Some pier repair projects turn out so well you just have to brag and share the experience.

For all you dock builders and repairers.... You can pour cement under water if you make the pour in one continuous pour.

Wow... three pours in one sentence.

Two years ago, I needed to raise a submerged pier support by 16 inces. It was under 8 inches of water at the time. The submerged support is a three feet by three feet by three feet cement pad supported by and attached to a three sided riser.

I built a 2 ft. by 1 ft. by 16 in. high metal form.

I cleaned the top of the submerged support with a wire brush.

I placed the form onto the submerged support and placed bricks and blocks around the form.

My son and nephew brought the cement while I held the form in place. We made the pour in one smooth operation without any problems.

We then placed a pre-drilled oiled board across the top. We placed bolts in the holes (thread side up) and then stacked cement blocks on top of the the board to hold the bolts upright and keep the form in place.

I had an out of town job and didn't get back to it for three weeks. When I removed the board and forms, the new support was perfect. It was tightly bound to the original submerged support.

It was then an easy job to bolt the new pier base to the two studs sticking out of the cement.

Looking back I could have gone an easier way... I could have cemented four 8 by 8 by 16 in blocks together and left the center spaces hollow. I could have let them dry and then just filled the four empty spaces after I set them on the submerged support. It would have been easier than building the metal form.

I am sure this under water pouring techinque will work for raising and strengthening existing posts if you first put a large pvc pipe around the post and drive the pvc into the mud. The cement will not stick very well to the post unless you clean the the post or perhaps nail some spikes into the post.

Has anyone out there tried this?

By the way, the cement bible states you should not pour cement underwater when the water is less than 45 degrees F. If you have to pour in cold water you must you must measure the cement temperature and pour when it is between 60 and 80 degrees F.

Also, you should not tamp or try to compact cement poured under water.

Dennis