestershire

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 11:59 am Post subject:
I nearly forgot - I was also given a private local environmental grant to dig the pond by my local council - they paid half the cost of digging based on my submitted estimate, worth checking with your local council if you want a field pond

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 12:09 pm Post subject:
Would anyone mind if I copy/split the last couple of pages into a new thread? It would be great to see how things progress Creeper and the details may get a little lost in this thread.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45695
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 12:10 pm Post subject:
Yeah I remember you saying that.

creeper

Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 83
Location: Vale of Belvoir - Leicestershire

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 12:16 pm Post subject:
I was thinking I had hijacked the welcome thread a little bit

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 12:22 pm Post subject:

creeper wrote:

I was thinking I had hijacked the welcome thread a little bit

That happens all the time over here.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 06 1:55 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

creeper wrote:

I pay �150 (cash) for a full day (8am til dark) digger hire including driver and fuel

Be almost double that round here I reckon. Might talk to the farmer next door.

�25 an hour for an SM as above. We worked it out as being ~ �40 for the digger, �80 to pay yourself to drive it + fuel on the 360 (per day).

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