Nice job building that pond with the little machines, what state is this pond built in, seems up north for some reason, great video was fun to watch,thanks for showing it.
No, overflows are required for any sized pond. We just don't install them untill the dike settles and packs down. This way the water level will be perfect. If you want we made a video of installing this ponds overflow. Feel free to check it out
Cool video. My clay is about 18ft down so not sure if to get a huge excavator to dig out material or pay $250 for each 14yrd truck. I want to do a 50x80 ft pond.
That's a tough decision. Removing 18 feet of material is going to leave you with a huge amount of useless dirt. Probably would be much easier to haul clay in. But probably much more pricey
The soil we built this pond in was straight clay, so perfect for ponds. If no clay is present, the most common method is to build the pond out of the material you have, then line the entire inside with clay. Usually it needs to be trucked in. Its also possible to buy pond liners. Which are basically a giant tarp, but made of special materials
When you batter a slope the machine sits at the top and pulls the edge upwards this also helps with compaction and reduces pulling soil back in where you dug it from.
@@michaelslinn7472 Ah I see what you mean. The reason why we did it that way was because we weren't taking the excavator on top of the dike. The tracks were to wide. Wanted to keep the top of the dike only a few feet wider then the dozer.
Do you have to worry about building a dike with a key for a seasonal duck pond that will fill every fall-spring. High water table. I did an experimental pond a couple weeks ago...basically a circle pond and built of the sides. Compacting it down where needed. Didn't really do any finish work. Not big. 30x30 with just an excavator. Will see what happens!
Key ways arent always necessary for ponds. The point of a keyway is to stop water from going under your dike. Usually they are unnecessary but we install them in every pond just to be safe
I don't understand why you left that large tree in the midst of the dike. If the tree lives, its roots will grow through the dike and into your pond for sure and both deplete the water as well as lead the water to leak out of the pond over time. If it dies (highly likely since you've buried it's side by backing dirt a foot or more up the trunk of it), the roots inside and under the dike will rot out, leading to failure of the dam as well. Also, the point of a keyway is to pack the soils into it in short lifts to really seal the dike. Just pushing the soils back into the keyway in one fell swoop and driving over the top of the whole thing definitely won't be as effective unless it's a very high percentage of clay. If you're not lining this pond or if there's not a ton of clay in that soil, I have to wonder how long that pond is going to hold water.
@@carolewarner101 the soil was mostly blue clay. That pine tree is farther away that what it seems on the camera. And we are very experienced with installing key ways and never had a problem doing it this way with the soil conditions. Its also packed way more than what i have on camera. Good observations though. Sounds like you may have built pond before?
Got it. I've only ever dug a few tiny micro ponds around the place to slow and sink water into the ground higher up on the land, making no real attempt to seal it up for that reason. But I've been doing a s-it ton of research for building a big one some day (soonish). Can you help me understand why that tree that's inside the down water side of the dike won't be any problem? It seems like the roots must go through the dike area and in under the pond. And even if not, surely the roots will be drawn to grow towards all that water, right? I need to learn everything I can about building the dam correctly and avoiding things that can cause leaks because I can't afford to hire a professional to make our pond and I really wanna get it right the first time!
@@carolewarner101 Definitely keep trees as far away as possible. I build alot of ponds for people in varying conditions. Tree and other plant roots are the #1 reason for dike failure. This particular tree was far enough away to not cause issues. Most ponds i have to fix have trees and bushes growing on the dike. Im more then happy to help with any questions
Also do some research into bentonite clay. Works like magic for sealing ponds. Ive used it countless times in new ponds to seal around overflows, and in many old ponds to seal any leaks that form
Whats the width, dept and lenght of this pond. Did all the escavated soil go on the wall of the pond or did you move some away? im thinking of having a pond too
This pond takes up about 1/2 acre and averages about 7 feet deep (quit shallow). All the material in this pond was used to build the dike. Even the topsoil that was stripped was put on top of the dike. But depending on your location for the pond you may need to take material away. Fortunately we needed all the dirt we could get.
This pond costed roughly 7,000. And its about half and acre. Lots of factors come in when building a pond. And if you have to bring in clay, it can get pricey. But for 40,000. You better be getting a lake.
@@davidgroff3355 No the root systems definitely cant reach the pond. We remove any trees that close. But you are correct. Root systems are the #1 reason for dike failure. Seen it many times
Felling trees and then removing the stump is a waste of time. Digging out a stump can be far more difficult than it would seem to be even with a track hoe. Pushing the tree over allows the weight of the tree top to help uproot the tree root ball and all. Using a track hoe sometimes involves trenching one side of the root ball first. A better option is to use a track loader with a tooth bar which works much better than a dozer for removing trees. A track loader allows for far more control.
Ah yes. The amateurs! How many ponds have you built in your life? Im at about 20. That doesnt include any other projects such as driveways. But im sure you have build way more then me. Its fine though. You can stay on your couch at home and keep on hating on people that actually do something. Ill keep doing my thing.
Love the way you pack the Key way🤣🤣
Nice pond .
Thanks alot! Involved a lot of work to build it.
Great video
Absolutely love it
thanks for the pond!
Thanks for watching
An allen block semi circle retaining wall around those trees would have been a nice touch. Would have saved those trees as well
It’s perfect other than the depth. Should’ve made it at least 15’ deep.
Nice job.
Thanks. We take pride in our work
Awesome job learned a lot
Thanks alot!
Nice job building that pond with the little machines, what state is this pond built in, seems up north for some reason, great video was fun to watch,thanks for showing it.
You guessed right. We are based out of New York
Wow just started watching ..... that tree near come down on the man and the digger 🤔🤫
Haha the little one? Had full control with the excavator on it. Was only about a 3 inches at the base
Was wondering why you did'nt pack the loose dirt in the keyway and pond is looking good
We packed the dike every foot or so with the dozer while we were building it so the keyway should be packed in pretty good. Thanks for watching!
Yea didn’t u c it
dozer doesn't pack the dirt that good should be using a sheep foot roller that's the best thing you can use to compact the dirt
I enjoyed the video. It’s been over a year…I would like to see that update.
Hmm would more frog ponds help mosquito problems I heard bat houses are a good idea
Ive heard bat houses help alot. Not sure on frogs though. Thanks for watching
Jack them up turn them upside down and put them back in for fish habitat
💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
Is an overflow not necessary for this sized pond?
No, overflows are required for any sized pond. We just don't install them untill the dike settles and packs down. This way the water level will be perfect. If you want we made a video of installing this ponds overflow. Feel free to check it out
@@janoraoutdoors Got it. Thanks for the reply. Keep up the great work.
@@glennprevost7140 Thanks for watching 👍
Cool video. My clay is about 18ft down so not sure if to get a huge excavator to dig out material or pay $250 for each 14yrd truck. I want to do a 50x80 ft pond.
That's a tough decision. Removing 18 feet of material is going to leave you with a huge amount of useless dirt. Probably would be much easier to haul clay in. But probably much more pricey
Nice video. Thanks for sharing. Excuse my ignorance but what holds the water in the pond? If no clay is present would this method still work?
The soil we built this pond in was straight clay, so perfect for ponds. If no clay is present, the most common method is to build the pond out of the material you have, then line the entire inside with clay. Usually it needs to be trucked in. Its also possible to buy pond liners. Which are basically a giant tarp, but made of special materials
@@janoraoutdoors thank you for taking your time to clarify this. Best wishes from Derbyshire, UK 🇬🇧
I know every pond is different but just a ballpark figure on what it cost to build a pond this size ?
There are many factors when building ponds but this particular pond would probably cost somewhere around $ 6,000 - $7000
Digger driver ain't got much idea,smoothing the edge should be done from the top pulling soil upwards.
I'm confused by what you mean?
When you batter a slope the machine sits at the top and pulls the edge upwards this also helps with compaction and reduces pulling soil back in where you dug it from.
@@michaelslinn7472 Ah I see what you mean. The reason why we did it that way was because we weren't taking the excavator on top of the dike. The tracks were to wide. Wanted to keep the top of the dike only a few feet wider then the dozer.
Should have tracked that keyway at a minimum but thanks for sharing
May be hard to tell in the video but we packed the entire dike every 1 foot. So it should be packed pretty well
Do you have to worry about building a dike with a key for a seasonal duck pond that will fill every fall-spring. High water table. I did an experimental pond a couple weeks ago...basically a circle pond and built of the sides. Compacting it down where needed. Didn't really do any finish work. Not big. 30x30 with just an excavator. Will see what happens!
Key ways arent always necessary for ponds. The point of a keyway is to stop water from going under your dike. Usually they are unnecessary but we install them in every pond just to be safe
What grass seed did you use ?
How long did this take y’all?
6 days
Why would you no pack the dirt in the keyway
What are the dimensions for a 1/2 acre pond?
I don't understand why you left that large tree in the midst of the dike. If the tree lives, its roots will grow through the dike and into your pond for sure and both deplete the water as well as lead the water to leak out of the pond over time. If it dies (highly likely since you've buried it's side by backing dirt a foot or more up the trunk of it), the roots inside and under the dike will rot out, leading to failure of the dam as well. Also, the point of a keyway is to pack the soils into it in short lifts to really seal the dike. Just pushing the soils back into the keyway in one fell swoop and driving over the top of the whole thing definitely won't be as effective unless it's a very high percentage of clay. If you're not lining this pond or if there's not a ton of clay in that soil, I have to wonder how long that pond is going to hold water.
@@carolewarner101 the soil was mostly blue clay. That pine tree is farther away that what it seems on the camera. And we are very experienced with installing key ways and never had a problem doing it this way with the soil conditions. Its also packed way more than what i have on camera. Good observations though. Sounds like you may have built pond before?
Got it. I've only ever dug a few tiny micro ponds around the place to slow and sink water into the ground higher up on the land, making no real attempt to seal it up for that reason. But I've been doing a s-it ton of research for building a big one some day (soonish). Can you help me understand why that tree that's inside the down water side of the dike won't be any problem? It seems like the roots must go through the dike area and in under the pond. And even if not, surely the roots will be drawn to grow towards all that water, right? I need to learn everything I can about building the dam correctly and avoiding things that can cause leaks because I can't afford to hire a professional to make our pond and I really wanna get it right the first time!
@@carolewarner101 Definitely keep trees as far away as possible. I build alot of ponds for people in varying conditions. Tree and other plant roots are the #1 reason for dike failure. This particular tree was far enough away to not cause issues. Most ponds i have to fix have trees and bushes growing on the dike. Im more then happy to help with any questions
Also do some research into bentonite clay. Works like magic for sealing ponds. Ive used it countless times in new ponds to seal around overflows, and in many old ponds to seal any leaks that form
My eyes was bleeding
Whats the width, dept and lenght of this pond. Did all the escavated soil go on the wall of the pond or did you move some away? im thinking of having a pond too
This pond takes up about 1/2 acre and averages about 7 feet deep (quit shallow). All the material in this pond was used to build the dike. Even the topsoil that was stripped was put on top of the dike. But depending on your location for the pond you may need to take material away. Fortunately we needed all the dirt we could get.
Has that bucket ever been greased? Evidently not.
Almost daily. Pins are wore out because its got 2000 hours on it. Ive always been a stickler for maintenance
$40,000 for a pond what size?
This pond costed roughly 7,000. And its about half and acre. Lots of factors come in when building a pond. And if you have to bring in clay, it can get pricey. But for 40,000. You better be getting a lake.
Those trees look like root trouble, leakage
@@davidgroff3355 Which trees? The pines left behind?
Any trees with the drip edge over the dam means that the roots are there also, if not then ok
@@davidgroff3355 No the root systems definitely cant reach the pond. We remove any trees that close. But you are correct. Root systems are the #1 reason for dike failure. Seen it many times
Where is the drain
Installed in a later video
not to be the correction police but those weren't pines they're spruces
Haha. Probably just slipped out. Just a general word i use. But you are correct.
@@janoraoutdoors lol btw i really enjoyed the video. do you think we could get an update soon?
@@auekrnxnskskejd1975 Yes. One of these days im gonna make a trip to go see it and ill make a video
Felling trees and then removing the stump is a waste of time. Digging out a stump can be far more difficult than it would seem to be even with a track hoe. Pushing the tree over allows the weight of the tree top to help uproot the tree root ball and all. Using a track hoe sometimes involves trenching one side of the root ball first. A better option is to use a track loader with a tooth bar which works much better than a dozer for removing trees. A track loader allows for far more control.
Ah yes. The amateurs! How many ponds have you built in your life? Im at about 20. That doesnt include any other projects such as driveways. But im sure you have build way more then me. Its fine though. You can stay on your couch at home and keep on hating on people that actually do something. Ill keep doing my thing.
Trees to close to dam roots grow through
How much did your build cost
This pond costed roughly 7,000. But there are many factors when building something like this. Thanks for watching!
would love if you can come out to bethel NY, and help me build a pond. is there a way to contact you?