Culvert Updates

[gerard]

Harv, I got them mainly for the snow (which you don't have) and am very pleased with them. Get a lot more traction without having to increase weight ie load the tires, and can take them off when not needed, something I can't do with loaded tires. I think they will also be well worth it when enlarging my pond. When digging into piles with the loader I should have a lot more traction even in dry dirt with the chains as opposed to without. I looked at them as a pretty cheap option compared to a lot of implements and figure they should last a long time the way I'll be using them. I assume they will tear things up more if you're in mud but then R1's can do quite a job by themselves!. Of course that just gives you more tractor time reparing the damage and rebuilding the road - How's that for circularity!!!

 

[gmason]

Sorry all, but I've finally figured out this jpeg/bmp attachment stuff. Le me try the pictures again, with a little better size and quality.
And to start with here's the finished product. The arrow points to the 3 pipes now in concrete. And to the left is the dock. If you look real hard you can see some of our house through the trees.
gary

 

[gmason]

here's the pond side...
Thanks Harv for the help...
these look much better
gary

 

[gmason]

nad here's the back side
g

 

[dieselpwr]

Harv

I know you said you don't have any clay on your property, however, a small load of clay might still be less expensive than concrete (& lots more fun to move with your tractor /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif). When we built our house back in '95 we had to run our driveway (about 200 yds) over a fairly wide ditchline. Being the cheap person I am, I elected to use the culvert the town gave me for the end of my driveway to cross the ditchline & not put one in by the road. If memory serves me right it is only in the 15" range & really undersized for my application (since the water actually builds up higher than the culvert in the spring) but... going on seven years & still no problems. I used a sandy gravel mix for the bulk of the fill (the land bridge is about 5' tall in the middle) & yes it was compacted pretty well around the bottom & sides of the pipe. Our excavator then pulled & compacted about a two or three foot thick layer of good heavy clay / top soil up on both sides with his track hoe. We threw a couple rocks right around the ends of the tube to slow the erosion until the weeds took over & the rest is history. I have to agree with the other posts - use concrete or clay, but you have to really seal off the ends around the tube well or the water will find the little opening & you end up with the "pulling the finger out of the dike" senerio.

Good luck & happy digging. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I wish it were dry enough to do that here. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Troy

 

[Harv]

Thanks, Troy! (Hah! The first time I typed that, it came out, "Thanks, Clay!" /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif)

I would gladly use clay, but I wasn't aware it was something you could buy. At least not the kind I think we're talking about. Of course, there's a lot of things I'm not aware of. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

<font color=blue>I wish it were dry enough to do that here. </font color=blue>

Up until about 6 weeks ago it was too muddy to do any tractorin' up at the property, but then we had a dry, warm spell and it looked like I was going to be in good shape two weeks later when we went up there. Naturally, it rained when we arrived. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Then the weather got nice again, but before I could get back, another cold, wet storm blew through. It's now been 5 weeks since I've been on my 'Bota and I hear there's another storm on its way. /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

I know a lot of you folks aren't too impressed by what we call storms out here in Californy, but I gotta tell you they're just plain annoying when you want to get out and hog the weeds, but the ground's just too squishy. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

 

[skent]

Hey Harv. . .

Just got back from taking a look-see at your web site. . . . great pictures. I fear that very soon I will be forced to do some culvert work too. Our driveway, put in by my Uncle in the 1950's, has a stone and terra-cotta pipe running under. It's only running when we have extreame rainfall, but the pipe (8") is not sufficient and once we almost had a 'overflow'. Seeing what you have done gives me hope that I may be able to do the repair if and when needed.

Now remember - I know nothing about culverts, but looking closely at your pictures, I am guessing there would be small gaps where sandbags meet at the culvert pipe, forming a small triangle. Once the sandmix cures, those gaps allow leakage. What if you used some of that waterproofing - expanding foam (comes in a can) to back-fill the cracks. Or even mix a few pounds of hydraulic cement. I say this because I have always had a problem with where the well pipe comes through my basement (poured cement) wall. During heavy rains, we would get runoff leaking in . The builder tried caulk and RTV sealents over and over and it would work for a season or two, but would end up leaking again. Finally, I cleaned out the gap between the pipe and the cement (about a 3/4" gap), and shoved the 'snorckel' from the foam can in the crack and 'backfilled'. The foam expanded and it's been 5 or 6 years and still no leaks. The foam would match the color of the rocks and lasts a long time. . . . . .just a thought.

Steve
"Give me Anbiguity, or give me. . . . . . . .something else"

 

[Harv]

Yup, Steve. I think it comes down to just that -- plug the holes.

Of course, my strategy on all 3 culverts, in addition to the sand/concrete bags, was to arrange large rocks around the inlet to the pipes so that there would be no "direct" erosion from the water flow. This worked in 2 out of the 3 cases, but I was too pressed for time on the last one to find just the right shape rocks. I learned what you just said -- it only takes a tiny hole to eat away most of your backfill. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Although I still have faith in the rocks, I noticed that even the smallest amount of erosion under the rocks themselves can cause them to shift, possibly exposing that which they were meant to protect. Funny how soil can seem so solid when it's been baked dry by the summer sun, and then turn to mush with the first rains. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

I should have much more time this summer to deal with the problem, and with all the ideas pouring in (interesting choice of words, eh?) from this board, I'm sure I'll arrive at a satisfactory solution. Talk about a slow motion project, though -- I'll do the work and then have to wait months to see how I did.

 

[GlueGuy]

Harv,

Just got a catalogue from a company called "Agri Drain". They make a whole bunch of products relating to "water management" issues. One thing they make that sounds like it might be right down your alley (so to speak /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) is something they call an "anti-seep collar".

They say it will "Keep your pipe from being washed out", and that it works with any smooth wall pipe or corrugated plastic tubing. They sell them in a range of sizes (small is 2'x2', and large is 6'x6').

Basically it is a flexible membrane material inside a rigid frame. You cut a hole in the center to fit the pipe through (yeah, I know that's a little hard for you now /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif), and the material seals the area around the pipe out to the size of the frame.

If you're interested, they can be reached at 800-232-4742. Whoops, they have a web site too: Agri Drain.

Double-whoops. I just checked their web address, and nobody's home /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif.... Triple whoops. The catalogue URL was too old. Fixed the above link to go to their new web site./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

The GlueGuy

 

[WVBill]

Good Web site.

I noticed that they also have the Geotextile fabric - they call it Engineering fabric. $444 for a 15' x 360' roll of the light grade.