To build or not to build? This is the first question you have to tackle once you’ve decided to grace your outdoor living space with a beautiful, low maintenance water garden. Should you do it yourself, or is it better to hire a professional? 

Freeing Up Your Free Time

Maybe you’re a person with an unlimited amount of determination and the strength of an ox. Maybe you enjoy spending your free time working with your hands and breaking a good sweat. If you’re one of these people, and you’re willing to devote some of your weekends to a project, then you’re the perfect candidate for building your own water feature. 

If you are like most folks and would rather spend your free time with your family, then you may want to consider hiring a professional installer for your new aquatic paradise. 

The Benefits of a Professional

As you can imagine, there are many benefits to hiring a reliable professional. First, your pond won’t be the victim of your trial and error. It will look more natural and fit better with the surrounding landscape. You also have the assurance of knowing it was built by someone who has expertise and experience with pond construction. 

Now that you’ve decided to hire a professional, let’s look at where to start. First off, all installers are not equal. Unfortunately, as in any service industry, there are unreliable and dishonest people representing themselves as professional pond builders. You certainly don’t want this type of contractor working on your pond. Instead, you want to look for one of the many professional, reputable, qualified, and experienced companies, like Halo Outdoor.

Finding a Reliable Pond Builder

For starters, look for a reputable contractor that is certified by the manufacturer. A Certified Aquascape Contractor is certified by Aquascape Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of high quality pond equipment, based on their pond building experience, professionalism, references, customer satisfaction, and proper liability and insurance coverage. The contractors’ work is critiqued for proper installation techniques and natural aesthetics. By using this type of reference service, you can be sure you are getting the cream of the crop when it comes to installers in your area. 

References

• Make sure the contractor has an extensive portfolio of their work.
• Ask for references and follow-up on them.
• Do they have several different projects available for you to see in person?
• Talk to the homeowners of these projects and ask them about their experience with the contractor.

Their Work

• First, do you like the look of their work?
• Make sure they use a natural-looking mixture of stone and have a good eye for a natural pond design.
• Does the pond fit in with the surrounding landscape?
• Find a contractor who specializes in water features, waterfalls, streams, aquatic plants, and fish as a primary business.

A good contractor can mean the difference between an enjoyable or miserable water gardening experience. Do your homework and ask for references, and you won’t go wrong.