Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond Pier HELP!!!

I have an old pier made of an "I" beam and three steel polls and dead man cables. My three polls are now rotted out and how can I fix this. Do I need to drive new polls in the pond?

How?
Who can help me?
Who can I get to do this? (type of company)

Here is an image....
http://www.sciandrivineyards.com/pier.pdf

ChiefRon

Welcome to Pond Boss, ChiefRon.

I'm not any kind of structural expert, but I can safely guess that you will need to drive some new poles in unless the I-beam is supported safely in some kind of cantilever.

Hang tight and some more folks will respond.

Thanks for the quick response!!!

The "I" Beams are cantilevered in concrete in the Pump House, which is all that is supporting the Pier along with a couple cables.

I look forward to responses......

ChiefRon

Then I would wonder if the posts are even needed. That could be determined through some calculations, but I don't know how you would factor in any degradation of the steel (corrosion) over the years.

Welcome aboard ChiefRon.
A friend of mine once told me he used to install pipe posts for piers by setting them in place and pumping water down the pipe,thereby "drilling" the pipes into the ground underwater.

jim's place had a real impressive steel pier. Maybe he will jump in here.

What you suggested makes the most sense to me , so far. Perhaps I can put down some 6" plastic pipe, fill them with some cement, then bolt them to the pier. Thanks for the info.

Any time Boss,any time.Now if your in a hurry,you could use steel pipe,put in place,drop in some dynamite and...,well never mind,you wanted ideas that made sense.But,on the other hand,this way catches fish at the same time!

ChiefRon, could you post a picture?

My steel framed dock is supported by steel posts that have a 1'x1' plate welded to the bottom that has a 2' long steel pin. Here's a picture of how the post is connected to the frame. I had the post slide up to the frame then suspended the it over the water, loosened the bolts to allow the post to slided down then drove the pin into the mud. The welded short piece of pipe is sturdy enough that lateral support (crossframes) were not necessary and it's adjustable should the posts sink a little.

very nice!
i have some pier building questions of my own, but have not figured out how to post something new, so i just hopped on this train.
i have an existing pier that is about 12' long and 3' wide, made of old redwood. it is holding up fine, except for the one step leading down into the water. i want to extend this pier making a 90 degree turn to the right for about 16'and then a short turn to the left leading into a 10'X 10' platform which will hold a gazebo that is 9'x6'. seeing the length of this pier/walkway and the gazebo site, it may have to hold the weight of up to 10-12 people at once (rare occasion when having a pond party). i thought of making piers of using concrete tubes by digging them into the pond about 2'. the tallest piers would use a full 12' tube, then 2 10', 3 8' and 3 6'. first of all getting to height where i can pour this and tamp it down seems like a scaffolding job. the amount of concrete, sand and possible concrete dye to match weathered wood (the existing redwood is not treated and turns into a greyish look), seems like a lot of money, and effort, but it seems like it will provide a "lifetime" pier for my walkway. the other option i looked at is using redwood, untreated heartwood, which i believe will last 15-20 years, and i have on hand. i have 6"x8" and various other chunky sizes. this seems much easier but with the drawback of having to maintain in the future, and the possibility of being a bit dangerous if it slowly rots away and the gazebo and people fall into the pond. i am leaning to using the redwood for ease and the fact that i already have this material and have no other use for it in sight. i like the aesthetic look of all redwood piers and deck. i feel like it would be yet another thing to keep an eye on and be ready to replace if need be, which could be another can of worms. any advice? thank you. i am glad to have found this site as my ponds are the only way to have water available to the land in my region. spring supplies house water, ponds keep the place growing and us fed.

Hey PV welcome to Pond Boss. It's good to have another Californian aboard. (HA! Take that Tom, I was the first to welcome PV).

Hang on and you are sure to get some expert opinions.

Oh and it's easy to start a new thread. Just go to the appropriate forum category and if you look closely at your screen you'll see a button (looks like a piece of paper) that say's "New Topic" (on my screen it's to the immediate right of the words "Main Menu" that is on the left side of the screen). Just click on that, type in a subject line and post away.

Hi PV,just wanted to welcome you aboard(dont mind Jeffs off the wall coments,he's cranky today)