Another thought (If someone hasn't already mentioned it) - On our irrigation pipes we use on the acequias in New Mexico, we have adjustable gates on them... You could buy one for about $150 or less and put on that 10" pipe - would make it easy to open/close and you could regulate the flow really easily too (for storm surges n' such)
In love with this place. Can't wait to see the finished project. You are doing a marvelous job. A beautiful labor of love. Your uncle Jerry is a hard worker and smart man!!!
That's a lot of water. My father built a Dam just exactly like that,stones and cement. That's some really, really clean water. Love your project.looks great.
Another vote for the bentonite clay on the soil/ground part of the pond if anyone doubts it... It works great!!! If you wind up with water actually soaking through the concrete (or if the concrete part of the dam cracks) - there is a crystalline product called xypex that can be applied on the negative pressure side (as well as the positive pressure side) and works amazing!
Oh, when you were balancing on the edge of the dam I was almost ready to start biting my nails again! So glad you getting your internet up & running again! Another exciting episode!
I like watching your builder do his thing. It is a joy to watch a master craftsman at work. With your leak you might be able to seal it wit some bentonite clay. I have been in construction and mining all my life in Australia it is safe and should work. I am looking forward to seeing how you set up your power and how the water wheel will provide enough power for that. Cheers and god bless.
Amazing to have a property with such a great spring. Reminds me of Big Spring and Current River in your state. Very cold. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a piece of land like that!
Amazing! Love "pool " and I think any moving, crawling, breathing creatures in the woods, big , small and micro, will come join you on warm sunny day :-)that will add to the adventure of the cabin, love it! :-) beware.:-)
Can’t wait to see it all done....it’ll be amazing....you may not want to travel once you’re moved in....you have your own little wooded oasis right there. Btw Jerry is awesome...is there anything he can’t do? ❤️🤗🇨🇦
Having been part of putting one in similar to this nearly 50 years ago, you may want to schedule a bottom drain opening once a year to allow leaf debris and any other silt to be flushed out. We didn't do that and it was only a matter of a couple of years we could no longer open the plug and eventually (30 years ago or so) the dam filled with so much silt it almost became useless.
I agree with Leewhiz, you need to have a way to allow to “purge” when you see build up happening. When you have big rainstorms etc it’ll kick up a lot of sediment and debris. I’ve played around and on dams much of my life, and if you look at any commercial dams they all have a way to purge. Not only is it good for your damed up area to purge but it helps downstream of your dam as well.
I use to know an old boy that built a lot of farm ponds,,, on the bottom of the stand pipe he put a T on the bottom, and would stuff a glass jar or bottle in the T, he said when ever he needed to drain a pond,, a 22 shot up the drain pipe would shatter the bottle and the pond would drain
With earthen dams then they leak to put grout in. So if you can’t find the leak then see if you get drillers grout from a local cement company. It’s doesn’t set really. It’s more of a slurry. Remove the sediment and lay it in the bottom of the pond. Or see if you can find good clay and do the same. Hydraulic cement around the PVC pipes on the reservoir side.
What concerns me is that big stump next to dam, and if any of the roots go under dam. Those roots will provide a path for water to follow, and will continue to decay opening a larger hole. Never allow trees to grow on or near a dam, your going to have a leak.
It is a Mill Pond. You better put rocks anywhere the flow is going to hit. Hope you are reading all the comments...there are allot of good comments from experienced people.
What I don't understand is why you chose for a vertical drop (old-style) waterwheel instead of a semi-horizontal (modern) turbine setup which has a much higher yield. Lovely home though, and lovely place. :)
Pea gravel mixed with gypsum and poured in the vicinity of the leak will usually stop it. there is another trick to building dams, which now is too late, but if you're going to build a dam at your pond, do this first: Dig a trench the full length of the Damned. The trench should be 3 or 4 ft deep or until you hit bedrock. Pack the trench with clay soil in compact the hell out of it, then build your dam wall.
I am a retired ER RN. I believe I heard you say that the out flow pipe through the dam was 10 diameter. Please develop some type of screen to prevent a small child from being pulled into that pipe. I have been witness to a child drowning victim who was pulled into the pipe by the force of the water as they were not strong enough to pull themselves out of the water current. Enjoying watching your build and at this moment not far from you as we are enjoying Branson! Best wishes!
The pipe at the bottom on the dam is 10” and will be capped. The other pipe going to the future pond is 6” and will have a cap on it that will only be used periodically to send water to the pond. Never will either of those pipes be opened when kids are near.
Loftis Party of Six - weROAM Thank you so much for your detailed plans for the dam pool and pond. When you start rental, I would love to be one of your first clients!!!
Put trout in it !! With that water temp it would be great for Rainbows... Glue up a shut off valve on your 10” pipe to release the water out of the pond in case of emergency...
Hi Guys! Thanks for the great videos. This house project has been a great distraction from Covid for both you and me! Lots of challenges different from RVing. Michael I have an unrelated question for you. We are planning to full time with our 3 kids in 2 years when I can retire. One of the challenges I have seen several full timers face early on is loneliness and loss of community. I know your faith is important to you guys and wanted to ask how you do church on the road. I know we could visit a new local one every week but constantly being the new person would wear one down quickly. We could do our own family church or an online church but it would still be isolating. We recently moved to the Atlanta area for the last 2 years of my work career and it was isolating BEFORE the pandemic impact. Hard finding a good church and community. We really miss our Virginia community and can only image it will be even harder when we full time. What do you guys do for church? Any unique resources out there that you are aware for RVers and this challenge? If I was a software developer one might be able to develop an online branch of a church focused on this group with some kind of a Zoom “lobby” before and/or after to “meet” and chat with people. It would require people to be fairly regular or you’d end up with just a high tech version of visiting the local church every week as the newbie without a chance to develop community. Any ideas or resources you could suggest? Appreciate your time. Love to you and your family. Rob Carey
Yes it does that but still works for helping us. Or go to www.loftispartyofsix.com and click on shop and we have a Amazon Store with our recommend RV products.
that stump behind the damn might be a problem. it was likely about a 15-25 year old tree (maybe older depending on what type it was), and probably has some deep /widespread roots. Even if you cut the roots at the bottom of the damn as you excavated for the damn, you may have had to go much deeper than that to remove those roots (hope you looked at that).. as that stump rots and also its roots, its going to change the shape of the ground at and behind the damn where the water pressure is. maybe even create channels where roots used to be for water to get under your damn. i'm no hydrologist. but remeber a rule of thumb for building a spill way/damn was that the long term stablity of the ground at the bottom and just behind the dam was the most important. seems you may already have a leak. but hopefully you can drain it pretty easy and correct the issue before that rotting stump affects the ground at the root of your damn.
I think the word you were looking for was a "reservoir" not a pond or lake. BTW the difference between a lake and a pond is, If the sunlight can penetrate to the bottom it's a pond and if not then it's a lake. It's the depth not the acres in covers.
hi guys, really cool project. Congrats on all the hard work. I will say this though. These types of projects dealing with geo/hydro stuff are complex projects requiring lot's of thought and planning and engineering to actually LAST long term. So although I think this looks good at first glance, I don't see it lasting that long for a bunch of reasons. I live on a river and know the power of hydro. For instance, the front end area needs some sort of reinforcement to keep the soil from eroding and letting water go around the dam. It just looks like soft dirt there right now, that won't last more than a year or two. All the concrete work most likely needed to be thicker and deeper for any sort of long term durability. Your offshoot drain pipe needs to have a mesh on it or it's going to suck in debris and get clogged. I think the effort is AWESOME and it looks really cool tho, I just fear that you might be stuck with a lot of repair work in only a few years. Anyway, hope not. Time will tell.
@@LoftisPartyofSix yeah, it's definitely an industrious project, we all appreciate you sharing it, super interesting. At the minimum, lot's of learning will be had for sure...
Will it be dangerous to swim in the dam? It looks so cool, I already see some sort of swimming lake, and the water I can see is so clear. How can you make that safe for people?
Now that the speed of the water has increased dramatically, you need to dump quite a few truck loads of rock on the down side of the dam, otherwise you’ll have massive erosion problems. Particularly as it looks so steep on the down side of the dam running away. And then push it right up above the height of the dam either side because if there’s ever a mass deluge of water it’s gonna run under the outside of the dam walls.
I really love videos like this that show how people create free energy especially hydropower that's always interested me I think it's pretty cool what you're doing. Definitely hurry up with the video on the actual electrical part of it that I'm VERY interested in seeing
Are you going to leave it as concrete or face it with stone so it looks like a stone dam? Ever make an info plate? A section of scrap copper pipe cut in half and flattened into a sheet gives you a good base to use a stamp set to punch in info like the date a project was built and who made it so years later you have it stamped in metal of who and when to not limit yourself to human memory. Can go for cheaper plates for interior like aluminum cans cut into sheets but they would weather away after a few years outside so best use something like copper that will turn a nice green but still be readable. Good for marking fence lines or for an info plate at a gate for contact info that isn't likely to change.
FYI- in my other comment about vertical generator. i found it is called a vortec generator. you may have enough water flow to up your output to the required amount for the house.
Watching the build is great but what about the design/shopping for the interior? Could we see what Laine has install ? Feels like forever since she’s been in any footage x
How are you going to deal with a water wheel in the winter time and freezing temps? We don’t have that issue or water 💦 here in Arizona. So we use solar power!!!
Another thought (If someone hasn't already mentioned it) - On our irrigation pipes we use on the acequias in New Mexico, we have adjustable gates on them... You could buy one for about $150 or less and put on that 10" pipe - would make it easy to open/close and you could regulate the flow really easily too (for storm surges n' such)
In love with this place. Can't wait to see the finished project. You are doing a marvelous job. A beautiful labor of love. Your uncle Jerry is a hard worker and smart man!!!
Thank you 😊
Ok, I’m hooked now... MUST SEE THE NEXT INSTALLMENT ASAP!
Thank you 😊
Yeah, don't make us wait until next weekend! 😁
That's a lot of water.
My father built a Dam just exactly like that,stones and cement.
That's some really, really clean water.
Love your project.looks great.
Oh the spring is so lucky for you guys, it’s a blessing to have it!
Thanks 😊
Wow this you don’t see often on DIY channels! Amazing guys!
That fresh water reservoir will be awesome to cool yourself down in the summer time
It has been so interesting watching your videos! Love the dam and waterwheel! Thank You !
Thanks 😊
While everything at the dam is "fresh" consider applying a few bags of bentonite clay to help seal everything. The stuff works.
Yep that is a plan of ours. Thanks
8
yes it does
Another vote for the bentonite clay on the soil/ground part of the pond if anyone doubts it... It works great!!! If you wind up with water actually soaking through the concrete (or if the concrete part of the dam cracks) - there is a crystalline product called xypex that can be applied on the negative pressure side (as well as the positive pressure side) and works amazing!
HYDRO CONCRETE BROTHER FOR THE LEAKS
I’m continually amazed at the amount of water coming from that spring! Living in California, one doesn’t often see that.
Yep it’s a great spring! Thank you
Oh, when you were balancing on the edge of the dam I was almost ready to start biting my nails again! So glad you getting your internet up & running again! Another exciting episode!
Thanks 😊
A swimming hole is what I would call it and it looks amazing!!!
Thanks 😊
Lovely.
Great works.
Love every part of your videos.
Thanks.
Thanks
Can't wait to see that whole thing in action!
6:35 I cannot believe how clear the water is coming out of that pipe.
I think they have like filters to clean it or something
That run off pipe is awesome! I will have two levels; a tall flood management height and a lower pasture-pond fill-pipe.
Hehe can't wait to see the waterwheel working. I'm excited
Thanks 😊
Great diversions, off to watch the waterwheel now.
Helloooo! So exciting to see all the things you all are doing in this adventure!!!
Thank you 😊
@@LoftisPartyofSix YW!!!!
If swimming above the dam, be very careful about the suction on that pipe. It can be fatal.
As long as moss is removed then it's fine at the waterfall where they all had a dip in Wales
Boy am I glad I found this channel, new sub and loving it 👍
Thanks 😊
I like watching your builder do his thing. It is a joy to watch a master craftsman at work. With your leak you might be able to seal it wit some bentonite clay. I have been in construction and mining all my life in Australia it is safe and should work. I am looking forward to seeing how you set up your power and how the water wheel will provide enough power for that. Cheers and god bless.
Thank you 😊
You are most welcome. Cheers from Australia.
First time to tuning in, like the content. So much underground water flowing, there must be some huge caverns close by.
Yes we have a lot of caves in the area.
Amazing to have a property with such a great spring. Reminds me of Big Spring and Current River in your state. Very cold. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a piece of land like that!
Thank you 😊
Perfect spot for a micro hydro at the end of the pond diversion pipe.
Really Interesting brother. May God's Blessings be with you always. Best Wishes 💐💐💐💐💐👍
Thanks 😊
I know the internet getting connected is a huge blessing
That antenna installation guy was dedicated! Great customer service
This is so cool! That is a lot of water!
Yep 👍
This is so cool!
Water behind a damn is technically called a reservoir
Deploy the leech 3 nipples crushed ice whale? 😂
To cover Coventry hotel
Amazing! Love "pool " and I think any moving, crawling, breathing creatures in the woods, big , small and micro, will come join you on warm sunny day :-)that will add to the adventure of the cabin, love it! :-) beware.:-)
Thanks 😊
no flange in concrete wall very common to those that dont know
I know you guys are getting so excited almost done.
We are very excited! Thanks
Love your videos!
Good job balancing on top of the dam😁
Thanks 😊
Wow that guy deserves a tip!
Love the content of this channel. New sub
Thanks
Thats alot of work!
You should add on a floodgate, because when the spring comes the water will flow in crazy amounts.
Cooooool vid
Love this project. Also, People upstream: "Why the hell is our yard / house flooding"??? LOL
It's a spring upstream
Love the setup tho!
Awesome!🤩
Thanks 😊
Can’t wait to see it all done....it’ll be amazing....you may not want to travel once you’re moved in....you have your own little wooded oasis right there. Btw Jerry is awesome...is there anything he can’t do? ❤️🤗🇨🇦
Thanks! And nope Jerry can do it all!!
Just what I thought lol
Having been part of putting one in similar to this nearly 50 years ago, you may want to schedule a bottom drain opening once a year to allow leaf debris and any other silt to be flushed out. We didn't do that and it was only a matter of a couple of years we could no longer open the plug and eventually (30 years ago or so) the dam filled with so much silt it almost became useless.
Great idea. Thanks
I agree with Leewhiz, you need to have a way to allow to “purge” when you see build up happening. When you have big rainstorms etc it’ll kick up a lot of sediment and debris. I’ve played around and on dams much of my life, and if you look at any commercial dams they all have a way to purge. Not only is it good for your damed up area to purge but it helps downstream of your dam as well.
I use to know an old boy that built a lot of farm ponds,,, on the bottom of the stand pipe he put a T on the bottom, and would stuff a glass jar or bottle in the T, he said when ever he needed to drain a pond,, a 22 shot up the drain pipe would shatter the bottle and the pond would drain
With earthen dams then they leak to put grout in. So if you can’t find the leak then see if you get drillers grout from a local cement company. It’s doesn’t set really. It’s more of a slurry. Remove the sediment and lay it in the bottom of the pond. Or see if you can find good clay and do the same.
Hydraulic cement around the PVC pipes on the reservoir side.
that area is super beautiful
Place two 10 inch cap off lids on both ends. It will stop the leaks
I can't help but think a gate value would be great on the 10 inch pvc.
Awesome and stay safe,God bless
Thank you
What concerns me is that big stump next to dam, and if any of the roots go under dam. Those roots will provide a path for water to follow, and will continue to decay opening a larger hole. Never allow trees to grow on or near a dam, your going to have a leak.
Yep that definitely could be the problem
It is a Mill Pond. You better put rocks anywhere the flow is going to hit. Hope you are reading all the comments...there are allot of good comments from experienced people.
Awesomeness
What I don't understand is why you chose for a vertical drop (old-style) waterwheel instead of a semi-horizontal (modern) turbine setup which has a much higher yield. Lovely home though, and lovely place. :)
Nice!
Michael, if I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure you're sounding like Jerry and picking up his southern accent . ...lol
Yep it happens 😉
Haha I noticed that too.
Barbed wires works wonders as a deterrent !! LOL
😆
Pea gravel mixed with gypsum and poured in the vicinity of the leak will usually stop it. there is another trick to building dams, which now is too late, but if you're going to build a dam at your pond, do this first: Dig a trench the full length of the Damned. The trench should be 3 or 4 ft deep or until you hit bedrock. Pack the trench with clay soil in compact the hell out of it, then build your dam wall.
I am a retired ER RN. I believe I heard you say that the out flow pipe through the dam was 10 diameter. Please develop some type of screen to prevent a small child from being pulled into that pipe. I have been witness to a child drowning victim who was pulled into the pipe by the force of the water as they were not strong enough to pull themselves out of the water current.
Enjoying watching your build and at this moment not far from you as we are enjoying Branson!
Best wishes!
good point. i think he is not planning on opening the pipe too often though, maybe only once a year to dredge out the sediments that accumulated?
The pipe at the bottom on the dam is 10” and will be capped. The other pipe going to the future pond is 6” and will have a cap on it that will only be used periodically to send water to the pond. Never will either of those pipes be opened when kids are near.
Loftis Party of Six - weROAM Thank you so much for your detailed plans for the dam pool and pond. When you start rental, I would love to be one of your first clients!!!
Dam it Loftis
Hey brother up in canada we all use android "samsung" never any issues with signal.
Put trout in it !! With that water temp it would be great for Rainbows...
Glue up a shut off valve on your 10” pipe to release the water out of the pond in case of emergency...
you need some top quality preco patch, hydraulic cement
I never was told that when we got ours it's been. A year I wonder if they will still do mine. Did he tell you what the app was to use
Had an idea pump the cold water to the home and use it for air conditioning.
Just a side note, in problematic signal area as a tech for this type of stuff, some cases lower the reception of the signal on certain smartphones.
you should turn it into a recreational pond so you can swim in it and harvest the water for aquaponics growing
Hi Guys! Thanks for the great videos. This house project has been a great distraction from Covid for both you and me! Lots of challenges different from RVing.
Michael I have an unrelated question for you. We are planning to full time with our 3 kids in 2 years when I can retire. One of the challenges I have seen several full timers face early on is loneliness and loss of community. I know your faith is important to you guys and wanted to ask how you do church on the road. I know we could visit a new local one every week but constantly being the new person would wear one down quickly. We could do our own family church or an online church but it would still be isolating.
We recently moved to the Atlanta area for the last 2 years of my work career and it was isolating BEFORE the pandemic impact. Hard finding a good church and community. We really miss our Virginia community and can only image it will be even harder when we full time.
What do you guys do for church? Any unique resources out there that you are aware for RVers and this challenge?
If I was a software developer one might be able to develop an online branch of a church focused on this group with some kind of a Zoom “lobby” before and/or after to “meet” and chat with people. It would require people to be fairly regular or you’d end up with just a high tech version of visiting the local church every week as the newbie without a chance to develop community.
Any ideas or resources you could suggest?
Appreciate your time. Love to you and your family.
Rob Carey
Tried using your amazon link and it directed me to the amazon homepage just an FYI!!
Yes it does that but still works for helping us. Or go to www.loftispartyofsix.com and click on shop and we have a Amazon Store with our recommend RV products.
I believe that would be called a mill pond.
that stump behind the damn might be a problem. it was likely about a 15-25 year old tree (maybe older depending on what type it was), and probably has some deep /widespread roots. Even if you cut the roots at the bottom of the damn as you excavated for the damn, you may have had to go much deeper than that to remove those roots (hope you looked at that).. as that stump rots and also its roots, its going to change the shape of the ground at and behind the damn where the water pressure is. maybe even create channels where roots used to be for water to get under your damn. i'm no hydrologist. but remeber a rule of thumb for building a spill way/damn was that the long term stablity of the ground at the bottom and just behind the dam was the most important. seems you may already have a leak. but hopefully you can drain it pretty easy and correct the issue before that rotting stump affects the ground at the root of your damn.
Think you may have to redo the spill way in concrete To keep away from the water wheel ?
1,000 email notifications 😂
In my days of tech support for cell phones, often rebooting the phone to get a fresh ping helps.
Thanks
I live a poor signal area, have to do that way too often...theses dam dumb fones!!
Jerry is a good fella to have around.
For sure!!
I think the word you were looking for was a "reservoir" not a pond or lake. BTW the difference between a lake and a pond is, If the sunlight can penetrate to the bottom it's a pond and if not then it's a lake. It's the depth not the acres in covers.
Yep that’s the word. Thank you
A Mini Reservoir, rather to say. But a very nice gesture Brother. Wishing you the Best 👍💐💐💐
I wondered if a leake might show up, a concrete vibrator may or may not have helped when you poured
hi guys, really cool project. Congrats on all the hard work. I will say this though. These types of projects dealing with geo/hydro stuff are complex projects requiring lot's of thought and planning and engineering to actually LAST long term. So although I think this looks good at first glance, I don't see it lasting that long for a bunch of reasons. I live on a river and know the power of hydro. For instance, the front end area needs some sort of reinforcement to keep the soil from eroding and letting water go around the dam. It just looks like soft dirt there right now, that won't last more than a year or two. All the concrete work most likely needed to be thicker and deeper for any sort of long term durability. Your offshoot drain pipe needs to have a mesh on it or it's going to suck in debris and get clogged. I think the effort is AWESOME and it looks really cool tho, I just fear that you might be stuck with a lot of repair work in only a few years. Anyway, hope not. Time will tell.
Thank you. I definitely have improvements to make. I’ll be making a vlog on those this winter.
@@LoftisPartyofSix yeah, it's definitely an industrious project, we all appreciate you sharing it, super interesting. At the minimum, lot's of learning will be had for sure...
What are the exact coordinates to that place just in case the SHTF?
Plan on dredging behind that dam every few years. You have basically made a fore bay that will trap the up stream sediment and fill in behind the dam.
That 10" pipe draws some serious suction, would it not be enough?
call it a resovoar
Missing you guys.
Love and miss y’all too
Hope you gave him a good tip
He is paid well
Try putting bituminous clay around the pipe that is leaking
Bituminous often describes coal (carbon). I think you meant bentonite clay, with naturally seals leaks.
Awesome
Thanks 😊
Screen for the spill pipe ?
I'm wondering about the roots of that stump. When they rot put, water will run with them. I might have dug that out.
Could be right.
Will it be dangerous to swim in the dam? It looks so cool, I already see some sort of swimming lake, and the water I can see is so clear.
How can you make that safe for people?
What state are you in where you do not need a permit for a pond much less a dam I'm moving there.
Now that the speed of the water has increased dramatically, you need to dump quite a few truck loads of rock on the down side of the dam, otherwise you’ll have massive erosion problems. Particularly as it looks so steep on the down side of the dam running away. And then push it right up above the height of the dam either side because if there’s ever a mass deluge of water it’s gonna run under the outside of the dam walls.
Rip rappppp
Maybe use some river rocks to help with the erosion
I really love videos like this that show how people create free energy especially hydropower that's always interested me I think it's pretty cool what you're doing. Definitely hurry up with the video on the actual electrical part of it that I'm VERY interested in seeing
Oh my gosh!! What a tease at the end. How long do we have to wait?.... be safe
I’m hoping to have it done this week. Maybe on Wednesday or Thursday
@@LoftisPartyofSix yes! Cant wait to see it working.!
Good! I didn't want to wait until next weekend for the next episode.
what is the radiation level it puts into your home as AP is established?
Are you going to leave it as concrete or face it with stone so it looks like a stone dam?
Ever make an info plate? A section of scrap copper pipe cut in half and flattened into a sheet gives you a good base to use a stamp set to punch in info like the date a project was built and who made it so years later you have it stamped in metal of who and when to not limit yourself to human memory. Can go for cheaper plates for interior like aluminum cans cut into sheets but they would weather away after a few years outside so best use something like copper that will turn a nice green but still be readable. Good for marking fence lines or for an info plate at a gate for contact info that isn't likely to change.
Great idea thanks
FYI-
in my other comment about vertical generator. i found it is called a vortec generator. you may have enough water flow to up your output to the required amount for the house.
Thanks
I think you mean a vortex turbine?
Watching the build is great but what about the design/shopping for the interior? Could we see what Laine has install ? Feels like forever since she’s been in any footage x
We probably won’t show the design process but will give a tour of it furnished.
Jerry's probably thinking...quit filming all the time and get down here and do some work. Lol.
😆 probably so
How are you going to deal with a water wheel in the winter time and freezing temps? We don’t have that issue or water 💦 here in Arizona. So we use solar power!!!
Our winters are mild and the spring don’t freeze but only time will tell