PIERCE
LAND
CLEARING
Llano County is granite country, and granite behaves like nothing else in Texas. We have a documented five acre clearing job here and we build ponds on the same ground, with the rock talked about up front.
This is the oldest exposed rock in Texas and it makes for the most distinctive pond ground we work. Pink granite domes, decomposed granite that drinks water like sand, and thin patchy clay in the draws. Nothing about a Llano County pond is generic.
Granite comes two ways here and they are opposite problems. Solid granite will not rip and turns a two day dig into a hammer job. Decomposed granite, the coarse pink sand it breaks down into, digs easily and then lets water straight through.
So the honest question is where the clay is. Some Llano County draws carry real clay and hold beautifully. Plenty of upland sites do not, and the truthful answer is that some of them do not reveal it until the basin is open.
Where a basin needs help the answers are a hauled and keyed clay blanket, bentonite worked in, or a liner. Each is priced the moment we can honestly price it, whether that is on the phone, on the walk, or standing in the hole.
Twenty seven inches of rain on rock that sheds it fast means surface water in Llano County is genuinely scarce. A pond that holds is worth more here than in almost any county we work, for stock, for game, and for what it does to the value of a place.
The country also gives you real catchments. Granite hills funnel runoff hard into the draws, so a pond sited where the water already goes fills quickly when it does rain.
A Llano County pond runs in a set order, and the granite conversation happens on the first call rather than at the end.
The first step costs nothing: photos, a rough size, your location. We come back same day with a range from the published list, and the site walk gets scheduled only if that range makes sense to you.
Your first number comes over the phone, from having worked this county rather than from a form. Photos and a pin usually get you a real range the same day, including a straight opinion on what the granite is likely to do. Once you approve the estimate we come walk it, reading the draw, where the rock outcrops, what cedar has to go and whether a loaded truck can reach the spot. Anything that moves the number gets said on that walk.
We put the whole build on paper in machine days, dig, dam, and spillway, with rock or liner contingencies called out up front where you can see them. The number you sign is the number you pay.
Once the quote is signed we get you on the calendar, typically a few weeks out. The machines arrive together, stage near the site, and stay until the job is finished, no disappearing mid-build.
Count on two to five working days of iron time for a typical pond. Every build follows the same discipline: saved topsoil, a real core trench, a dam raised in compacted lifts, and slopes cut so they can be mowed, not just admired.
Last step: a slow lap around the pond together. You check the dam, the spillway cut, the slope finish, and the dressed topsoil against the quote. We load the machines only when you are satisfied.
Twenty seven inches a year, but granite hills funnel what falls straight into the draws. A pond sited on a real catchment here can fill quickly when it rains. We will not name a date, because Hill Country rain is feast or famine, but we size the watershed feeding your basin so it collects runoff rather than waiting on rain in the bowl.
Published, not hidden behind a form. Prices and build times are based on 6 feet of depth at center with a 4:1 bank.
| Pond Size | Starting Price at 6 ft depth, 4:1 bank | Build Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 acre | from $12,300 | 2 to 3 days |
| 1/2 acre | from $19,200 | 3 to 4 days |
| 3/4 acre | from $23,300 | 4 to 5 days |
| 1 acre | from $27,000 | 5 to 6 days |
| 1 1/4 acre | from $30,400 | 6 to 7 days |
| 1 1/2 acre | from $33,800 | 7 to 8 days |
| 1 3/4 acre | from $36,800 | 8 to 9 days |
| 2 acre | from $39,500 | 9 to 10 days |
Prices are based on 6 feet of depth at center with a 4:1 bank. In Llano County two things move a quote: granite, meaning whether the basin rips or has to be hammered, and sealing on decomposed granite sites. Each is priced the moment we can honestly price it.
Size it, tell us what to do with the dirt, then draw the pond right on a photo of your land. Your estimate comes back by email, along with a preview of the finished water.
The quote has two halves: what every build includes, and the site-specific items we flag before work starts.
One price, one finished pond: siting matched to the water the land actually sheds, staking, saved topsoil, core trench, a dam packed up in lifts, a proper spillway, slopes you can mow, and banks dressed to grass. Machine transport and the walkthrough are never extras.
Two things move a Llano number. Granite: whether the basin rips or has to be hammered, priced by the day. Sealing: whether the ground holds or the decomposed granite needs clay brought and keyed in. Each becomes a line item the moment we can price it honestly. Cedar clearing rides on the same quote at published day rates.
Real ponds, real day counts, photographed on site.
Finished pond, Liberty Hill
Basin shaping, Gatesville
Pond expansion, LampasasFull process, statewide services, and the build standard: our Texas pond construction page.
Our five acre trail clearing and selective cedar removal project is in Llano, with impassable ground opened back up. Same company, same operators, and the dirt trade runs on the same published logic.
On the Uplift you plan for granite instead of hoping. Where the basin rips, the job runs normal days. Where it does not, hammer time is priced by the day and said out loud rather than added at the end. Often the smarter answer is moving the pond a hundred yards into the draw, and we will tell you that even though it makes the job smaller.
Most Llano County sites need cedar off the basin and the dam footprint before a machine is any use, and here that is frequently the bigger half of the job. We do both, one mobilization and one bill.
Twenty seven inches a year and hot summers mean shallow water does not survive. Pricing starts at six feet at center and we push for eight or more wherever the granite and the budget allow.
There is not much surface water on the Uplift and everyone here knows it. A pond that holds is the single most valuable improvement you can put on this ground.
In dry granite country water concentrates deer and turkey hard. Sited well a pond supports a wildlife management valuation and keeps animals on your place.
Water against pink granite and live oak is why people buy in this county. Bank shape and where the deep end sits are design decisions worth making before the machines start.
Llano County buyers look for water first because it is the hard part. A pond holding in September says more than any other improvement.
Most clients add at least one of these. Planned during the build, they cost less and land better than bolting them on a year later.
Bare decomposed granite moves the first time it storms, so we seed and stabilize what we disturb with a mix that will actually take on this ground.
Aeration earns its keep in a hot dry county. Moving water stays cooler, holds oxygen through August and resists the bloom that turns a pond green by July. Conduit roughed in while the basin is open is far cheaper than trenching later.
Docks and hardened access get planned before the basin closes, and on granite ground there is often excellent rock exactly where you want to anchor.
Stocking waits until the pond is holding and settled. We will tell you honestly what survives a Llano County summer.
It has been an absolute pleasure working with the Pierce Land Clearing family. Everyone is professional, caring and has a great attitude. Highly recommended! Thank you for the beautiful transformation!
Harley Jones, Google review
They did an excellent job and were highly effective and the price was an incredible value. I am so thankful for them and will use them for all of my forestry needs.
Red, Google review
I can not say enough about this great family owned and operated company. My call was answered on a Sunday morning and they moved their machine in the very next day and began work, the week of Christmas.
Chris Bartsch, Google review
Dirt crews talk in shorthand. These are the six terms that matter most on a pond build.
Four feet of run for every foot of drop. Gentler banks are safer and easier to mow; steeper banks get more depth from less dirt.
The dry dam height above full pool, the safety margin that keeps a big storm inside the pond.
Every acre of ground that sheds rain toward your pond. It, not the hole, decides how fast you get water.
The water level at the bottom of the spillway, the highest the pond is designed to hold day to day.
Where the dam dirt comes from. On a well designed pond it is the basin itself, so every yard dug does double duty.
One acre of water a foot deep, about 326,000 gallons. The unit that decides whether a stock pond needs a state permit.
We build ponds across the Hill Country and the Llano Uplift.
A quarter acre pond starts at $12,300, a half acre at $19,200, and a full acre at $27,000, based on six feet of depth at center with a 4:1 bank. Minimum job is $8,000. Granite and sealing are the Llano County variables and each is priced the moment we know.
It gets said out loud and priced by the day rather than absorbed quietly. Often the better answer is relocating the basin into a draw where the rock is deeper, and we will suggest that even when it means a smaller job for us.
Not on its own. That coarse pink sand passes water like a sieve, so the basin has to reach clay or have clay brought to it. Some draws here carry real clay and some uplands do not, and a few sites do not answer that until they are open.
Yes, and it is published. Our five acre trail clearing and selective cedar removal project is here, with impassable country opened back up.
Yes, and it is usually the first real work on an Uplift site and often the bigger half. Same quote, same crew, published day rates.
Deeper than you might think. Pricing starts at six feet at center and we recommend eight or more where the rock allows, because evaporation in this dry county is what empties shallow ponds.
Two to three days for a quarter acre and nine to ten for two acres, with hammer work adding days we name up front. You get a day count with the quote.
Yes. Photos, an aerial or a pin get most Llano County quotes a real range the same day, and we will tell you on that call what the granite is likely to do to it.
Send photos or a pin on the draw you have in mind and we will come back with a range, usually the same day, including a straight opinion on the granite. If the rock or the ground changes the number you hear it as soon as we know.