Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Next project is floating boat dock

I have diligently read most all threads I could find trying not to ask redundant questions, but still have a few... Decided on PT lumber for frame. 16x20' dock using plan from Dock Builders, their hardware & floats. OK, I am going to ask sawmill in Sanger about cypress for deck( it will be too expensive), Should I use 5/4 PT deck(16" oc frame) or 2x6"s(on 24"oc) saving extra joists & hardware? Is the 5/4PT better quality than 2x6"PT as far as warpage or am I going to get bad pieces anyway. Do you build with the stuff green or not. Use stainless steel screws(square or torque)? Wait to apply stains? Use all the different topical treatment solutions before staining? Would like imput from folks who have done this before cause I sure as heck haven't. Oh yea, have some used & new Trex if anyone wants it as I decided against it for deck..

Hey David,
Good choice passing on the Trex for the dock deck. I have heard and read enough stories that prove it out as being fairly vulnerable to the high humidity that a boat dock experiences. That, and it costs a freaking bundle.
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First off, all my PT lumber projects are typically done with stock fresh out of the cooker. That's what happens when you purchase from Menards. Good cuz you don't have to space the decking boards; just butt them tight against each other. When they finally dry/cure, the spacing will be just right. I experimented with a bunk of 2-by PT by air drying it with spacers for about 3 months. Our dock construction thread provides the various details If you have already been there, sorry to duplicate the input. Anyway, even though the stock air dried for 3 months, I still butt the 2 x 6 deck boards tight. The final gap, after final cure, was still OK...maybe just slightly tight, but not a mistake. The downside to green lumber is the weight...Oy!
Stainless steel hardware is a must.
5/4 decking or 2 x 6 decking...hmmmm. I went with 2 x 6 because I opted to minimize a little weight and cost by putting the joists on 24" centers. Besides, the cost of 2 x 6 compared to 5/4 stock was negligible. The advantage of 5/4 stock is that they are a little easier to "push" or "move around" if you need to try and take out bow or twist. Speaking of which, I invested in a Bo-wrench for $45 from Amazon.com. It works and did take a decent job and made it look great. Good investment.
If you are going to hand-pick your stock, then you will likely start with fairly straight stock. If you install the stock right away, then less wrestling with bow and twist than if you give it a chance to start thinking it might want to be a propeller.
Screws or hidden fasteners...? Your call; either works well. Hidden creates about 2 - 3 times the labor, but the flawless surface is awesome.
You mention square or torque. I have always used #2 square, but stainless steel is considerably softer than tempered steel deck screws. The heads can strip quickly if you slip just once. I often wondered how torque heads would work. I'll bet that they are more forgiving.

david u

May have missed the part about the size of your lake.
Just wanted to know.

Good luck with the dock.

Otto

The lake is only about 2 acres(maybe less after last 2 weeks of record heat & no rain) It should be about 5 acres if and when it fills to the spillway.

Boat dock started! Floats and hardware from Dock Builders arrived and the project has begun. Have decided that the pond only being half full solves the problem of how to move the completed dock onto the water or build it over the water. I scraped a fairly level area within two feet of the shore & that's where the dock is being built.



I down-sized the dimensions to 12'x16' which should be plenty big & stable. Using PT 2"x8" for frame. The hardware from Dock Builders appears heavy-duty & it took me about 4 hours(by myself) to get to this point



There's no rain in the forecast so I should have plenty of time to finish framing. After that, it could rain a lot and I could still finish the dock with it floating.. Will add as progress is made

Looks good to me David, I would like to inquire about what you figure you will have Dollar wise in this style of dock. I'm not quite financially sound as I'd like to be, ok, I'm sort of cheap, but I am very capable of building,just wondered what your floatation chambers cost you. I'm still in the planning stages but plans are to make half of my dock floating and uncovered, the other half fixed to shore and large enough to house my 12 seater picnic table and have a roof like Brettski's does. Just curious what your floats cost, since I know what I can drive pilings for with my crane.

Hi JoeG. I know what you mean by "cheap", frugal,thrifty, etc. cause I'm the same way. The floats (4)48"x72"x12" & (1)36"x48"x16" cost $997.00 + shipping. The stainless steel screws were $100.00. The rest of the hardware(incld brackets to secure gangway to pier & roller brackets for gangway to rest on deck) costs $1798.00 + shipping..I seriously considered the Canadian style floating dock with styrofoam, but that was done prior to new pressure treating formulation and it kind of spooked me off any non-stainless or heavy galvanized hardware system..good luck on your plans..du

When I bought my place the "floating dock" had been beached, with two corners afixed to T posts. I made a new pier, unteathered the dock and floated it out several feet from the shore. THEN, I found out why the previous owner had beached it. The floats were not spaced evenly so it sits at a 30 degree angle. The look I could handle, but it greatly effects the stability.

If I had a Dow floating billet Floating Billet I might be able to cut an 8 footer into 3 pieces and force it under the dock into the empty spaces. I really want to avoid dragging the 8 x 12 dock ashore and removing the decking to respace the (drum) floats. How likely is it I can cut the billets to size and force them under the floating dock?

Schroeder..I don't know how hard it would be to submerge a styro billet, but sounds like a reasonable way to fix your problem. Maybe someone who has experience with the billets will post to help answer your question...du

Haven't done it. Do not know how but I would like to be there to help it sounds like fun.

David, it looks like you've decided to go with 2x6 decking. IME 5/4 decking has 4 good corners which is important because the decking should be laid with the end grain looking like a sunrise. This is so they all cup the same direction making for a smoother surface. 2x6 treated is usually #2 and the grade allows for bark on a corner and the bark will always be on the side that should be facing up. IMO a 2x6 24 o/c deck looks and feels nicer than a 5/4 decked 16" o/c, you just have to do a little hand sorting at the lumber yard to get some good 2x6s.

Ryan, thank you for the tips. I did hand pick the 2"x6" deck boards plus a few. With the boards "sunrise-looking" end grain, will that cause cupping to be in a downward direction?.. The bow-wrench suggested by Brettski came UPS today, so decking starts tomorrow..du

Here's my take on decking board placement and the grain as it relates to potential cupping.
Yes, absolutely, the experts and recommended standard procedure is to put the board down so the end grain looks like a rainbow (as opposed to a smile). Occassionally, the board is the exact center of the tree and one end is a smile and the other end is the rainbow....whatever....flip a coin.
Now...the practical results over time. I have had MANY of the boards placed per recommendations cup in the exact opposite intended and expected direction. I have seen it so many times that I often wonder whether is really is going to make a difference. Regardless, I continue to follow the SOP.

I used to sell/install vinyl decking. Most of what we did was replace existing wood decking with vinyl planks then wrap the existing frame with vinyl cover. IME sunrise is better than not. But it may have simply been that those decks built by people who went to the trouble built the whole deck better. I crown the joists up too. Heck I crown wall studs!

Finished the dock, other than connecting to pier, which will require another 12" rain to float dock high enough to do so. Kinda feel like a tiny version of Noah, building this stuff in dirt believing that it's going to rain.




Used some advance formula Thompsons cause it can be used on green PT lumber.



The ramp will roll on the deck, so that if it comes a heck of a rain later & the dock is secured by the pipe corners, then as the dock rises it won't tear apart the deck if it was tied hard & fast

Looks great Noah!

Agreed...very slick, david.
Love the attention to detail.
(soften the edges with a router and round-over bit....you're worse than me )

Why did you use an uneven number of floats on the two sides. Won't the side with three float higher than the side with two?

Schroeder, good question! The middle float will support the weight of the ramp resting on the dock..du