Would you have a landscaper build your koi pond?

[elunned]

I would rather hire a plumber than a landscaper, since a competent plumber has a knowledge base relevant to the project.

A plumber (or electrician or bricklayer etc.) wouldn't go into the job with the belief that he had all the answers. A little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing; too many landscapers have been mis-educated on ponds.

I hired the roofers from hell, which makes me VERY gun shy about contracting out work. (The foreman figured a woman wouldn't be able to ID substituted cheaper shingles or notice that they were putting the new support beam a foot shy of the load-bearing wall. I'm sure he tells stories about me - the company owner wound up finishing the job.)

[dick benbow]

maybe we can talk birdman into going into the business.....(sorry steve) I know when your done with yours, you'll want to rest up awhile.

The main thing is to get someone who knows what they're doing.

I have spent almost 30 years of helping folks with koi in trouble because of improperly designed koi ponds....my experience has taught me for those who want a turn key system, you'd better hire a pro cause if you don't understand why it was built the way it was, then you aren't gonna be able to maintain it.

Before building a pond or having someone else do it you'd better understand
what needs to be done and why..

[koiczar]

I'll be taking the C-27 Landscape Contractors exam next month. I've been building ponds for quite a long time. With my time in the hobby and as a licensed landscape contractor, would you trust me to build you a proper koi pond??

[aquitori]

It is funny in this hobby how hobbyist's taste get's better after learning some fun filled facts about a koi pond. Alot of people want to go on the higher end of things but cant because their ponds were built by a person with no proper knowledge of husbandary of koi. Here in the Bay Area alot of landscapers are goin the route of building the pond right mentality instead of how much can I make from these guys if I do a half ass job.

[Sangreaal]

Would I hire a landscaper to build my koi pond? Nope. Us starving artist types never have enough money but always have creative ways of dealing with that. I'm a DIY'er to the core anyway, and pretty well bent on my way of things. Still, I'm getting old. Case in point, it finally gets sunny here, the ground is ripe for digging, and I throw my back out yesterday to the point that it's actually painful to sit here typing this. I have fish languishing in tanks when they should be out in the pond I should have built last month but for the weather, and now I can't do the digging. What I wouldn't give for a backhoe and some cheap slave labor for a day... *LOL*

Marie the Incorrigible

[MikeM]

I've enjoyed these comments. The reason I got Keirin Koi to do my pond last year was because I could not find a landscaper or pondbuilder or swimming pool builder who knew what a koi pond is all about, much less what is needed plumbing-wise, etc. for the specialized filtration systems now available to us. I didn't have time or skills for DIY, and could not justify paying someone I'd have to teach how to do it. I'll never forget the expression on the face of one guy ("I can build anything") when I said I wanted a gravity-fed filter. I think he is probably still trying to figure out how to get gravity into a filter and why I'd want it there.

For most people in most areas, the best alternative is to be their own general contractor and do it themselves. That is scary for a lot of people. I think that is why there are relatively few purpose-built koi ponds.

[John Sprinkle TBT]

A good commercial pool contractor can be a good start. They have a good grasp of plumbing and can handle the construction aspects very well; they know the codes especially for the electrical work.

I have had the recent experience of helping two friends design and get their ponds built. They were fairly large and expensive koi ponds. It is important that you get the point across from the start that you want a low head, high volume gravity fed system much like what would be used on a commercial pool. We found they were happy to oblige. We specked all filtration equipment. The ponds all have good bottom drains and very good TPRS. It really was a lot of fun working with the pool guys. They had a genuine interest in the differences between koi pond and a swimming pool filtration and were very open to learning the reasoning behind the differences. We supervised and were involved in every aspect of the projects. Working with the guys I even picked up a few useful tips on plumbing techniques that will make my life easier in the long run.

The most important thing is to do your research and know what you want; if you do working with other professionals can be very rewarding.



John

[B.Scott]

Quote: I'm a DIY'er to the core anyway, and pretty well bent on my way of things. Still, I'm getting old. Case

Yep thats a good point. I'm in the same boat. I just redid my pond and that skip load of dirt is much heavier than it was when the pond was first dug 10 years back! Frankly I will not be doing this again. Next time I will pay someone else to dig!
Don't want to end up like you

B.Scott

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by B.Scott Yep thats a good point. I'm in the same boat... Don't want to end up like you B.Scott

Oh I just can't believe how much getting old sucks. Hit the old Five-OH! and everything goes to hell in a handbasket. *shakes head* And you know what I hurt my back doing? Pulling weeds....

Neighbor has a front-loader on his tractor. Now if I can bribe him with a homemade apple pie maybe that will get this itty bitty 15 x 8 x 4' hole dug...

M

[Mike T]

One of the posters to this tread is John Sprinkle TBT of Naples... He builds one heck of a proper koi pond... Would you believe he's a flower shop owner

On the other hand, I know of a koi dealer/pond builder who doesn't have a clue...

Aloha! Mike