yet another pond

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Don,
I was in a somewhat similar position to yourself. I just completed my pond a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to have a stone wall around part of it. (I am talking big rocks - 1 - 4 tons a piece which the grapple on the excavator was going to place.) The flat stakable stone itself was only about $10 / ton but the delivery was very pricey.

I picked up a Ford F700 Stakebed dump (GVW 26,000) with hydraulic liftgate for $4,250. I have hauled in 62 tons of stone, and am moving the the family to the new place with it this week. Get the truck!!!

I have attached a picture of my son next to the partially built wall. He is 4 ft tall to give some perspective. Final wall should be 14' high with 10' above water. I have a 11,000 gallon per hour pump that I am putting in to create a waterfall over the wall.
Best,
Larry

 

[OkeeDon]

I saw your wall in your previous posts and was immediately envious. It's great. I consoled myself that the only place in Florida one would find such rocks is Disney World, so, while it will be appropriate in your location, it would be less than natural here. Instead, we plan to use wild grasses, ferns and flowering plants on the bank at selected places; the rest will be sod.

Here's the final pond, taken from the approximate location of our future front porch. The water level will come about halfway up the bank once we get the well installed. The shadows are me, my daughter and son-in-law and my grandaughters.

 

[OkeeDon]

This shot is from the other side, looking back towards the house location.

 

[OkeeDon]

This is from the road we built, looking across what will be the front yard. The house will be to the left.

 

[OkeeDon]

This is the actual house "pad". It's actually a raised yard on which the house will be built. It's about 2-1/2 feet above the origibal grade. It isn't high enough for slab construction;the house will be built on a perimeter wall and pillars about 2' above the new grade. Local codes require it to be 18" above the level of the nearest road. Roads in this area tend to be built up.

 

[OkeeDon]

This is the end result of our road building effort. It will be covered with a 6" layer of shell rock to stabilize it, and a swale will be built on the right side to handle drainage. At the far right you can see the other approach to building a house pad - the mound of white fill is almost 4' high to meet code, but with no sloping or fill. They'll build on a slab. It's a little less expensive, but in my opinion, looks like a sore thumb. That house will also be conventionally much closer to the road, while we preferred to set the house back about 500' or so and have a "park" for a front yard. I'll be planting a screen of shrubs to block the view and give us some privacy.

 

[OkeeDon]

On the other side of the oak hammock, the dozer is finishing the grading and compacting of the slab for the barn. I plan to build the barn first -- I have my priorities right! The barn will be 32' x 48', with a gambrel roof, and a 16' x 48' lean-to on the far side.

Construction won't start for several weeks -- I have to finish the remodeling of my commercial property and get it on the market in order to pay for all this. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[OkeeDon]

I'll have a few final pictures tomorrow of the area where the debris was buried, etc., maybe a shot of the house area with the sun in a better location. As you can see, my replacement camera arrived this afternoon.

 

[Junkman]

Have you noticed any difference in the camera??? A friend used my FD91 last week and said that it seemed different than his FD..... .... looks good...... can't wait to see the barn pictures next.........

 

[jinman]

Don, you told me earlier that all the plans were in your head and not written down. Well, your head must be pretty full, because you have lots going on and it all goes together very well. Your place is gonna be beautiful. That pond will bring you years of pleasure and I know you must really be anxious to get started on the rest. Thanks for showing us your pictures and giving us the details of your progress and plans. In hindsight, I guess this thread will serve as a historical record for many years. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif