and do you really need at this time to do anything other than replace a few top boards.

because you are close to replacing the whole shebang. as if you get to far into it you might as well. or you end up with a half ass job with parts of it going to rot out too soon for the work you did..

The whole thing started when my neighbor noticed one of the support beams was cracked and another bowed pretty badly. I started to take a few planks off to see how bad it was and I found more bad places. Im amazed the walkway is still intact. So, yeah, everything needs to be replaced. Im hoping to salvage the pilings, but most of it will be new wood.

I'm doing a little research on how I can fix the bad pilings.

Basically, my only repair choice is to shore them up with concrete. There is a product called snap jacket that forms a tube around the piling. Then, you mix concrete and pour it in. From what I can tell it is a good solution and lasts a long time. However, the actual product (like everything else) has an 8 week wait time. Plus it is expensive.

But, I talked to a local dock supply place and he offered up an alternative. He said just get some think dock wrap and fasten it well. That's the tricky part. I'm thinking of drilling holes in the ends and holding it together with zip ties. However, we'll be pouring concrete into it so I'm not completely sure that will be strong enough. Maybe if I get some hose clamps if they make them big enough.

Have to think about it some more. Meanwhile, I'll probably get in the water and do a good inspection tomorrow.

Was the dock part of the inspection before you bought the house?

Where is the god damn boat!!

That’s a stupid dock. Burn it and start over.

Yeah. They mentioned the pilings and the deck boards, but missed the cross beams and the walkway deterioration. We really didn't pay much attention to this part of the inspection, honestly.

The boat is in time out, for nothing she did. Our lift guy promised yet again to be here today or tomorrow. If he doesn't show up I think I'm going to pursue getting my money back and hiring yet another guy.

Much like me, the dock just seems stupid because it's old.

Got in the water to assess the pilings. Getting in the water wasn't nearly as bad as anticipating getting in the water. The two pilings on the end are pretty deep though so I have to dive down to get to things.

Great news! The deep pilings are all in good shape! I need to re-wrap them all but it will not be necessary to pour concrete. The only one requiring concrete is very close to the seawall and easy to get to. All of them have a lot of oysters/barnacles on them that need to be scraped off.

I'll go get the necessary supplies today.

In other (GREAT) news. The lift guy texted me to tell me they will be here this afternoon!

Good news on pilings and lift.

When you talk about wrapping the piling, is it some sort of membrane like a plastic to keep the water away? Sealed?

Why? What harm do they do?

This is the @MerriamWebster definition of 'enfant terrible' https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict...nfant+terrible

It's a hard plastic that comes in rolls. You nail it to the pilings.



Some people like to wrap a more membrane like (think saran wrap) around the piling before the actual wrap.

Although there is natural erosion on the pilings, the main culprit is wood eating worms. They will destroy pilings fairly quickly if left alone. From what I've read, they need somewhat oxygenated water and sunlight so the wrap stops both of those.

Not a lot but on some of the pilings, the old wrap has come off and the barnacles/oysters are attached to the wood. I need them gone to make a good seal with the new wrap.

Those things are incredibly sharp. My hand slipped this morning and I gouged a huge hunk of meat off my finger. Ugh.

Lift has arrived.

Crew trying to figure out best way to remove cover frame.

Well, they got most of it installed but the crew said the bunks wont fit. It is ready for the electrician though.

The crew finished early so my wife and I decided to start on the dock pilings. We got the two deep ones wrapped, and poured concrete around the rotted one. Pretty happy with that. Should be easier as we go now. Its pretty hard to hammer nails in 5 ft. of water.

I probably could have gotten more done but i was shivering a lot. The water didn't feel cold but it eventually got to me.

think about if you are leaving it there in a hurricane.

What are bunks?

the rails the boat sits on. sleeps on. get it?

We did some more work on the posts. We wrapped four more of the deeper posts. I don't think the shallower ones need it so I'm leaving that work for now.

I pulled the wrap off one of the posts holding up the walkway. YIKES! It was so rotten that I think the dock was actually holding the post up. So, we poured concrete around it in hopes that will shore it up. If not, I'll come up with some sort of other solution, like sinking a sister post.

Anyway, my time in the water working on posts is over for now. I have a nasty cut on one of my fingers from an oyster so I need to stay out of the water for a while. Lot's of flesh eating bacteria down this way.

I believe the issue with the bunks is not the bunks. I think the braces that attach the bunks have been drilled more than once, and will need to be drilled again. I think the head worker saw this as an issue that it would significantly weaken the brackets. I tend to agree after looking at it.

The lift is ready to get wired, though so I contacted the electrician.

I'm taking a day off from the dock. I hurt from head to toe.

The electrician came by and hooked everything up.

However......he strongly recommended we change the power from 110 to 220. He said we'll burn those motors up pretty quickly if we leave it as is. I don't believe he's trying to upsell me or anything. I get a good feeling from him.

I did some quick googling and it confirms what he's saying.

Also, doing some pricing on decking. Ouch. Composite decking is ridiculous. Wood is about half the price but maintenance is a pain. I really don't want to have to seal/stain it every year.

Your lift motors will work on both 110 and 220?

Apparently so. I had no idea.

most of those kind of motors can be wired either way. you just change the way the wires are inside it.
you also need to run 220 to the dock if it doesnt have it and must have room in your service box for the extra breaker. can be a pain and costly and leaving it 110 wont burn out your motor. your not running it long enough. and its not under a big load as its geared down.

rotten piers need replacing remember what happens when the next hurricane comes by. must build for that. you got lucky this time.

the trex is nice and about 2 dollars plus a linear foot. can be slippery. wood is cheaper and staining it really doesnt make it last longer. just let it gray out.
next best is treated wood which wont rot on you. but the new stuff needs special hardware. and isnt nice on your bare feet if thats how you walk around on the dock.

The guy that gave me the bid on the lift, we'll call him Brian (because his name is Brian), is sort of a jack of all trades, master of absolutely none. He tries hard but he's not very knowledgeable (or smart). I told him I had spoken with the electrician who advised putting in 220 to power the lift. "I don't know anything about that stuff" he replied.

Anyway, the crew that worked on the lift said told me something wasn't right with the bunks. I couldn't really understand what he was trying to tell me. I relayed this non-information to Brian who followed up with the crew chief. Apparently, the bunks were for a different size lift and he didn't want to drill more bolt holes in them to make them fit. I thought this was rather silly when I found out. It really isn't an issue. Brian thought that as well.

Anyway, Brian came by yesterday to "finish" things up. However, the alignment of the supports to the bunks seemed to completely perplex him. After about an hour of looking and measuring, he decided to leave to get some new support brackets. He eventually came back with one of the crew members that had installed the lift the other day. This guy speaks no English whatsoever. I could see Brian getting really irritated with this guy.

They eventually got the bunks secured but still had to get the guide posts attached when it got dark. I looked at the bunks and could immediately tell they were not spaced properly. Fortunately, I wrote down all the measurements from our old lift. I told Brian this and he said he would be back today to finish things up.

“to finish things up” has an ominous ring. I do hope it goes well but I personally would not bet on it. Good Luck.