Dock building advice

[gfernandez]

We have a pond that was built earlier this year, and looking to put a dock in before it fills completely. There is a 3' shallow area that extends about 20' out from the shore before it drops down to 13-15' in the middle. The shallow area along the shore was put in as a "wading area" for kids to go swimming, and has been compacted. I am envisioning a 15-20' long dock, with built in seating and a railing, and plan on doing the work myself. Looking at a fixed dock, not a floating dock.

My question is, for those who have experience building docks, what are the best ways to build this? Specifically looking for information on the frame and supports.

Personal experience, books, articles and websites are all welcome!

Thank you,
Gonzalo

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[Oka]

Search -water jetting wood piles you will find a you tube explaining the process. This is what we typically do on projects that need pulled in water. If it is dry enough you could drill.

 

[Charles Lent]

That fall off into the deep part is way too steep and will catch waders off guard. There are many books and youtube videos on construction practices for docks. Here is a good one.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dock+building+101

Charley

 

[gfernandez]

That fall off into the deep part is way too steep and will catch waders off guard. There are many books and youtube videos on construction practices for docks. Here is a good one.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dock+building+101

Charley

Thanks!

 

[gfernandez]

Search -water jetting wood piles you will find a you tube explaining the process. This is what we typically do on projects that need pulled in water. If it is dry enough you could drill.

Thanks, the water has not risen to the dock level yet so it is dry land.

 

[Craptastic]

My experience installing a dock in WI and installing another in SC actually coincide mostly for a sturdy dock.

The rule of thumb for every excavation/timber placement in WI is 4' deep and for a 4X4 post using a 10" sonotube. That dock In WI is solid through more than 20 winters of the lake freezing over enough to drive on. When I moved to SC I had an opportunity to replace the out piers at the end of my existing dock since the state mandated drawdown of the lake due to new regulations that arose from the major flood in 2015. Since I had access due to the draw down I again used the same rule to replace the existing out piers. Easy peasy drilling an auger down 4 feet in that. That dock has been noted by the HOA in their newsletter as being the most solid dock on the lake. Minor increment in cost. Major increment in stability and longevity.

It may be overkill, but if the opportunity is there I would seize it and use that same rule of thumb. It's not likely you would ever have to worry about it ever again.

 

[ScottM]

I live on Lake Gaston. While I did not build a dock I own one and have seen many built. Many docks here are built with 4x6 posts. They are built just like decks. Concrete is not used as the posts are driven into the ground. I think 4'is the goal.

 

[Ralrick]

Gonzalo - We had a dock built on Lake Gaston a couple years ago. As Scott mentioned, they drive 4x6 posts in the ground usually 4-6' deep or until they hit solid rock. If you're not able to drive the posts that far underground then I think you should consider cross bracing the posts underneath the water level to provide additional support.

 

[95vette]

Cross bracing is nice, but it creates the perfect place for snakes to lay around!!

 

[tvrgeek]

Up on Cobb Island we all had piers of about 100 feet. Nothing more than pine poles sunk in with a auger into the mud about 4 feet. They lasted about 30 years each. No bracing. After Agnus, most used larger treated poles. Freezing was an issue so it was important to put the big end down so ice would not lift the poles. Later people used water jets to sink the poles but they then were filled with sand and not as stable as the ones driven into mud.

The pier was about ground level, so over 5 feet from the MHT. So we had lower "water ;level" landings at the end. They were lightly tacked on as storms would rip them off. After a storm, you found which ever one washed up and stuck it back up. If you made them too strong, the storms would rip the pier apart. We docked boats on a line between piers and let the boats swing with the tide, waves and wind. Granted, with 11 miles across and the storms, we had 5 foot waves sometimes and that doe not cover the hurricanes which were larger.

Wood degrading was 99% at the water line. Not in the water and not in the mud. I have wondered about using PVC pipe filled with a rebar and cement for the post.