With the amount of time, the kids are spending in the pond, we decided to take the plunge and put in a large sandy beach. Hard clay and pit run make it difficult and painful to get in and out of the water
The beach we wanted required the removal of a huge amount of material. This excavator and dump truck were perfect for the job. In order to minimize the muddy mess, Monty left a small dike which held back the water from flowing into the low lying area. Once the area was excavated and graded, he came back and cut out the dike. You can see how far the water came in, in the next picture.
We are right across the street from Unimin Sand so the dump truck was able to make three to four trips per hour and the trucking cost was minimal for a total of ten loads. We were paying $90/hour for the excavator and the dump truck. The total time on the excavator was six hours and seven hours on the dump truck for a total of $1,170.
This sand is so fine it feels like moon sand. It feels great on your feet and the kids love it but I am concerned that as it dried out, it will blow all over the place. The total cost of the 352,900 pounds of sand was roughly $650. This is a great addition to the pond and should be well worth the price.
