Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Project Extreme Make over.

I guess this is where I post this. I have been away so long recovering from back surgery I don't know how to use this here new fancy PB forum. Hello All I'm BACK... Thanks again Mr. Lusk for the Postive input to go thru with it. I haven't felt better in years. I'm down 70+ lbs and counting.
We are in the process of building a new home or Out building if you would for our Kids & Grandkids. Time to let the youngun's grow up on the farm like I did.

The Plan.
Design and Build New Home

Location one acre track on frontage with lake view.

Excatvation plan. Renovate ponds & use dirt to build new home site. In the process improve ponds for maintance and drainage issues. Sort of a win win situation. I give my son the dirt and he pays to move it. He gets House site I get new BIGGER ponds. Grandkids get new Swimming holes. Dad gets his own fishing hole. Grandpa gets son full time to do Grandmas honey do's that grandpas back want let him do anymore. We are all one big happy family now.

The execution.
The brothers are back and they brought all their toys.



First order of business make grandpas Pond Bigger. Existing dam was pushed back and cut to a 5/1 on front side for easy maintanince. Top of dam was shaved down to be 6 inches below house foundation. Water has been way to close sense we have lived here the past 14 years. I'd rather patch a dam than clean mud out of the house.

Second order remove dirt from shallow area of upper pond and build pad site for new home. In the process build a new fishing and swiming area and silt catch trap at inlet.
Views of site one day prior to moving dirt.

.
View of site today.

One side of the location was on grade. The other side required 5 ft of fill to level it.
I'd like to dedicate this next section to the family farm boys from kansas. I know I know I am a copy cat but I couldn't help it.




Third order of business increase size of upper pond by moving dam back and over. Increase free board, improve dam slopes for maintance and triple the size of the emergency spillway. Water has already sheet flowed twice over the top not good.

Forth order. Finish old projects and do road repairs while boys have toys on site. Boulders were shipped in to landscape the waterfall spillway and act as a retainment wall for the fill dirt yet to be added to this section of the upper pond dam.

Rock in place ready for dirt


To Be continued.........................

Awesome, Rocky Topper! Nice progress and great looking plan!

Wow! Nice!!!!

W O W !!!!!

RT that is some project. I hope you will keep it going including pics and description of how it was done.

Glad you are back and well and down 70. That is great.

Yep, my pal Rocky T goes nuts and takes it to another level. This is gonna be a very cool project to follow. He's holding back on the house plans. Give it up! Let's see the plan!

I'll give the plans up when they are finalized. They are currently in flux. We are getting bids and things are swrinking as we speak to control cost. The big front porch is gone and the shop has compressed so far.

Bski your new pad is looking really good. The siding turned out great looking. Not a bad view looking out at the lake either. Congrats on a job well done as always.

I mentioned this in the past and I can't remember if you used OSB or plywood under you metal roof but I would not recommend the practice to anyone. We got a down burst 65 to 80 mph wind yesterday afternoon and our neighbors house across the road had their metal roof peal off for the third time in the past 5 years. They used OSB big mistake.

The new area of the pond that was opned up when the dam was pushed back filled and is now level with the rest of the pond. Still have 4 ft of water left to go to see how it will look at pool level.

roof sheathing = 5/8" CDX plywood, based on an 11th hour recommendation by my engineer pal down in TX.

RT...Awesome as always from you!

Great thread and congratulations RT!

Just found this thread and wanted to compliment you on an amazing project. I'm looking forward to your updates and progress.

Thanks,
Eddie

I have been really busy but here is the latest progress on our project. House plan is complete. Foundation is poured. Sense the last time I posted we got a 12.8 inch rain in one night. Good news my pond renovation worked no water got even close to our house or the new house site. Bad news the new bigger spillway let out so much water so fast it totally wiped it out and had to be recut. I am trying to get grass on it before the next flood comes. Enjoy much more to come.

First floor plan view

Second floor plan view

3d view


Elevation Views





Sunset from the new home site.


The pour



This is a view of the entire one acre tract we cutout for the new home [img]http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk243/rockytoppers1/DSC09584.jpg[/img]

Nice job Rocky !!! Love that view.

Really puts the "pro" in project. This is the stuff that most of our dreams are made of. While the rest of us are sleeping and dreaming, Rocky T wakes up and makes it happen.
Bravo, my friend!

Nice, Nice, Nice!

Thanks all. The view did turn out nice and I was able to keep the open breeze way I had envisioned from the get go. As the plan reduced in size to stay within budget I made the open breeze way part of the enclosed shop. The front porch, shop, and large back porch can now be opened up into one big space for outdoor activities.


Here is a before and after view of the spillway damage and repair before I did the final grading with my small tractor. I have it covered in rye grass now but am still trying to get something more permanent before the spillway gets used again.

Beautiful RT, please keep this thread alive with photos and information!

Here you go Jeff play by play. A few shots my boss took night before the pour. Making sure everything is located correctly.




Nice view looking across the boulder pier.


These next few pic's are of a few other things that have been going on with this project. Yard entrance and new carport patio/hotub area added to the barn. In the near future after the new house project we plan to connect this new area to the house via a covered walkway. We are also planning on adding cedar to the new addition to make it match the house porches and covered walk way.

Thank you RT! I can't wait to watch this project unfold.

We have started pre-staining and sealing the Red cedar. Building on our on property is really convenient having the shop available. Although my new baby has to take a back seat and be pushed out side to fend for herself. I just finished her extreme make over.

Ooo...tough decision....she would never tolerate the cold winter winds up here.
Is the cedar interior or exterior work?

Both, but the interior will not get the same treatment. I did order a little extra siding but sense the shop interior will also be finished out in red cedar now not sure how much extra if any will be left for the interior of the house. Most of the interior will be drywall with red cedar base board and door trim.

hmmm...red cedar interior trim...that's a different twist for me; never used it. How is the cost compared to, oh say, run of the mill red oak trim? Is it a stock item at supply houses and home centers down there?

Love the wood, nice stain, blah, blah,

.... enough small talk, tell me about the car.






(Actually I love the building thread but put a vintage car in front of me and I lose perspective of most everything else).

Yes it is available in the local building supply houses but pricey. I shopped online across the country to buy in bulk and believe it or not got the best price out of Austin Texas. I even contacted mills in the north west and in Tennessee were it grows and they were about a dollar sq ft higher than what I ended up paying. I did get a bargain price on the T&G because it is an odd ball size 5 inch most suppliers I have found have 6 inch mill T&G not 5. I was told I could get more if I ever needed it, we shall see.

I believe it is much cheaper than red oak molded trim and board lumber but is graded on the rough side. Not recomended for those that do not have a rustic taste. They do have higher grades of clear red cedar but it gets expensive. You can use the smooth side on the interior but I personally don't care for it in this grade #2 or better tight knot.