Got lucky enough to snag a truckload of treated lumber on Craigslist for FREE. Had a friend with a hookup for the barrels for FREE. Already had nails and screws. Had to buy a few bags of quikrete and a 4x4 for the ramp posts, and some hardware for connecting the ramp to the posts and the ramp to the dock. All in all I have put in about $40 (and a week's worth of evening work at a leisurely pace). Not bad for a 12x14 dock with a 3.5x10 ramp for our half-acre pond!


Overall, a fairly easy project, and about the cheapest project I've ever done. Puppy approved, and the fish love it too.

Nice! Were the dogs your first test?

Congratulations! It looks awesome.

There have been previous discussions about the pros/cons of using treated lumber, but I don't recall what the consensus was.

Awesome! Exactly what I'd like to do. Both the look and the price.

I believe myself and the neighbor's kid were the first ones on it, but the dogs hopped right on with us. I was surprised the smaller one (brilla) hopped on with no hesitation -- she's completely blind, and that was before the ramp was done. she hates water, but also hates being left out, so she found her way to it and jumped right on. The bigger one (Zari) loves to watch (aka hunt) fish and frogs. She bit a one or two of the catfish when we'd feed them from the shore, but now she can't reach them from the dock when we feed, so they are safer

I thought about the treated lumber thing -- but its not IN the water so i figured it can't do too much damage (other than rain runoff)... I plan to seal it (on the top), which should seal in most of the contaminants. the bottom (i flipped the boards from their previous life as a deck) is already sealed, so hopefully that sealant lasts for a while.

I'll have to look for some of those discussions and see if there is anything I should look out for, thanks for the tip!

Yeah i'd been watching Craigslist for a while, and kept being too late on the "free wood" posts. finally got one. I couldn't believe i got enough for a dock that big! It's perfect. The guy had a 750 square foot deck he tore out (he even took all the nails out!!!), and most of the lumber was 16 foot. I had to split it with another guy but got the perfect amount for this.

I guess the green/hipster term is "reclaimed" wood.

Wouldn't worry about the treated lumber in the pond. Compared to the volume of water it's such a small amount. I have a pier that is 60 percent treated lumber that goes completely across the pond, and my fish are as healthy as they come.

I figure there is far more copper in algaecide treatments than will leach from a dock's treated lumber. Older treated lumber will have leached most of what it has on the surface a long time ago.

Sorry! I didn't mean to be a downer about the treated lumber. I just remember the discussion.

Nice score!!

Wow that looks really nice! I may have to do that. I can get the barrels easy!

Looking great! But wouldn't a nice coat of sealant prolong that dock a bit more, and create a nice smooth surface just in case?

Also if you can still rotate the barrels have the bungs sitting horizontal to the water just to keep them out of the water most of the time just incase you develope a small leak..

Leo, yes, we are planning on sealing it as soon as we have time!

BluegillerKiller -- i went back and forth on this -- i'm still watching them for leaks, so far so good -- but i may still rotate them so the seals are horizontal, which will keep them both out of the water except when there are several people on it. Thanks for the tip! Definitely still pondering this and keeping an eye on it. May rotate soon!

Thanks everyone, enjoying the dock almost every day!