PLEASE LOOK. BUILDING A FISHING PIER

[JHFV]

Well I got this good idea on how to build a fishing pier on my 1 acre pond. I want yalls opinions and suggestions on this idea. Maybe yall will have better ideas on the project. The pond is full so i have to build the whole thing in the water about 6 to 7 foot deep. Here go's. I want a (t) shaped pier about 3 foot x 30 feet out with a 16 x 12 deck. You take 4 x 4 treated post and sharpen them on the end like a pencil with a chainsaw. You get 5 gallon buckets and cut out a 4 x 4 square in the bottom of the bucket and slide the post in with the post sticking out of the bucket about 2 feet. Fill it up with concrete. Take them out in the water and beat them in the ground with a sledge hammer flush with the bottom of the bucket so as they act like footings. Then its just framing the thing in. I know theres other ways but i think this is the cheapest way. For my wallet ?? Will this work??

[pappy19]

Well I got this good idea on how to build a fishing pier on my 1 acre pond. I want yalls opinions and suggestions on this idea. Maybe yall will have better ideas on the project. The pond is full so i have to build the whole thing in the water about 6 to 7 foot deep. Here go's. I want a (t) shaped pier about 3 foot x 30 feet out with a 16 x 12 deck. You take 4 x 4 treated post and sharpen them on the end like a pencil with a chainsaw. You get 5 gallon buckets and cut out a 4 x 4 square in the bottom of the bucket and slide the post in with the post sticking out of the bucket about 2 feet. Fill it up with concrete. Take them out in the water and beat them in the ground with a sledge hammer flush with the bottom of the bucket so as they act like footings. Then its just framing the thing in. I know theres other ways but i think this is the cheapest way. For my wallet ?? Will this work??

Why not just make a floating dock? It would seem to be much easier and quicker using old party barge tanks or 55 gallon barrels. Your idea could work, but getting it square for the decking could be a real problem. With a floater, you do the framing first and then lay it by sections in the water. You attach the sections with old truck tires or similar material. Keep thinking.

[okie350]

I just built a dock for my pond.

Here is what I did: Friend brought his Case 580 over, we backed up to the pond as far as he could go, I held the 3" pipe and he pushed them into the bottom of the pond about 4-1/2 feet. bolted a header on the 4 piers and then set a 10'X14' deck that was the front porch of a mobile home on the header. leveled up , drove the piers on shore, bolted down and DONE.

Total cost - fifty bucks, as I had all the material on hand, and the deck came from the mobile home I had moved off the property when I built my house.

[Bird]

What kind of bottom does that pond have, and is it the same everywhere? I would think some pond bottoms would be solid enough that you'd have a hard time driving those posts in while other pond bottoms would be solft enough that your buckets would also gradually sink; quite possibly after the pier is built. 4 x 4 is also pretty small, in my opinion, for such posts. Do you plan to try to stand in a boat and use a sledge hammer to drive those posts? I can just imagine swinging a sledge hammer while standing in a small boat.

I think the floating pier is a good idea, although I'd check into the big blocks of styrofoam instead of barrels that will rust out in time. Otherwise, I'd be considering driving steel posts in the ground and attach the stringers with big u-bolts so they could be adjusted up or down as needed.

[Tig]

I would suggest a floating dock using plastic barrels. If maintenace or modification is ever required you can drag it up on shore and do the work. The only footings that may be required would be where it attaches to the shore.

[dooleysm]

I'll add another vote for the floating dock. Me and a buddy built one for my pond last summer. The plastic barrels cost $8-$10 at Rural King. I had to buy some plugs (bungs) online to plug them up, as only a couple of the barrels had plugs. Those were an additional $4ish per barrel.

FYI, Archemedies Principle states that the weight of the water displaced by a floating object is equal to the amount of weight the object can support above water.

So, to sink a 55 gallon barrel it will take 55gal * 8lbs/gal = 440 lbs. You have to subtract off the weight of the barrel and get the exact weight of water, but that's pretty close. Of course, you don't want your barrels completely sunk because then your dock is sitting in the water, but you get the idea.

[JHFV]

the bottom of my pond is clay. im gonna make up one post and try it out.

[tommu56]

One trick with the plastic drums is to put a tire valve in them (above water level ) and keep them at 3-4 psi this makes them more rigid and keeps water out needs to be checked periodically only use a low pressure gauge like one for an atv

tommu56

[gotrocks]

Here's another thought, after reading the suggested "floaters" ideas.

Build a floater with just enough flotation to get it into place then stand on the floating dock and pound the post into place.

Then with lifting clamps, jacks or other method raise the floater to desired height and secure to post.

I used this method to raise my "fixed" dock after we read the level wrong and had to raise it a few inches.

Got a long bar clamp, hooked under the dock and on top of the post, raise into position and re bolted. It worked like a charm.

Good luck.

[timwil]

do like i did , just pump the water down the water down. set the post and let fill back up. i did and worked just fine.