This is a long review but if you are considering a pond/water feature in your backyard it may be worth reading the whole thing:
I called Pacific Outdoor Living (POL) to put a pond in my backyard and backfill my old one (prior owner did the old pond herself and it was horrible and in the wrong place in the garden). I had already gotten two estimates (for which I was charged $100 and $150 each) when a landscape person I am using recommended POL. I was hesitant at first because it’s a bigger company, they have done work at the showcase house and have been featured on HG TV so I figured the price would be out of my budget and much higher than the mom and pop pond installers. But, the estimate is free so I figured I would lose nothing.
Ken, the pond designer at POL, came to my house on a Saturday and spent 3 hours with me talking about what I was looking for in a pond, if I wanted something architectural or that looked like a natural pond, he explained how the pond works, upkeep (minimal), he drew a to scale drawing, outlined the physical area, had stones in his truck so I could choose the shade of them I wanted and the price was within a few hundred dollars of the smaller companies (but the result was worth so much more). Ken left me with a detailed quote and drawing (size of pond, perimeter, multiple levels, 5 underwater LED lights, caves for fish to hide from raccoons, some plants for around the pond, mechanical equipment, etc). The other two companies spent only about 1/2 hour with me, didn’t provide anything in writing and only later did they send an email with a general description of their work. I knew exactly what I would be getting with POL. I had no idea what I would have gotten with the other companies (they estimated 5-7 days while POL estimated 2 and finished in 2).
Lance, the pond crew supervisor at POL and his crew of 4, all employees of POL, showed up on time, didn’t just start digging but explained what would happen on day 1 before they started working, were polite, professional and worked very hard. At the end of day 2 I had a gorgeous pond – it was even more beautiful than I anticipated. The crew (Emilio, Walter and Eliah and headed by crew chief, George) is masterful at pond construction.
Also, the old pond had to be demolished and backfilled which was not a small task and they did a great job with compacting the soil and leveling the grade of area of the old pond.
I cannot recommend Pacific Outdoor Living more unequivocally.