Pond cost · Richmond, VA
What a koi pond or water feature costs in Richmond, VA
In Richmond, VA a koi pond from Jordan's Water Garden Solutions starts at $275 per square foot, a pondless waterfall at $2,000 per linear foot and a fountainscape at $5,300. Jordan Blanton, an Aquascape Certified Contractor, publishes his starting prices so you can do the math before anyone visits. The calculator turns your size into a range on the spot, and the guide below shows where every number comes from.
$275per square foot for a koi pond, to start
The rates
Every starting price on one page
Most pond companies make you book a visit before they say a number. Jordan would rather you know the rate first, then decide if a call is worth your time. These are the starting prices he uses on every job in Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County and around Charlottesville.
A koi pond is priced by its footprint. A waterfall or stream is priced by its length. A fountainscape is priced by how many pieces share one basin. Maintenance is priced per visit, and a plan is quoted once Jordan has seen the pond.
| Work | Starting price | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Koi pond | $275 per sq ft | The pond's footprint. Skimmer, biological filter, liner, rock and gravel over every inch. |
| Pondless waterfall | $2,000 per linear ft | Falls and stream, measured from the top of the falls to where the water disappears into the gravel. |
| Waterfall added to a pond | $950 per linear ft | New falls or a stream on a pond you have, or on a new koi pond. |
| FountainscapeOne bowl, urn or spillway | from $5,300 | A single piece on a hidden basin, plumbed and running. |
| FountainscapeTwo elements | $12,000 to $16,000 | Two pieces sharing one basin. |
| FountainscapeThree elements | $15,000 to $25,000 | Three pieces sharing one basin. |
| Spring clean-out | from $925 | Drained, cleaned, filters serviced, refilled for the season. |
| Fall netting or a fall service visit | from $725 | Before the leaves come down. |
| Service call | from $275 | Water quality, a pump that has slowed, a question about the pond. |
| Maintenance plan | Quoted after a site visit | Visits through the year, bundled. Plans bundle visits that start at $275 each. |
A fountain bowl, a wetland filter or a skimmer added to an existing pond is priced on your consultation call. Every number here is a starting price, settled on the site visit.
The math
Three koi ponds and a stream, worked out
Length times width gives the footprint. The footprint times $275 gives the starting price. That is the whole formula, and it is the one the calculator runs.
- Small koi pond, 8 × 12 ft96 sq ft × $275$26,400Room for a handful of koi and a short waterfall.
- Medium koi pond, 11 × 16 ft176 sq ft × $275$48,400The size most families land on.
- Large koi pond, 16 × 21 ft336 sq ft × $275$92,400A stream, several falls and a proper school of koi.
- Pondless stream, 20 ft20 linear ft × $2,000$40,000Falls at the top, the sound of water, no open pond to look after.
Why the calculator shows a range
The calculator takes the base number and shows fifteen percent either side of it, with both ends rounded to the nearest $500. Take the medium pond. $48,400 × 0.85 is $41,140, which rounds to $41,000. $48,400 × 1.15 is $55,660, which rounds to $55,500. So the 11 × 16 ft pond shows as about $41,000 to $55,500 until Jordan has walked the yard.
The 20 ft stream works the same way: $40,000 lands between $34,000 and $46,000. A waterfall on a koi pond is added on top at $950 per linear foot, so 10 ft of falls adds $9,500 to the base before the range is drawn. Fountainscapes skip the percentage and show Jordan's fixed ranges from the table above.
What moves the number
What drives the cost of a koi pond
Two ponds with the same footprint can land at different ends of the range. These are the things Jordan looks at on the site visit, and the reason the visit comes before the contract.
- Size and depth. The footprint sets the base. Koi need a deep zone to winter in and hide from herons, and deeper means more digging, more liner and more rock.
- The amount and kind of rock. Every inch of liner gets covered. Big boulders at the falls and a cut stone edge cost more than rounded fieldstone and gravel.
- Filtration. A skimmer and a biological filter are standard on every pond. A wetland filter, for a big fish load or water you want glass clear, adds to it.
- Access. The excavator has to reach the spot and the rock has to be delivered close to it. A narrow gate or a long carry adds labor.
- The stream and the falls. Length of stream and number of drops, at $950 per linear foot on a pond. A single drop you hear from the kitchen is cheaper than a stream that wanders down the yard.
- Lighting. Underwater and landscape lights are a separate line, chosen with you.
- Plants and fish. The basics are part of the build. Beyond that, you and Jordan choose them together once the water clears.
Read this before you compare quotes
What the estimate does not include
The range covers the pond or water feature itself. A few things sit outside it, and Jordan would rather you hear that now than on the day.
- Lighting, unless you choose it. If you tell the calculator you want aquatic lighting, the result says so and leaves it out of the number.
- Electrical work. Power to the pump and the lights is run by an electrician.
- Plants and fish beyond the basics that go in with the build.
- Hauling where access is difficult and the spoil or the rock has to be moved by hand.
- Permits, where your locality requires one.
Everything else, the dig, the skimmer and biological filter, the liner, the rock and gravel, the falls and the first fill, is in the number.
From a range to a fixed number
How the estimate becomes a contract
The free phone consultation
Jordan calls to talk through what you pictured: fish or no fish, how tall a waterfall, how loud a stream. Your calculator answers are already in front of him.
The onsite visit
Jordan calls it the first day of construction. The pond is marked out on your lawn, you walk the shape, and he checks access, grade and where the rock will land.
A fixed quote
After the visit you get one number for the pond you walked, with the rock, filtration and falls spelled out. That is the number the contract carries.
Questions
What Richmond homeowners ask about pond prices
Anything else, ask Jordan on the call.
How accurate is the estimate?
The estimate from Jordan's Water Garden Solutions is the footprint times the published rate, so for a koi pond in Richmond, VA the real quote lands inside the range on most jobs. Rock, access and filtration are what move it, and Jordan settles those on the site visit before you sign anything.
Why is the price a range and not one number?
Because nobody has walked your yard yet. Jordan's Water Garden Solutions shows fifteen percent either side of the base number, rounded to the nearest $500, and replaces it with a fixed quote after the onsite visit anywhere in Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County or Charlottesville.
Does a bigger pond cost more per square foot?
No. Jordan's Water Garden Solutions prices every koi pond in the Richmond area at the same $275 per square foot to start. A bigger pond costs more because the footprint is bigger, not because the rate goes up.
What is the cheapest water feature you build?
A single fountainscape, one bowl, urn or spillway on a hidden basin, from $5,300. Jordan's Water Garden Solutions installs them across Richmond, VA for homeowners who want the sound of water without an open pond. See fountainscapes.
Is there financing?
Ask Jordan on the free phone consultation. Jordan's Water Garden Solutions does not list financing terms on this page, and he will tell you straight what is available for a pond or water feature in Richmond, VA.
Estimate calculator
Put your own numbers in
The calculator at the top of this page runs the same math for your size, one question at a time, and shows the range on the spot. Then pick a time for a free phone consultation with Jordan.