Docks

[murphy1244]

Need help building a dock. How do I drive in the posts. Any style of design I should use. Need Help please.
Murph

 

[brokenknee]

Need help building a dock. How do I drive in the posts. Any style of design I should use. Need Help please.
Murph

I would not drive the post in at all, it makes it a real bear to get out at the end of the season. What I did when I use to have a lake place is just let the post stick though the feet about three inches or so; it helps stabilize the post and it much easier to get out at the end of the season.

 

[murphy1244]

I would not drive the post in at all, it makes it a real bear to get out at the end of the season. What I did when I use to have a lake place is just let the post stick though the feet about three inches or so; it helps stabilize the post and it much easier to get out at the end of the season.

This dock is staying up for good.

 

[brokenknee]

This dock is staying up for good.

Have no experience with that, in MN if you don't take them out in the fall they are pretty well bent and twisted in the spring from the ice.

 

[tractchores]

What kind of water is the dock on? Is it tidal, does it freeze, do you want floating or fixed? Here for permanent docks that stay in we usually drive steel posts down and then mount a deck on top of them.

 

[tony Cecil]

You can use a water jet----small gas engine with pump attached and hoses, and some old tires to stand on....Tony

 

[foggy1111]

This dock is staying up for good.

I see that some folks auger posts into the lake bottom....and always have wondered "what's up with that"?? As was said....NOBODY in MN does that, as most often, we need to take the docks out of the lake each fall.

Still, I wonder why you want to permanently secure the dock to the lake bottom....unless you have a pretty big craft to tie up? If so, I would consider using an electric jack hammer or a fence post pounder to set your posts up to the mud pads.

How hard is the bottom? Are you trying to set your posts through the soft bottom to a harder area in the lake-bed?

I'm just curious too about why folks drive posts. Kinda different in other parts of the country I suppose.

 

[murphy1244]

Sorry guys, I should of explained it better. The dock is for my 1 acre pond in my back 40. There is a wood dock now but I wanted to make a better bigger dock. I see lots of wood docks around here.

 

[buck12]

My dock sets on 6" x 6" posts. A friend was doing some work on my bank with an excavator. We cut points on the posts using a chainsaw then drove the posts with the excavator. I cut the tops off the posts after I put up the top band. I should note the water in my pond was really low that year which allowed me to get in the water wearing waders and hold the posts while he drove the posts. The dock has been there for six years and no problems with the posts.

 

[tractchores]

Sorry guys, I should of explained it better. The dock is for my 1 acre pond in my back 40. There is a wood dock now but I wanted to make a better bigger dock. I see lots of wood docks around here.

I live on a pond / small lake as well (about 1 mi x .5 mi) and here everyone has wooden decking and metal posts. The soil is kind of a soft peat on top of boulders and clay, so you just bang the posts in until you get to something solid to support them, then build the deck on top of it.