Can you use 6x6 cedar posts for dock? I’ve looked everywhere and can find anything. I don’t think they will work but my dad thinks they will.

Of course they will work. I used utility pole pieces.

I used hedge (osage orange) posts for my dock. I don't see why cedar would not work.

These will be in 3 foot of water. Just going to cut the ends to a point then drive them in. They are western red cedar. I’ve looked everywhere on the internet and haven’t seen anyone that’s used them for a base.

I guess a better question would be how long will it last?

I think they will be are you using them because you have them or your going to buy them to use?

Personally if I was going to place a wooden dock post it would be purple hart maple. This is what the piers for the Atlantic boardwalk are made from.

Cheers Don.

I Work at a lumber company. I’ve got a bunch in stock. As well as 6x6 treated but I don’t want the chemicals to leach in the pond.

If you can get Osage orange, that would be the best local wood for the job. I can't speak for the maple mentioned. All I know is the Osage orange lasts for many decades in wet ground as fence posts and gets harder as it ages. It puts cedar to shame!

I’m not sure where to get that. We just have commodity lumber.

If everyone had their choice would you use treated or cedar.

I've got another question. Eastern Red Cedar or Western Red Cedar? I just realized I've got both. Which would hold up better?

Around my neck of the woods, hedge post are sold by word of mouth OR advertised on C.List or F.Book. Usually 10 to 20$ piece and worth every penny. The person having cut them out will have a 100 dollars worth of blood, sweat, and cuss words in every post...thorny tough ole trees! They won't be squared off. They will be "bark-on" and getting real straight ones, well that rarely happens.

I can't help with western or eastern qualities.

Thanks for the info. I looked on C.List but didn't find anything local. I'm just going to use the cedar we have. But I did read that the eastern cedar is in the cypress family and seems denser that the western cedar.

you want eastern red cedar, western doesn't share the same properties and will not last as long. Eastern is more aromatic (repels more bugs)

Black locust makes a darn good post wood similar to Osage orange and should last 20+ years. Honey locust is about half as good (10-12 years). These all work well in water

That Osage orange was used by Natives as horse corals. They would plant them in a large circle to hold their horses in. 99% of the time when you find them in Ontario they are in a square or circle planted.

Cheers Don.

I would use pressure treated posts rated for ground contact before I used cedar. Perhaps even rated for "ground contact critical use" The newer AC2 preservative treatment which replaced CCA is much less risky to health. But if you don't want it in your pond I understand.

Osage Orange/hedge would out last us all but would be more difficult to find enough somewhat straight ones. For my dock I used big utility poles, but was able to install them prior to the lake being filled.

I would have too but when we finished this thing a couple of years ago it filled up in like 2 weeks. We had serious flooding around town.

My preference was to use 2" galv steel but pops has different ideas. I guess I'll replace them in 5 to 10 years with the steel pipe haha.

Thanks Mat!

I second using utility poles.

Actually mine did fill before I got the dock built from two heavy rains, so I drained it down enough to get the tractor/auger in. You COULD lower your lake level, but not likely you want to do that.

That is nice. Whats the width of those utility poles

They are tapered but generally about 10". The local rural electric co-ops will give away used poles. I "know someone", thus was able to pick through the pile for newer poles - damaged by car accident or something - as I didn't need them to be very tall.