Discover how to install dock posts in water safely
If you are a dock building enthusiast, you should know how they build them with piles or poles. The construction of a pier is not as easy as it seems because this requires a thorough structural analysis. In case you are curious about how to install dock posts in water, you should know that it is not as simple as it sounds.
It is time for you to learn about all the work involved in installing underwater poles that support a bridge. Whether you have a small dock with a very shallow water depth would help if you considered some factors. Before you proceed with the installation of a dock in the water, you should know the following things before building docks in water.
Underwater land conditions
If you want to build a pier with a depth above the water of a minimum of 1 meter and a maximum of 2 meters, the ground has an influence. The condition is that the land must be in before you build your dock must be good and not unstable. You need to do an in-depth ground test to see if it is stable enough to support a dock.
Get help from a pile driver.
You have to hire a hammer tool and an expert who knows how to use it to dig into the water and place the piles. The rental cost for these pile drivers usually varies depending on the tool, weight, and way of using it yourself. With this element, you can dig to a good depth where you know the dock will never succumb.
Poles made of resistant material
In decks and docks construction, you will generally have two options for the posts in the structure. What matters about a pier is its stability, and to have it, you can choose between 2 types of piles:
- Wooden poles are one of the most basic options you have for building your dock on the water. These posts have high resistance and adapt very well to water, although their duration can be very short. Wooden spring posts also present the most affordable option for you to make this little item.
- Stainless steel poles are another option, but their purchase value can be very high for your dock financing. If you want a pier that lasts for life in your house near the lake, a steel pole will accompany you. As the material is stainless steel, its duration is infinite so that you make a single investment in the spring.
Extra help
Now that you understand all the conditions to know how to install dock posts in water, you need extra help. Since you are motivated to build a dock, you should know that this requires a lot of help by hiring or with your relatives. You should not and cannot make a spring by itself, and you will notice that it is impossible due to the weight of the posts to be installed.
With the points that you must comply with and take into account before the installation of the springs at home, you should know how to do the process:
Step 1: buy high-quality poles.
To have a boat dock, you have to buy good piles such as round wood for their easy installation. You have other boat dock options in pier posts such as stainless steel, concrete, wood covered with plastic, etc. You shouldn’t buy square wood posts, as they tend to weaken easily over the years.
Step 2: remove the silt and sand.
To go through a simple docking process, you must remove the silt or sand at the bottom of the water. How you will remove all the sand from the bottom and, in turn, bury the post by renting a hydro washer. You have to place the piles under the water in a vertical position. Now open the hole and place it inside and then hit it with a hammer.
The depth to which you must bury the round wooden post or other material to make the pier is 2 feet. If you can bury the post deeper, it will give it more stability, but its work is tough. If you buried the pole at 2 feet and still feels unstable, keep descending by hitting it with the hammer.
Step 3: use the quality PVC to make concrete piles.
If you want to improve your dock’s strength, you can form concrete posts with a fairly simple process. You should get two pieces of PVC to make a circular base with two pipe diameters to fit. You have to check that the entire PVC piece is long to reach the depth of the lake and touches the surface.
Step 4: formwork process
The wood post base that is covered with PVC must be at least 12 inches long. You can remove the wooden post at this time that you previously placed and only leave a PVC column. The moment you leave the weak PVC post, you must have an assistant who does not fall for anything.
Before you form, you have to place a second PVC base with a diameter of fewer than 12 inches. The diameter for this column can be a maximum of 8 inches and a minimum of 5 inches. In the center of your PVC semi-column, there will be a space that will never fill with water because its open hole reaches the surface.
When you have the largest and smallest column of PVC inside you, you have to start forming it. You have to pour thick concrete all over this base and check that it bottoms out to give it stability. The concrete column can last up to 1 week to dry completely, so you must be patient.
It is very easy to understand how to install dock posts in water, although it requires a lot of work. You need quality help for this work at home and more when shaping the concrete post. You can also ignore the concrete post for your pier and use the wooden one you easily placed.
If you get an expert in spring installation, they would greatly help save you a lot of time. The investment for these springs at home is subjective, depending on what materials you will use.
