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Joined: Jul 2010
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Hall of Fame 2014
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OP
Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jul 2010
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Fellows I need some dock help/advice. My brother has a nice dock on Lake Fork in East Texas, but age is taking it's toll. The dock was built 25 years ago using steel piping for supports before the lake was full. Now the Lake is low and we discovered some serious problems with the support structure. The water and elements have really taken a toll rusting out the support beams. Does anyone have any experience on the possible best ways to repair something like this? See pics below: Here is the dock years ago when Lake is full: Here is the new aging problem with the metal pipe supports.
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 221
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 221 |
Well, this is not exactly going to be the best help, but I would start by raising the water level of the lake. Then you would not notice any problems.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,512 Likes: 831
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,512 Likes: 831 |
Wow! We have a pier that was made from 2" galvanized pipe and put in service in 1974. We don't have anything corroding like that.
I'd see about driving more pipe into the lake bottom equally spaced from the existing posts, refurbishing the whole pier. I'm assuming the angle iron braces are welded to the pipe? Those should be replaced (or added to) the new pipes. If one is corroded away that badly, the rest can't be that far behind.
It's not going to be a small project.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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Hall of Fame 2014
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OP
Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71 |
Clayton...that would be nice...outta sight outta mind! (lol)
Yeah esshup he bought the property & dock around 1986 and it was only a few years old. I would think the dock is around 26-28 years old. I knew it was getting older but was surprised it was so bad. Thanks for the input.
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,544
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Sep 2009
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Honestly myself. I would drive down same size pipe right up against the rotted ones (or all of them). Then connect the old pipe to the new pipe by drilling completely through both of them and bolting them. If you have spots that need new angle iron put the 2 new post on the inside of the exisisting pipes so you could run the angle from new post to new post.. Kinda hard to explain. I would think this would be the easiest and most efficient(cheap) way to fix this problem.. If you need to pm me i could try to explain better.
I believe in catch and release. I catch then release to the grease.. BG. CSBG. LMB. HSB. RES.
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 8
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 8 |
Wait till the water level is high enough to cover then damage then sell!!!! Seriously, this reminds me of one of my corrals that was built out of used oilfield pipe. It has rusted from the inside out and the oil field guys tell me it had acid in it when it was taken out of oilfield service and that is why it has rusted/rotted away so bad.
I would check with the dock repair services near you. I'm sure yours is not the only one in this shape and perhaps they could direct you to a repair they have done that you could look at. The time to fix it is certainly NOW while the water is low!!!
CowMan
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,512 Likes: 831 |
Bluegillkillers suggestion is better then mine. Bolt or weld above high water level.
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 834
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 834 |
I would make a fully supporting pipe structure matching the supports that are rotting away. This way the dock would be fully supported where it is at, regaurdless of the old supports. They can just rot away or be removed as the dock becomes stable.
Good morning Dave, I've checked the ships systems, and everything appears to be running normally.
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Joined: Oct 2005
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Posts: 6,934 Likes: 2 |
attach foam flotation to the bottoms of the flooring framework; set small charges at the remaining supporting poles and blow 'em all at once. (don't forget to hinge the gang plank) - in lieu of the charges, wait for the water level to come back up and methodically disassemble/remove the supporting metal framework
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Joined: Jul 2010
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Hall of Fame 2014
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OP
Hall of Fame 2014
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71 |
Thanks for the help and suggestions guys. I found a company that specializes in this exact type of dock. They are coming to take a look this week. I will report back. Cajun Marine Construction Website
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 376
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 376 |
Wait till the water level is high enough to cover then damage then sell!!!! Seriously, this reminds me of one of my corrals that was built out of used oilfield pipe. It has rusted from the inside out and the oil field guys tell me it had acid in it when it was taken out of oilfield service and that is why it has rusted/rotted away so bad. CowMan I bet it was to. We used to sell that stuff all the time out of wells when plugging. Set up the workover rig, pull out as much pipe as possible, and seal with concrete. Texas used to have an abandoned well plugging program that made it pretty profitable because they did not know the operators could pull pipe for extra money. Who knows how old that pipe was before it was ever used on the dock. We used some for pipe fencing on a 90 acre horse farm and the salts would leach out and flake the paint off every year. A lot of wells had salt water and sulfuric acid in the pipe from drilling around salt domes. Sorry, I don't have a solution, but figured you might wnat to know the reason.
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 3,794 Likes: 71
Hall of Fame 2014
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Hall of Fame 2014
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Thanks Jeff. The guy looked at the pics and says 27 years in the water and this sometimes happens. He builds and repairs docks made of steel pipe. Acted like he could stabilize it without it being too big a deal. If he can make it just last another 27 years....we'll be happy.
Fishing has never been about the fish....
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
The cheapest way to renovate a wooden dock/pier/deck is to merely flip the boards over and screw them back down. Yes, you may have to replace a few boards due to cracking and warping, but of the several decks/piers I have worked on and repaired, the boards look almost new on the underside. Two caveats: they have to have been screwed down in the first place, and the wood has to be pressure/weather treated.
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