When we bought our 3 acres back in 2012, we could see the dam wall had a major problem. The person who put it in decided they wanted a waterfall in the middle of the dam wall! And they didn’t put a spillway in! So we got the contractor back in and had him fix the dam wall and put in a lovely big spillway. Best money we’ve spent on the property and it’s held perfectly. We then had a similar issue with water running into our property and eroding the seasonal creek that eventually fills our dam. We didn’t get on to the problem early enough and lost about 10 metres of ground, but eventually we got big rocks and covered the washout area after putting down geotec fabric, and that’s works really good too. Even made a lovely waterfall 😊 Good luck with your earthworks, water is life, so every cent will be well spent.
Thanks Sharon. We've had the consultation (video coming) & are looking forward to getting the work done. We're rally looking forward to sorting this out now so it doesn't become a long term issue.
Have a video coming looking at the preposed fixes Jean. Hopefully B & I will get to film it this weekend in between other jobs all going well. Cheers & have a top one.
I know you've got your plate full with your water issues, and it might have been mentioned before, but all those tufts of grass throughout the paddocks are Giant Rats Tail grass, an invasive weed in our area. We've put in heaps of effort trying to control it but it's a battle. Flupropanate in granule form is your best bet if you're happy to use a chemical, but it's pretty costly. It is effective though, as is the liquid, but the liquid doesn't seem to stay active in the soil for as long. Good luck with it all, it can get pretty overwhelming so just chip away bit by bit 👍
No its not, last owner told us so. Tried to pull the wool over our eyes & say he had no idea when we questioned him.😉 We were hopping for some more time before the rain it to organise control measures but such is. Flupropanate can cause issues with fish so can't use the granule where the water will flow in large volumes into the dams if I want to use them for aquaculture I've been informed. We've been looking into other measures & am getting in contact with Landcare folks to see what they suggest. In the meant time I'm spot spraying with a nonanoic acid based herbicide to see how effective it will be in areas where runoff may effect the dams. Will probably take a few applications from what I've seen. Cheers & have a top one.
@@BitsOutTheBackFarm that's dodgey as and must be pretty disappointing for you guys to be unearthing hidden issues. To be honest I'd gladly take some of your rain, we aren't that far from you but haven't got enough to run water and fill our main dam yet, so we are still watching every storm with crossed fingers. I've heard of people cutting seed heads off GRT and spot spraying, but with such a large area it's going to be a struggle. There is some evidence that fire can kill off the seeds if you can get it hot enough, but that's not something we've explored yet. Early on we were using a mix of liquid flupropanate and glyphosate, which is what our council advised us to do, but found that's a bad idea as the weeds come back even worse in the areas killed by the glyphosate. Mostly we just spot spray with liquid flupropanate now but are going to spread some areas with granules after we think the worst of this seasons rains are gone.
In the US, we've had tremendous success stopping "head cut" erosion like you're dealing with. Lots of videos on youtube about how to build "Rock Rundowns" and "Media Luna". Cheap and effective, using the materials you have on site, so that's a definite plus in my book. I'd also suggest planting things like Lomandra which have a tough root structure that'll help bind the soil together. Maybe some native willow species, too, if you have them since they make great raw material for building fences and such things around the homestead.
Hey TRF. Danial has suggested a few swales which will take the pressure off the bad erosion spots & redirect the water in to the dams towards the head of the system where it will do less damage. It will also allow the water to travel further in the system giving it more time to soak in before it spills into the dams. We will use the "tips up" style media lunas in a few spots to help disperse the water over a wider area in a few spots down the line. We collected a load of lomandra seeds from the back of the property the other week & will be setting up a nursery to start them off very soon. We're also looking at using vetiver & lemongrasses as well. We will probably use oldhamii bamboo on the large dam wall to try & secure it in place. The other option was to lower the wall but we're keen on trying to save it. Will be running though the plan in an upcoming video. Just need to shoot & edit it first. Cheers & have a top one.
We had a great consultation with Danial. We were hoping to have him booked in already but have had some issues with the house wiring & Jacks little stay at hospital hasn't helped. Hope to get him out by next wet season at this point. Cheers mate.
So sorry you have to deal with such dishonesty post-purchase. A similar thing happened with my housemate when they bought this house. First downpour we had turned the lounge room windows into waterfalls, with water backing up in the gutters and flooding into the roof cavity then down the windows inside. A very panicky time, with holes drilled in the gutters to relieve the build up outside. It worked, but the lounge room was soaked. Hope this resolves itself as easily as possible and you can get a ride on mower asap. Happy new year!
I've heard similar stories to that Aaron. Floors being flooded after folks move into new houses. One was brand new & they were the first owners. Have a mower now & it was going great until the belt snapped yesterday. 😅 No real drama as we bought it 2nd hand as an "as is" trade in so expected a few small issues like this. Cheers & have a top one.
Hey mate. It's not looking as bad as we thought luckily. Not too happy about all the GRT that's sprouted so that's now my main focus. Getting a proper ID first then need to try & find some fish friendly methods of control. Been loving the videos.👍 Think we might get a mulcher to come through & do a bit of clearing down the front at some point. Hope the rain hasn't caused you any issues. Cheers mate.
@@BitsOutTheBackFarm yes, I saw your crop of GRT. I’m sure you will sort it - it just takes time. My method is cut the seeds off and place in a feed bag, cut the plant to ground level and throw excess on the ground. Apply a small amount of round up on the remaining plant. Taskforce can take out the emerging seeds but it does not address the seeding plant. Thanks for your feedback on my videos - has been a lot of fun sharing. Lots planned for this year. Rain has been great, no damage at all thankfully. Cheers.
A culvert, well, I didn't see that coming at all Rob, I hope the solution isn't as expensive as it could be guys, fingers, toes and thoughts and prayers coming your way, take care, stay safe on the roads mate. Seeya Rob
Cheers mate. The full fix for the 5 dams, swales & driveway is double what we have available to spend but we should be good for the major repairs that will take the pressure off the large dam. 👍 Hope you're having a fantastic week mate.
We're onto it with some nonanoic based herbicide for now to see how that goes. As soon as we get a tractor the paddocks will be slashed regularly until we can get on top of it. Then again, according to the old owners there's non on the property. I think they thought we were city folk with no idea. 😉😉
It's super green after all this rain. Not sure how long it will last moving into the cooler dry months. It's going to be interesting following the seasons in a new location. Cheers Jalbu.
Probably could but the water would work it's way around after a while. We're hoping to get them fixed up before next wet season all going well. Will have a video looking at Danial's recommendations posted in a few weeks. Need to pop out & shoot it yet. Have been waiting on how much the house rewiring is going to cost first. 😕 Cheers mate.
Glad to see you wont lose them. The culvert is a good thing maybe more of the same will help control the flow and levels during rain events.They could be there but blocked. Looking forward to see the solutions you can come up with. One thing its interesting content not what you wanted I know but interesting all the same, Also as you said might help some other people out too.
Still haven't had a chance to get down there I send the camera into the void for a gander. Might get our 11yo house guest to help us with that tomorrow to help keep him occupied. Hope all's well with you & the fam Davey.
Dams / ponds are good but if let go will cut your land away in years A simple thing to do is put a large drain overflow pipe in your ponds set at a height |_____/bank \______ =-> to the next pond or a channel watch so many USA pond constructions and this seems the best fail safe idea a guy who breeds bass in his ponds has wildlife come around people can View with Cams beautiful setup
WE had an earthworks designer/contractor out here & has recommended 2ft culverts under the roads & proper 3ft wide spillways to handle the potential water flow here for a 100 year flood. Normally not done but as we've had a few 100 year floods in Queensland over the past decade or so, I think it's worth it. 😉 Full video should be coming in the next week or so.
Boo on wood being used for retaining wall! You probably have an expanding underground reservoir in the exact shape of the trees they buried. Hopefully your consult can provide a nice DIY path through that; bonus points if it doesn't require draining first.
Some draining will be required if they stay full. Not much though, only a foot or two on the lily pad dam. Need to remove the trees growing in the walls as well.
Very green Ron. Trying to keep it down so we can add some organic matter back into the soil. Really need a tractor & slasher. 😅 The ride on is fun but a tractor would be faster.
@BitsOutTheBackFarm Does anyone make a brushhog (slasher?) for ride-ons? Have you checked? There are larger ride-ons that cut a wider swath, some 54 inches is the biggest one I've personally used (1.5m?).
@BitsOutTheBackFarm If you find the right attachment manufacturer, you might not need a PTO. Some pull-behind brushhogs are belt driven. You just take off the belt from the existing mower deck and use the same drive pulley. D.R. makes a pull-behind bush hog with its own motor. It just pulls like a trailer, even behind an A.T.V.
The previous owner is starting to come across as slippery. Any termite damage? No Damn conditions? No issues You'll remove all your junk before sale? Of course! You're a positive man, it's why I watch your vids. But having bought a similar property it's bringing back bad memories 😊
The other fib we got & picked up on right away was that there was no GRT (Giant rats tail) grass. They sort of tried to look like they didn't know what we were talking about when we asked. 😅😅
Thanks RSH. We knew they needed fixing, we were just hoping the bureau of meteorology was right for once & we were going to have a dry summer. That way we could do the work through winter when it was dry & without the extra damage we now have. Not complaining as this rain has been a god send for many. Cheers & all the best.
Especially if the walls weren't constructed correctly. 😉 The earthworks designer/contractor we had out said they are fixable, we just need to rebuild a few dodgy sections. Cheers mate.
What eh dam soggy situation you've got there. I'd gladly deal with something like that, just to be away from the cities. Good luck with the work required.
If it was me i would be getting the advice and then buy a second hand tractor with a slasher and bucket on the front . Do it yourself , what could go wrong .
🤣 A lot from what I've seen from other unskilled operators. More than happy to pay someone like Danial that has years of experience in earthworks design & contracting. Mind you, I could probably buy a cheap Chinese tractor with 5-7 implements with how much it costs.
When we bought our 3 acres back in 2012, we could see the dam wall had a major problem. The person who put it in decided they wanted a waterfall in the middle of the dam wall! And they didn’t put a spillway in! So we got the contractor back in and had him fix the dam wall and put in a lovely big spillway. Best money we’ve spent on the property and it’s held perfectly. We then had a similar issue with water running into our property and eroding the seasonal creek that eventually fills our dam. We didn’t get on to the problem early enough and lost about 10 metres of ground, but eventually we got big rocks and covered the washout area after putting down geotec fabric, and that’s works really good too. Even made a lovely waterfall 😊 Good luck with your earthworks, water is life, so every cent will be well spent.
Thanks Sharon. We've had the consultation (video coming) & are looking forward to getting the work done. We're rally looking forward to sorting this out now so it doesn't become a long term issue.
Water dynamics and learning about your dam situation is as cool as it gets. Thanks
Have a video coming looking at the preposed fixes Jean. Hopefully B & I will get to film it this weekend in between other jobs all going well.
Cheers & have a top one.
I know you've got your plate full with your water issues, and it might have been mentioned before, but all those tufts of grass throughout the paddocks are Giant Rats Tail grass, an invasive weed in our area. We've put in heaps of effort trying to control it but it's a battle. Flupropanate in granule form is your best bet if you're happy to use a chemical, but it's pretty costly. It is effective though, as is the liquid, but the liquid doesn't seem to stay active in the soil for as long. Good luck with it all, it can get pretty overwhelming so just chip away bit by bit 👍
No its not, last owner told us so. Tried to pull the wool over our eyes & say he had no idea when we questioned him.😉 We were hopping for some more time before the rain it to organise control measures but such is. Flupropanate can cause issues with fish so can't use the granule where the water will flow in large volumes into the dams if I want to use them for aquaculture I've been informed. We've been looking into other measures & am getting in contact with Landcare folks to see what they suggest. In the meant time I'm spot spraying with a nonanoic acid based herbicide to see how effective it will be in areas where runoff may effect the dams. Will probably take a few applications from what I've seen.
Cheers & have a top one.
@@BitsOutTheBackFarm that's dodgey as and must be pretty disappointing for you guys to be unearthing hidden issues. To be honest I'd gladly take some of your rain, we aren't that far from you but haven't got enough to run water and fill our main dam yet, so we are still watching every storm with crossed fingers.
I've heard of people cutting seed heads off GRT and spot spraying, but with such a large area it's going to be a struggle. There is some evidence that fire can kill off the seeds if you can get it hot enough, but that's not something we've explored yet. Early on we were using a mix of liquid flupropanate and glyphosate, which is what our council advised us to do, but found that's a bad idea as the weeds come back even worse in the areas killed by the glyphosate. Mostly we just spot spray with liquid flupropanate now but are going to spread some areas with granules after we think the worst of this seasons rains are gone.
In the US, we've had tremendous success stopping "head cut" erosion like you're dealing with. Lots of videos on youtube about how to build "Rock Rundowns" and "Media Luna". Cheap and effective, using the materials you have on site, so that's a definite plus in my book. I'd also suggest planting things like Lomandra which have a tough root structure that'll help bind the soil together. Maybe some native willow species, too, if you have them since they make great raw material for building fences and such things around the homestead.
Hey TRF. Danial has suggested a few swales which will take the pressure off the bad erosion spots & redirect the water in to the dams towards the head of the system where it will do less damage. It will also allow the water to travel further in the system giving it more time to soak in before it spills into the dams.
We will use the "tips up" style media lunas in a few spots to help disperse the water over a wider area in a few spots down the line.
We collected a load of lomandra seeds from the back of the property the other week & will be setting up a nursery to start them off very soon. We're also looking at using vetiver & lemongrasses as well. We will probably use oldhamii bamboo on the large dam wall to try & secure it in place. The other option was to lower the wall but we're keen on trying to save it.
Will be running though the plan in an upcoming video. Just need to shoot & edit it first.
Cheers & have a top one.
It is amazing how much damage water can do. I hope Daniel can get there soon and give you some good workable options.
We had a great consultation with Danial. We were hoping to have him booked in already but have had some issues with the house wiring & Jacks little stay at hospital hasn't helped.
Hope to get him out by next wet season at this point.
Cheers mate.
So much going on. Good to see the rain an harvest the water. 😊😊😊
Hope to get the dams fixed so we can start to get the camping side of things sorted.
So sorry you have to deal with such dishonesty post-purchase.
A similar thing happened with my housemate when they bought this house. First downpour we had turned the lounge room windows into waterfalls, with water backing up in the gutters and flooding into the roof cavity then down the windows inside. A very panicky time, with holes drilled in the gutters to relieve the build up outside. It worked, but the lounge room was soaked.
Hope this resolves itself as easily as possible and you can get a ride on mower asap. Happy new year!
I've heard similar stories to that Aaron. Floors being flooded after folks move into new houses. One was brand new & they were the first owners.
Have a mower now & it was going great until the belt snapped yesterday. 😅 No real drama as we bought it 2nd hand as an "as is" trade in so expected a few small issues like this.
Cheers & have a top one.
Rob, I hope you get a break in the weather to address the design faults.
Hey mate. It's not looking as bad as we thought luckily. Not too happy about all the GRT that's sprouted so that's now my main focus. Getting a proper ID first then need to try & find some fish friendly methods of control. Been loving the videos.👍 Think we might get a mulcher to come through & do a bit of clearing down the front at some point.
Hope the rain hasn't caused you any issues.
Cheers mate.
@@BitsOutTheBackFarm yes, I saw your crop of GRT. I’m sure you will sort it - it just takes time. My method is cut the seeds off and place in a feed bag, cut the plant to ground level and throw excess on the ground. Apply a small amount of round up on the remaining plant. Taskforce can take out the emerging seeds but it does not address the seeding plant.
Thanks for your feedback on my videos - has been a lot of fun sharing. Lots planned for this year.
Rain has been great, no damage at all thankfully. Cheers.
I absolutely thought you were going to say you had discovered the walls were all made with tyres.
🤣🤣 There could be a few in there. We'll know more after Danial starts his work.
A culvert, well, I didn't see that coming at all Rob, I hope the solution isn't as expensive as it could be guys, fingers, toes and thoughts and prayers coming your way, take care, stay safe on the roads mate. Seeya Rob
Cheers mate. The full fix for the 5 dams, swales & driveway is double what we have available to spend but we should be good for the major repairs that will take the pressure off the large dam. 👍
Hope you're having a fantastic week mate.
I noticed the GRT too. It will stay down with slashing.
We're onto it with some nonanoic based herbicide for now to see how that goes. As soon as we get a tractor the paddocks will be slashed regularly until we can get on top of it.
Then again, according to the old owners there's non on the property. I think they thought we were city folk with no idea. 😉😉
The culvert at least means that part is not eroded.
Yep. The wash through on the small dam on the other side is getting rather large though.
Flooding down stream, washing peoples houses...there more like puddles🤣
😂 Yep.
The property looks great nice and green. 😊
It's super green after all this rain. Not sure how long it will last moving into the cooler dry months. It's going to be interesting following the seasons in a new location.
Cheers Jalbu.
Hope you get it sorted
We'll get there in the end Mrs Rev. 👍👍
you could use some sandbags to "prop up" the spillway areas.
Probably could but the water would work it's way around after a while. We're hoping to get them fixed up before next wet season all going well. Will have a video looking at Danial's recommendations posted in a few weeks. Need to pop out & shoot it yet. Have been waiting on how much the house rewiring is going to cost first. 😕
Cheers mate.
👍
😁😁👍👍
Glad to see you wont lose them. The culvert is a good thing maybe more of the same will help control the flow and levels during rain events.They could be there but blocked.
Looking forward to see the solutions you can come up with. One thing its interesting content not what you wanted I know but interesting all the same, Also as you said might help some other people out too.
Still haven't had a chance to get down there I send the camera into the void for a gander. Might get our 11yo house guest to help us with that tomorrow to help keep him occupied.
Hope all's well with you & the fam Davey.
@@BitsOutTheBackFarm Always good to have a little helper.
Cheers.
I do enjoy your videos. A good surprise indeed.
Cheers Garry.
Dams / ponds are good but if let go will cut your land away in years
A simple thing to do is put a large drain overflow pipe in your ponds set at a height |_____/bank \______ =-> to the next pond or a channel
watch so many USA pond constructions and this seems the best fail safe idea a guy who breeds bass in his ponds has wildlife come around people can View with Cams beautiful setup
6 to 12" mostly depends on yearly water rain if min 6" if floods easy 12" ///////// > this stuff hope you work it all out b4 you drown the property xd
WE had an earthworks designer/contractor out here & has recommended 2ft culverts under the roads & proper 3ft wide spillways to handle the potential water flow here for a 100 year flood. Normally not done but as we've had a few 100 year floods in Queensland over the past decade or so, I think it's worth it. 😉
Full video should be coming in the next week or so.
Hope it fixable good choice on the professional help.
Should be easy enough Jennifer. Just need a break in the weather & save up a bit of extra coin & we're on our way.
Boo on wood being used for retaining wall! You probably have an expanding underground reservoir in the exact shape of the trees they buried. Hopefully your consult can provide a nice DIY path through that; bonus points if it doesn't require draining first.
Some draining will be required if they stay full. Not much though, only a foot or two on the lily pad dam. Need to remove the trees growing in the walls as well.
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😁😁😁😁
Happy new year! That was quite the surprise. Have a good trip, and looking forward to hear and see Daniel 👍
Cheers mate. Hope to shoot the Video with Danial's suggestions this weekend if we get a dry patch.
It's too bad about your earthworks, but on the flip side, the grass has gotten nice and green.
Very green Ron. Trying to keep it down so we can add some organic matter back into the soil. Really need a tractor & slasher. 😅 The ride on is fun but a tractor would be faster.
@BitsOutTheBackFarm Does anyone make a brushhog (slasher?) for ride-ons? Have you checked? There are larger ride-ons that cut a wider swath, some 54 inches is the biggest one I've personally used (1.5m?).
Ours is a 48 from memory but doesn't have a PTO. Would really like a flail mower for the tractor when we get it.
@BitsOutTheBackFarm If you find the right attachment manufacturer, you might not need a PTO. Some pull-behind brushhogs are belt driven. You just take off the belt from the existing mower deck and use the same drive pulley.
D.R. makes a pull-behind bush hog with its own motor. It just pulls like a trailer, even behind an A.T.V.
@@ronyerke9250 Cheers for that mate. Have got them up in a tab.
The previous owner is starting to come across as slippery.
Any termite damage? No
Damn conditions? No issues
You'll remove all your junk before sale? Of course!
You're a positive man, it's why I watch your vids. But having bought a similar property it's bringing back bad memories 😊
This is common, especially with rural property. We are going through the same issues.
The other fib we got & picked up on right away was that there was no GRT (Giant rats tail) grass. They sort of tried to look like they didn't know what we were talking about when we asked. 😅😅
Wow not what you want to start the year with at all.
😢
Hopefully it doesn’t end up costing you too much.
Wishing you lots of luck and a fast fix.
Thanks RSH. We knew they needed fixing, we were just hoping the bureau of meteorology was right for once & we were going to have a dry summer. That way we could do the work through winter when it was dry & without the extra damage we now have.
Not complaining as this rain has been a god send for many.
Cheers & all the best.
@@BitsOutTheBackFarm yes I can understand that. The weather never works the way we think lol
Just an observation, could one of your issues be that the water bodies are too close together?
Especially if the walls weren't constructed correctly. 😉
The earthworks designer/contractor we had out said they are fixable, we just need to rebuild a few dodgy sections.
Cheers mate.
sounds like a complete rebuild of your dams wish you luck its not as drastic as it sounds
It will be a bit of a big job. At this point I think we'll be doing it in 2 parts.
Cheers Gary.
What eh dam soggy situation you've got there. I'd gladly deal with something like that, just to be away from the cities. Good luck with the work required.
Yep, much prefer dealing with this than some of the issues we had back home. 😉
If it was me i would be getting the advice and then buy a second hand tractor with a slasher and bucket on the front . Do it yourself , what could go wrong .
🤣 A lot from what I've seen from other unskilled operators.
More than happy to pay someone like Danial that has years of experience in earthworks design & contracting.
Mind you, I could probably buy a cheap Chinese tractor with 5-7 implements with how much it costs.
rats tails grass every where
No there's not!! the last owners said so. 🤣🤣🤣
It's being addressed. Getting a proper ID first as recommended by the gov folks.
😁😁👍👍