I would guess this topic has been covered before, forgive me if I am duplicating previous threads... All direct help, thread links, etc are welcome!!
I have a small (1/3 acre), protected (bottom of a hill, trees on 3 sides) pond in Wisconsin. Being that we live "up nort", we will get a fair amount of winter ice on the pond... However, being that its a small pond and fairly protected, I'm hoping/thinking that the ice won't shift or move enough to cause much damage to docks/posts/anchor points. I just had the pond dug last summer and we had very little runoff this spring, so my pond is maybe half full right now --- its about 5-6 feet deep, with 5-6 feet to go until full pool...
I want to put a small permanent dock in (I do not wish to remove it over the winter), and with the low water levels, I have full access to work with the post to ground contact points out of the water. I am free to dig holes in the dirt instead of mess with sinking wood or metal below the waterline.
Sooo.... Wood or metal? Concrete or none? Lots of options here... Here are my thoughts so far...
Menards has Playstar brand dock components... So my main option there is using 1 5/8" galvanized pipe... I could set those 3 foot into the soil and concrete them into place... Will the metal poles shift much (or bend??) due to winter ice? Any other downsides to working with the pipe? If I do go this route this, I assume I should indeed use concrete to anchor?
Otherwise, I could use PT 4x4 or 6x6 and sink them 3 feet or so into the soil. I had also thought about using 6 inch concrete tube forms (for 4x4 posts) and make a concrete piling that extends from below the soil to above the water line, with the 4x4 sticking up above the concrete/ above the waterline. (dumb idea or not??) - I don't have much experience working with concrete for underwater applications... Not sure how fast the 4x' or 6's will rot out in submerged applications... Menards only carries one grade of PT as far as I know... If PT would be the strongest/cheapest/easiest and would last 20+ years, that would be great... But if it might rot out in 5, I want to go a different route.
One more option... Dig a hole for a 6 or 8 inch piece of PVC... Put some rebar the length of it and fill with concrete... Strong and stable??? or will I run into problems here?
This is a small pond and I don't want to go overboard (and am trying to find the cheapest workable alternative), but I do want to do it right... Any help would be appreciated, especially those of you who have experience with these materials and freeze-up in the north...
Thanks!!
Last edited by woodwalleye; 06/26/12 07:17 AM.
