Third time has to be the charm, right? - 04/25/11 04:00 PM
I've been on and off the board over the last year and a bit and have received great advice, so here goes...one more time.
Still trying to get water dammed up. I've got jedd soil just south of Bastrop Texas. The first dozer guy (from the area) I had out looked only at the ravines I have that I'd like to dam up. Saw sandstone and said it would hold water, no problem. Said sandstone is held together by clay. I'm not a geologist but his reasoning sounded, well, sound.
Brought out the NRCS guys and they basically said according to their surveys, the soil should hold but they were not interested in the pond holding, they were only interested in controlling the spillway. Thanks guys...waste of time.
Wanted to get a second opinion from another dozer guy. Let me preface by saying that I don't think he has worked my type of soil before. He is scared of the sandstone. We got a backhoe out and dug about 4 feet down, found about a 12 inch layer of clay, but busted through sandstone also. He doesn't want to dig it because of the sandstone and he doesn't know if he can get enough clay to build the dam. Asked him about lining with drillers mud and he said he hates to do it because he finds that the sides erode and will leak eventually when the mud ends up in the bottom of the tank instead if on the sides.
Brings me to my current state of frustration. There are no less than 2 tanks within 200 yards of me that hold water, so the ground has to be ok, right?
I guess I'm just venting but need to ask if anyone knows of a good dozer guy in or nearby Bastrop, TX that I can get a 3rd opinion from? I guess my thought process is that a third guy who works my area will have experience with this soil and his opinion will give me a 2 to 1 ruling either for or against building this thing.
Any thoughts on my situation or recommendations on a good dirt man around here will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys,
Gunny
Still trying to get water dammed up. I've got jedd soil just south of Bastrop Texas. The first dozer guy (from the area) I had out looked only at the ravines I have that I'd like to dam up. Saw sandstone and said it would hold water, no problem. Said sandstone is held together by clay. I'm not a geologist but his reasoning sounded, well, sound.
Brought out the NRCS guys and they basically said according to their surveys, the soil should hold but they were not interested in the pond holding, they were only interested in controlling the spillway. Thanks guys...waste of time.
Wanted to get a second opinion from another dozer guy. Let me preface by saying that I don't think he has worked my type of soil before. He is scared of the sandstone. We got a backhoe out and dug about 4 feet down, found about a 12 inch layer of clay, but busted through sandstone also. He doesn't want to dig it because of the sandstone and he doesn't know if he can get enough clay to build the dam. Asked him about lining with drillers mud and he said he hates to do it because he finds that the sides erode and will leak eventually when the mud ends up in the bottom of the tank instead if on the sides.
Brings me to my current state of frustration. There are no less than 2 tanks within 200 yards of me that hold water, so the ground has to be ok, right?
I guess I'm just venting but need to ask if anyone knows of a good dozer guy in or nearby Bastrop, TX that I can get a 3rd opinion from? I guess my thought process is that a third guy who works my area will have experience with this soil and his opinion will give me a 2 to 1 ruling either for or against building this thing.
Any thoughts on my situation or recommendations on a good dirt man around here will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys,
Gunny