Installing rip rap

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Indiana

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • phylodog

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    59   0   0
    Mar 7, 2008
    18,751
    113
    Arcadia
    Curious if anyone has installed rip rap? I have approximately 90yds of ditch which is too steep to mow and currently overgrown for many years. It's a bit of an eyesore and after considering our options we've decided to just go with rip rap. It's not terribly expensive, lasts a long time, low maintenance and will look decent here.

    I've sprayed the ditch and killed (most) everything off. My thought is to knock it all down, pin black weed barrier fabric down, have the rip rap dumped at the top of the ditch and then started placing them. I'm thinking softball to football sized rocks. Has anyone done this? Am I on the right track? I've basically got one good arm, am I getting into something that's gonna take me 2 years to complete?
     

    Leadeye

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jan 19, 2009
    36,693
    113
    .
    I used rip rap for a lot of things and your idea about the weed cloth is a good one. Biggest Issue I've had is leaves from the fall getting in the rip rap and then weed taking root in these the following summer. I use the rip rap to slow erosion in a drainage ditch along my driveway.
     

    d.kaufman

    Still Here
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    128   0   0
    Mar 9, 2013
    14,717
    149
    Hobart
    My coworker lives out in the country. The farmers around his area burn the ditches twice a year.
    Maybe an option for you :dunno:
     

    ditcherman

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    22   0   0
    Dec 18, 2018
    7,607
    113
    In the country, hopefully.
    Rip rap placement is a lot of work. I wouldn’t do it by hand with two good arms. I wouldn’t do 90 yards with a mini with a thumb, which I also have.
    I would seriously consider spraying it for broadleaves and leave the grass on it. Once A year chore. Crossbow is not labeled for use near water, but it does work, there is something more expensive that is labeled.
    If you go rip-rapping make sure it’s not a county ditch, Hamilton county would make you pick it all back up.
     

    bocefus78

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    39   0   0
    Apr 9, 2014
    2,023
    63
    Hamilton Co.
    Do not use weed fabric. Use a geotextile material. Much much heavier duty material. Call site one supply. There is a store in Noblesville near my shop.

    By all means get with the county. I know of a landscaper who didn't, and spent a week taking out all their "improvements" once the county found out.
     
    Last edited:

    avboiler11

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    13   0   0
    Jun 12, 2011
    2,950
    119
    New Albany
    My wife and I spread a triaxle of rip-rap, defined as 6-9" limestone and 45k pounds worth, around the waterline of our pond in early May.

    WVbkB7P.jpg


    Nam0dS0.jpg


    HqdQz5E.jpg


    Took a couple weeks but honestly wasn't a big deal...until all the squatting on an incline to place it right at the existing waterline resulted in a significant tear in my right knee meniscus.

    As long as you won't be squatting thousands of times on an incline, you'd probably be good to do it yourself over time as necessary.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    49   0   0
    Nov 11, 2009
    10,707
    113
    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    It will be a ton (or many, many tons) of work and as Leadeye said, weed cloth will slow the growth but in a couple of years enough organic material will accumulate that you will need to start doing weed control again, at which time spraying will be your only real option. Not saying don’t do it, but fyi.

    A consideration: a weed filled ditch may be an eyesore, but it’s darn good habitat.
     

    ditcherman

    Grandmaster
    Site Supporter
    Rating - 100%
    22   0   0
    Dec 18, 2018
    7,607
    113
    In the country, hopefully.
    It will be a ton (or many, many tons) of work and as Leadeye said, weed cloth will slow the growth but in a couple of years enough organic material will accumulate that you will need to start doing weed control again, at which time spraying will be your only real option. Not saying don’t do it, but fyi.

    A consideration: a weed filled ditch may be an eyesore, but it’s darn good habitat.
    We are upsetting landlords to one degree or another by leaving more and more habitat every year, just simply not mowing. We try to control the noxious weeds and mulberrys. It’s amazing what’s out there.
    I’d like to know just how long to leave it, if it’s mostly for bird nesting or what, but I will say we’ve seen more monarchs in the clover than I ever remember this year.
     

    Old Dog

    Expert
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Mar 4, 2016
    1,376
    97
    Central Indiana
    Rip rap placement is a lot of work. I wouldn’t do it by hand with two good arms. I wouldn’t do 90 yards with a mini with a thumb, which I also have.
    I would seriously consider spraying it for broadleaves and leave the grass on it. Once A year chore. Crossbow is not labeled for use near water, but it does work, there is something more expensive that is labeled.
    If you go rip-rapping make sure it’s not a county ditch, Hamilton county would make you pick it all back up.

    Ditcherman is correct, a lot of work. Rip-rap is used mainly for erosion control and on ditch banks it needs to be sized according to the velocity flow in the ditch at bankfull flow or else it will end up downstream somewhere. Spraying is much easier, leave the grasses for bank protection.
     

    Flash-hider

    Sharpshooter
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Sep 19, 2012
    685
    93
    I would seriously consider spraying it for broadleaves and leave the grass on it. Once A year chore. Crossbow is not labeled for use near water, but it does work, there is something more expensive that is labeled.
    If you go rip-rapping make sure it’s not a county ditch, Hamilton county would make you pick it all back up.

    There is Garlon 3A and Garlon 4 Ultra herbicide that are labeled for weeds and brush along ditch banks. Always read and follow label directions. If it were me I would look at this method of control first before investing time and money into rip-rap.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    49   0   0
    Nov 11, 2009
    10,707
    113
    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Being up in the NW corner of the state all my TV and radio comes from Chicago and I am really unaware of what is going on downstate from here. Can I get cliff notes about what has been transpiring in Indy? Are there no police due to mayoral orders at these protests? Were there no police to see these armed protesters or did they ignore them?

    The police were of no help with placing the rip rap.
     

    phylodog

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    59   0   0
    Mar 7, 2008
    18,751
    113
    Arcadia
    Appreciate the insights. I was planning to talk to the county before doing anything. This particular ditch holds very little water, even when I have a river flowing through my pasture when we get heavy rains. The rip rap idea was just for aesthetics but also to eliminate one route the foxes and coyotes have to get close to our chickens undetected. We had a fox come in a month ago and grabbed a hen. He popped out of the overgrown ditch, grabbed her and was gone before we even realized what had happened.
     

    dudley0

    Nobody Important
    Rating - 100%
    99   0   0
    Mar 19, 2010
    3,725
    113
    Grant County
    Have started to consider putting rip rap in a couple banks at my new place. Can't mow two of them. Bought a pull behind side mower for that and it just doesn't do it.

    They are close enough to the house that it looks bad. Plus one was so over grown you couldn't see to pull out of the drive. Had the son-in-law to be remove everything so I need to decide pretty fast on what to do. Otherwise it was all for nothing.

    Interesting info about the county. I don't see mine being an issue but I will call and be sure.
     

    KLB

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    5   0   0
    Sep 12, 2011
    23,009
    77
    Porter County
    Appreciate the insights. I was planning to talk to the county before doing anything. This particular ditch holds very little water, even when I have a river flowing through my pasture when we get heavy rains. The rip rap idea was just for aesthetics but also to eliminate one route the foxes and coyotes have to get close to our chickens undetected. We had a fox come in a month ago and grabbed a hen. He popped out of the overgrown ditch, grabbed her and was gone before we even realized what had happened.
    Get a livestock guardian dog to protect your chickens.
     

    phylodog

    Grandmaster
    Rating - 100%
    59   0   0
    Mar 7, 2008
    18,751
    113
    Arcadia
    Get a livestock guardian dog to protect your chickens.

    I've been trying to convince the wife that we need a Great Pyreneese but she isn't going for it. She doesn't want more animal hair in the house. I've told her that I don't want it to be in the house, it can't do it's job when it isn't outside. She has a hard time considering having a dog which stays outside 24/7.

    Here's a few pics of the ditch in question. It curves around to the left in the pics and goes on for about another 40yds.

    6WBg49Ch.jpg


    xYW77y9h.jpg


    There is a creek and woods across the road and the ditch allows the predators to come out of the woods, across the road and use the ditch for cover to launch an attack. I'd really like to remedy that.
     
    Top Bottom