Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site starting the dream

Kurt,

If needed I have a ton of Bentonite 3/8" chips I could bring up from the farm and let you have for a very responsible price. PM me if interested.

Need help so I go to Pond Boss. Maybe I should put this under a new heading but let;s see what happens. If you read the earlier posts you know that I need to re-work some of the pond including the catfish levee. Unfortunately, I can not find anyone who rents flat shell rollers or sheepsfoot rollers to individulas like me. One company in Monroe does have them but you must be a business and carry full insurance on yourself and add the machine to your liability insurance. I am not that. I can find, skid loaders, excavators and track loaders but no rollers.

I am located south of Juda Wisconsin if anyone know a company or person who has such equipment. If so, please send me a PM. I will hire machine and driver if not too expensive.

You all have not let me down yet, so get cracking!

Going up next week to plant 500 shrubs, grass seed and a few more trees. I have everything at the pond except the pond. minor details.......

The local rental place said that usually contacting your insurance agent to have a rider added to the property insurance policy for the time the machine will be on the site is good enough. Have you tried contacting your insurance agent, then talking to the rental place?

I did (State Farm). Since the land is just land, they will not add a machine to the property insurance. Issue revolves around amount of insurance collected versus amount that could be clained in case of an accident.

Still hoping to find someone.

Why am I not suprised. The rental company said State Farm was the hardest company to work with.....

Well, finally some good news. I have found an avenue which might allow me to rent the rollers that I need to finish the 'dream'

I have an excavator rented for the last week of May. We will try to dig out as much clay as possible to re-line the catfish levee and lay down a fresh layer of clay around the banks and basins.

I have rented a skid loader for a month in July to move rock, re-build roads and path, lay clay around the banks, add DB200, bentonite (thanks Lassig) and finally build the rock pier and rock bridge. I think 1 day with the sheepsfoot roller and one day with the smooth sheel should be enough.

I have listed pictures of them below. Each one is capable of being a smooth shell and sheepsfoot. My best guess is that the vibrating roller will be the better one. They are almost the same cost per day.

 Drum width 54”
 12,000 lbs Operating Weight



 Drum Width 66”
 15,503 lbs Operating Weight

Volvo SD70 Smooth Single Drum Roller, Vibratory Roller

What do you all think?????

Next weekend plant 500 shrubs, more trees, wildflowers, strawberries, more raspberries and 100 pounds of grass seed.

I am getting excited again. I am hoping and praying that we can finish this up RIGHT this summer and have everything ready for the fall to fill.

Glad to see you got a break. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

We worked through the muck problem.

removed most of the riprap so we can reqork the banks and levee.

We dug out roughly 500 cubic yards of new clay from the barrow pit (which make a nice swimming hole and new grow out ponds in the future)

Once the riprap is removed, we will strip 6 inches from the basin, compacted what is left, then add DB200 and compact again. Then we will add 8 inches of new clay another layer of DB200 and compact.

July will be a big month to try and move everything and finish up the catfish pond.

Hey,

Even in my leaking, draing pond, bullfrogs and tadpoles arrived. I am counting it as life in the mudhole. Of course we drained the pond wiping out the tad poles but aquatic life had arrived all by itself. Probably carried in on the legs of a bird, Somebody will reach out and slap me for that one.

Bad to worse is the the going direction. The person who was going to rent the rollers is now unable 4 days before we start re-working the catfish pond.

Any southern wisconsin pond meisters out there? Anybody have a lead on where to rent a smooth shell vibratory roller?

desperate so any help is appreciated.

kurt

Kurt:

I'd start calling any of the large equipment rental places, and also look into Cat/Deere/Komatsu heavy equipemnt dealers and ask them about any possible rentals or companies that rent. I'm sorry to hear about the situation.

Some of the dealers here also rent.

I found a small roller 1 and 3/4 ton 36 inch vibratory drum smooth shell.

Will this work under these conditions.

Stripping 6 inches off basin leaving 1 foot in place

rolling basin
adding DB200 and rolling
adding 8 inches of new clay and DB200 and rolling

Will the smaller roller provide enough compaction. I can not find or rent anything bigger but do not want to waste time if there is no hope.

please chime in with advice.

Kurt, I can't give you an answer, I don't have hands on experience with that type of roller. Any idea how many # PSI it puts on the ground?

Any updates on the re-working of your catfish pond?

Anything and everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. The third day of work, one of the worker tipped the skid loader and being a Sunday and the next day the 4th of July, the machine sat idle for over 2 days. 2 days later, another worker tipped it. That has been the highlight.

What a mess. 3 flat tires, a stuck roller that had to be yanked out, and last weekend 4 inches of rain.

I should not sound so negative but it is very frustrating. The days that I work, I sit in the machine 10-11 hours running but we just do not seem to be getting much done.

On the good note and yes there has been a couple of good points. The forage pond has a lot of clay which I suspected it did as reflected in the soil surveys. This is where the the original excavator was to pull out clay creating a barrow pit which would then become the forage ponds. The middle bank of the forage pond is 30 feet wide, 100 feet long and 9 feet high of excellent clay. It it taking alot of time to pull out and transfer to the catfish pond. Most of you weirdo pond people can relate to this, the forage pond has grown from 30 by 100 to 100 by 100 with a 50 by 100 marsh area/sediment basin. Using the existing upper bank, we created a 15 by 100 small minnow pond for fatheads, not me, but the minnows. Bigger is better. Because the forage pond has grown, it is now the swimming hole or will be. We are still pulling out clay down 8 feet so the depth is great. I just need to finish and clean it up and then cut the beach area.

Last's week rains have flooded the ponds. We did not receive what some places did but at least 4 inches running into the pond. We were in the process of laying the first layer of new clay on the banks when the rains hit. The levee area of the catfish pond is sitting with about 4 feet of water. Yes, that is good since it never hs filled that high but now I need to pump it out, let everything dry before returning to work.

1 month of work and there is still so much to do. the main pond is way beyond fixing at this point.

I have a friend who can secure the rollers I need. The 2 ton roller did not work. He has a 16,000 Sheepsfoot and a 28,000 flat shell. they are available for a the right price whenever I need them.

Water is high, money is low and the emotions ebb and flow. Some days this is the worst decision I have ever made and wish I could turn back the clock. On other days, when I see the forage pond take shape with the swimming area, marsh and fathead pond, I am pretty elated. I hold on to that idea and the pictures I see here and in Pond Boss of my kids jumping in the water, or yelling "fish on". I have dreamt of this pond for so many years and it is still just beyond my grasp. I see it, I hope it, I dream it, but that is all it is. I have enough money for 1 more month of work. After that, I am tapped.

The "dream" flickers.

I will post some pictures tomorrow

Kurt, hang in there. It WILL happen. I can't tell you how many times the equipment broke down when we were renovating my pond. I had to pump water every day for about 10 hrs just to get it so we could see where we were digging. There were days that I pumped for 10 hrs. just to have a machine break down an hour later. Then wait 3-5 days for the part, pumping water every day so the pond didn't fill up too much.

2 years after it's done you'll be loving it.

Yep, hang in there.

I feel your pain Kurt...........spend all that time and money, and have a mud hole! Keep going man, it will happen!

3 steps forward and 4 steps back. I spent Thur, Fri and Sun driving the skidloader.

Thursday night I slept in the cab of the skid loader. I am an idiot but the work has to get done. I have brought out contractors, workers and unemployed people and no one wants the work. For some it was too much work, for others too big a job, others it was not the right kind of work, and one who had not had any work in his company for 4 months, the timing did not fit.

I am out again this weekend, thur-Sun. Spend the nights thur and fri.

Saturday we received a heavy rain which flooded the ponds I just spent draining and washing out banks I had just rebuilt.

Oh what fun!!!
middle pond looking down to dam



Front of middle pond looking to bend. Clay staged in the pond ready to be laid once the ponds dry out.


middle pond has grown to about 1.25 acres but not too deep average 6 ft with max at 12.

This was originally going to be the catfish pond but since the main pond may not be finished for several years, I am looking at making this pond smallmouth and yellow perch

swimming pond...the swimming pond will be small about 70 by 70 with max depth 8 feet for the raft. Beach area is in the front. We will build a rock partition or wall in the back area to create a second forage pond that is connected to the marsh area. Marsh area stretches up the picture and is about 100 long by 30 feet wide. The upper march will be cut off from the lower marsh and serve as a separate retention basin for silt and area of shallow water for frogs, and other stuff.



This is the upper forage pond. It is 15 by 100 long. This will be for fathead minnows. This ponds still needes work but with the water have been unable bring the skiloader in to finish.


we are 3 days of work away from bringing out the rollers but every time I mention working at the land, a storm comes. After we sheepfoot roll the ponds, then we lay the DB200 sealant, add 6 inches of new clay, roll with the smooth shell roller and then add 1 more layer of DB200 and last roll.

Then we can build the rock bridge, and rock fishing docks.

I have the skidloader rented every Thur to Sun until the end of Sept. Man, I hope I can finish.

I sure hope I do not have any other dreams like this ever again.

Rained Saturday pumped water all day Thursday
Rained Saturday pumped water all day Sunday
Rained Tuesday pumped water all day Wednesday

So much for August being a dry and hot month in Northern Illinois, Southern Wisconsin.

We are not expected to receive rain for 5 whole days. Friday is finishing touches of which there are still alot.

Saturday Sheeps foot arrives for first roll.
Sunday 28,000 lb smooth shell roller arrives for final roll.

There is a chance, and actual hold onto your hat chance that the pond will be done come Sunday night.

I will spend the night Fri and Sat to try and push through. One last push and we are almost done. After this just a few cosmetic touches like pier and bridge but big work will be done.

kurt:

Here's to no rain for the next 5 days. Do you have your cover seed waiting in the wings? As soon as you get finished, it's important to get the seed down so it can start growing and hold all the exposed soil in place.

Everyone ready to play "Wheel of Misfortune?

Over the past few months of trying to fix all the problems from the original builder, We have run into almost every problem imaginable
flat tires,tipped machines, stuck machines, broken machines, days of rain and pumping water. The list goes on. We have dediced to call the land "Colossal Failures Sanctuary" a place where all your failures can live in harmony.

This past week, on Friday the skidloader broke the hydraulic housing so it went down friday afternoon. With two huge rollers sitting there, I could do no work until the skildloader is fixed or at least removed from the pond. By Saturday morning it was determined that part of the drive was shot and there was nothing they could do until they yanked it out on Monday. 16,000 sheeps foot and a 28,000 lb flat shell sitting idle for the weekend was not a promising start.

I called a friend, owner of the rollers on Saturday explaining my situation and 2 hours later he shows up with a track loader that I could rent/use for the weekend. Saved the day but I am not done yet. He shoots some elevation and notices a few other problems. He has been in the excavating business for 20 plus years. He asked on Saturday afternnon around 3 pm if he could jump in the track loader and fix a few of the problems. Have at it. The 3 of us watch is wonder and amazement as he ran the track loader all over the place building a bank 2 feet higher, clearing out muck, leveling a few areas and shooting the final grades in about 3 hours. It would have taken us days to do that work.

Thank you Troy. There are not enough words to express my gratitude to the sacrifice and help Troy provided. I was thinking over the weekend as the pump broke down several times at the land (misfortune) there are alot of forums here at Pond Boss and I know you want to stay away from attacking, critizing companies and people but coming from my ministry background and education, what about a forum that allows individuals to share stories of those rare times when people go out of their way to help us in building, fixing, completing our ponds? What Troy did for my situation is beyond thanks. how many more have stories of people helping. Each thread could be limited to so many words but would serve to encourage future pondmeisters that even though there are people who take advantage of us, walk away from umcompleted jobs or leave us with ponds that leak, there are good people out there who even help for free. Just an idea.

After he left, we finished rolling and laying the sealant, laid the last of the clay and rolled again. By Thursday we started pumping water from the main pond back up to the middle pond.



Looking up at where beach will sit

looking from beach area to end of swimming hole


looking at far end of catfish pond to bend

looking at levee as we pump up water


looking at overview, top of picture is small forage pond, march area in background with rentention wall


Starting tomorrow, finish the road and path work, spread out topsoil aand more grass. Turn on the well and see what happens over the next few months as it fills.


Troy Lee
Troy Lee Excavating
5024 Torque Rd
Loves Park, IL 61111
815/636-8478

That's good news! It's amazing what a skilled operator can save in $$ (machine time).

Kurt, we generally tell the good and the bad around here. Remember that guy when somebody posts here needing a good dirt guy in your area.

I'd give that friend a dozen prime ribeye steaks and a key to my gate lock.

Thanks for the heartwarming story, Kurt.