Here we answer frequently asked questions about whether to "build oneself or hire someone to do it":

Do it yourself or let someone do it?

Why are professional solutions so expensive?

What happens if I cannot do it alone?

What mistakes are most often made?

How do I know what I have to do?

How long does the excavation take?

How long does it take to lay the liner?

How do I know what I have to do?

And if I have no clue whatsoever?

And if even then I can't tackle it?

Answers:

Construct yourself of let someone build it for you?
No-one would go to the car dealer and make a contract to deliver a car, any car, for 10.000,00 Euros.

People who contract the construction of a pond often agree on even less than that.

That is why so many only get a liner sealed, gravel decorated water hole that doesn't match their expectations at all.

The best solution is always to define what is desired, get quotations and evaluate them. The largest part of the price will usually be labour. If you want to save money, here is the easiest way of doing so.

Hence find out if in your private surroundings you can find helpers for your project. If you can, the next question is where to get the knowledge. Surely, NaturaGart tops the list.

Why are professional solutions so expensive?
Landscaping companies are the last to intervene in house construction. Often money is an issue and the propensity to argue about the quality of work is higher. This risk alone often leads to 10-15% reserve calculations in the construction sum.

Labour costs are usually the most expensive part, but costs are also inflated by including things like pond bags, tons of gravel, etc. Also there are often the undefined additional services that later get charged extra.

Many system suppliers don't even give you a detailed quote, but rather build the whole pond for a fixed price. Careful! In pond construction the quick solution often looks just as good as the long term construction, at least in the beginning. They like to earn on what is buried and cannot be seen. The only thing that protects you against this is an exact description!

What happens if cannot do it alone?
Then contract the services that you need: A civil engineer to do the excavation, we can send someone to install the liner, a landscaper can do the planting. Everything is possible, but it will be more expensive, of course.

The best you can do is to ask among your acquaintances whether they know someone who can help. When we tell them what to do, things always work out.

What are the most common mistakes?
Those with lots of money prefer to let someone build for them and hope for optimal results. This is often wrong, because the details of, say, shore design aren't specified precisely enough. Many agreements are so unclear that often only a liner covered excavation is purchased. The results are rarely what was desired. Those who build it themselves often don't read instructions thoroughly or begin to make up solutions of their own. It is better to collect a number of proposals - from other suppliers, too, of course. Then evaluate the pros and cons of each proposal. Many are inconsistent or unrealistic: On our website you will find one of these proposals that offers a liner covered basin and 30 tons of gravel - who is going to shovel all that material and clean it when the spaces between the stones fill up with mud? You may as well plan your year's holidays for that job... 

How do I know what I have to do?
Those who build a larger pond with NaturaGart receive a workbook and a list of services for excavation and other work that is contracted, with a separate 'Building Owner's Commentary'. This way you will not be bamboozled. 

How long does the excavation take?
This depends on the size of the pond and the organisation at the building site.

Larger excavations are usually contracted to a civil engineering company. The excavators can do about 20-50m³ per hour, even more in larger excavations. The actual transport of the excavated soil or when things aren't well prepared decision time can become more expensive than the actual excavator time. 

How long does it take to lay the liner?
This problem is always over estimated: Even several hundred square metres of liner can easily be laid in half an hour. We recommend one helper per 100m². 

How do I know what I have to do?
Those who build their pond with NaturaGart receive detailed documentation: The Pond Workbook, special brochures about streams, filtering trenches, plants and so on, as well as an installation manual for the products.

For larger ponds there is a workbook and a list of services for excavation and other work that is contracted, with a separate 'Building Owner's Commentary'. This way you will not be bamboozled. 

And if I have no clue whatsoever?
Tens of thousands of NaturaGart clients have found themselves in te same situation. Normally they will phone our staff. There they tend to get a feel for whether they can manage. If we detect problems, or if your design appears too risky, we will suggest simpler alternatives.get in touch with us as early as possible so that you don't get stuck with complicated special solutions. 

And if even then I can't tackle it?
This happens very rarely and usually only if someone falls ill and can't work for several weeks. In those cases the staff at NaturaGart took over supervision of the building site and made sure that the project got finished.