2 Sept 06 Dam Repair Report for the Sand Pond Association (Dam 152.05)

During the summer of 2006, 26 volunteers donated nearly 350 man hours to the first phase of the repair of the dam at Sand Pond.  The objective was to rebuild the interior to support the walls in that section of the dam with stone walls on both sides.  But we also exposed and filled voids and depressions found in adjacent sections.  There are two glacial erratics which were made part of the original structure about 30 feet to each side of the stop log bay.  These efforts should extend the life of the dam in the sixty feet between those erratics.  What follows are summaries of the work done, who helped and costs.      

First, we built a dock and stairs to the top of the dam.  During the repairs we boated 14.3 tons of crushed stone to the dam; 477 bucket loads averaging 60 pounds each.  With permission from land owners we also collected capstones and filler rocks from the water on each side of the dam and brought those to the site.  Gathering and delivering materials to the top of the dam took nearly 100 man hours.  Second, we removed the old capstones, mortar and gravel to expose interior voids.  In some cases we took out material to a depth of six feet before we found rocks that were stable enough to use as a base.  To further strengthen the structure we packed crushed rock into all the interior voids we could reach.  Third, we rebuilt the interior layer by layer seating each filler rock against a minimum of three around it, compacting crushed stone into all voids and shimming and supporting wall stones.  Most wall stones we left undisturbed, but in a few cases we raised interior ends, once as much as a foot.  On top we replaced missing capstones with a mosaic of flat rocks.  Finally we leveled the surface by spreading crushed rock across the capstones, put down a layer of stabilizing fabric and dirt, then planted grass.  Work at the dam accounted for about 250 man hours, much of which was spent compacting crushed stone into voids.  Left over materials were stockpiled for future use.  

The following helped transport materials to the dam:

And those who worked on the structure included:

Labor, fasteners, gas and some lumber and construction fabric were donated, while buckets and tools were loaned for the job.  Three pairs of gloves were worn out.  The rest follows:

Respectfully Submitted,

Ted Aldrich

Sand Pond Association Dam Committee