Esshups floating dock - 09/08/13 02:07 AM
This is to help chronicle my floating dock build. It pales in comparison to what n8ly can build, but this was completely a one man show (with a little help from my Kubota Tractor).
A little background:
My pond is a groundwater pond, and the pond water level will fluctuate up to 6', depending on the amount of rainfall and snowmelt. So, I had to plan the dock and make it large enough so that at the lowest level, it wouldn't be resting on the pond bottom, nor float free if the pond ever comes back up to full pool.
The dock was built in 3 pieces. The part that is anchored to shore, the walkway, and the actual floating portion of the dock.
I wanted the dock deck to look the same on all 3 pieces, and I also wanted the edges of the decking to be covered, so that if you were to sit on the edge of the dock and dangle your feet in the water, I didn't want the edges of the decking digging into the back of a persons legs.
The anchored part is 4' wide, and 12' long. It is anchored by pressure treated 4" x 6" timbers, rated 4B or UC4B. It's for permanent wood foundations, and can be immersed in fresh water. Each piece is buried in the ground approximately 48", is resting on a 6" thick cement pad at the bottom of the hole, and then I poured 2 bags of fast set cement around them to anchor them into the ground.
The walkway is 4' wide, and 16' long.
The floating portion of the dock is in the shape of a "T". The bottom of the "T" is 4' wide by 16' long, and the top of the "T" is 12' wide by 8' long. So, the overall length of the floating part of the dock is 24' long.
I didn't think the length of the dock would allow me to use the 4' wide anchored portion as an anchor to keep it in place (stop it moving from side to side) so I had to figure out a way to do that, and still allow access to the sides of the dock. I decided that by using 1 1/2" galvanized pipe shoved into the pond bottom as far as I could get it, and captured on the dock by PVC slides, would do the trick. It did - more on that later.
Floats:
I used 55 gallon plastic barrels. I opened each barrel, coated the threads of the bungs with silicone seal, and reinstalled them. I still need to find a 30 gallon barrel as I really should put it under the bottom of the "T" where the walkway rests on the dock. There is no water inside of the barrels as ballast.
I calculated the weight of the lumber, and added enough flotation so that the wood would not be submerged if there were 2,000# of people on the dock.
Material:
Deck is made from 5/4 x 6" round edge treated wood.
Anchored part is made from 2" x 4" joists, faced by 2" x 6" treated lumber so you don't see the ends of the deck boards.
Walkway is made from the same joists/decking.
The floating part of the dock is made from 2" x 10" joists, 2" x 4" blocks to keep the barrels in place, and then faced with 2" x 12" to hide the edges of the deck boards and to hide the barrels.
Hardware:
The inside corners, outside corners and walkway "hinge" was sourced from Dockbuilders Supply in Florida. The 1/2" carriage bolts, nuts and washers were sourced from e-bay. The deck boards are held in place by #10 square drive stainless steel deck screws, 2 1/2" long, purchased from Menards.
The six 1 1/2" dia galvanized pipes that hold the floating portion of the dock in place slide inside 3" dia PVC pipes. The PVC pipes are held onto the dock by 1/2" dia threaded "U" bolts that I made (couldn't find the size that I needed).
Well, enough of that, on to the pictures.
Some of the lumber:
A little background:
My pond is a groundwater pond, and the pond water level will fluctuate up to 6', depending on the amount of rainfall and snowmelt. So, I had to plan the dock and make it large enough so that at the lowest level, it wouldn't be resting on the pond bottom, nor float free if the pond ever comes back up to full pool.
The dock was built in 3 pieces. The part that is anchored to shore, the walkway, and the actual floating portion of the dock.
I wanted the dock deck to look the same on all 3 pieces, and I also wanted the edges of the decking to be covered, so that if you were to sit on the edge of the dock and dangle your feet in the water, I didn't want the edges of the decking digging into the back of a persons legs.
The anchored part is 4' wide, and 12' long. It is anchored by pressure treated 4" x 6" timbers, rated 4B or UC4B. It's for permanent wood foundations, and can be immersed in fresh water. Each piece is buried in the ground approximately 48", is resting on a 6" thick cement pad at the bottom of the hole, and then I poured 2 bags of fast set cement around them to anchor them into the ground.
The walkway is 4' wide, and 16' long.
The floating portion of the dock is in the shape of a "T". The bottom of the "T" is 4' wide by 16' long, and the top of the "T" is 12' wide by 8' long. So, the overall length of the floating part of the dock is 24' long.
I didn't think the length of the dock would allow me to use the 4' wide anchored portion as an anchor to keep it in place (stop it moving from side to side) so I had to figure out a way to do that, and still allow access to the sides of the dock. I decided that by using 1 1/2" galvanized pipe shoved into the pond bottom as far as I could get it, and captured on the dock by PVC slides, would do the trick. It did - more on that later.
Floats:
I used 55 gallon plastic barrels. I opened each barrel, coated the threads of the bungs with silicone seal, and reinstalled them. I still need to find a 30 gallon barrel as I really should put it under the bottom of the "T" where the walkway rests on the dock. There is no water inside of the barrels as ballast.
I calculated the weight of the lumber, and added enough flotation so that the wood would not be submerged if there were 2,000# of people on the dock.
Material:
Deck is made from 5/4 x 6" round edge treated wood.
Anchored part is made from 2" x 4" joists, faced by 2" x 6" treated lumber so you don't see the ends of the deck boards.
Walkway is made from the same joists/decking.
The floating part of the dock is made from 2" x 10" joists, 2" x 4" blocks to keep the barrels in place, and then faced with 2" x 12" to hide the edges of the deck boards and to hide the barrels.
Hardware:
The inside corners, outside corners and walkway "hinge" was sourced from Dockbuilders Supply in Florida. The 1/2" carriage bolts, nuts and washers were sourced from e-bay. The deck boards are held in place by #10 square drive stainless steel deck screws, 2 1/2" long, purchased from Menards.
The six 1 1/2" dia galvanized pipes that hold the floating portion of the dock in place slide inside 3" dia PVC pipes. The PVC pipes are held onto the dock by 1/2" dia threaded "U" bolts that I made (couldn't find the size that I needed).
Well, enough of that, on to the pictures.
Some of the lumber: