The image shows the foundation of an old pier. I now want to restore that pier to a functioning swimming pier. (I clearly remember it being a complete pier, but at the time, my family didn't own this property. So I was never close to the old pier and can't say how it was constructed.)
The pier should not need to be taken in during the winter. I'm a beginner with piers, and grateful for any tips and advice. So far, I've come up with the following ideas:
On top of the existing visible stones, a wooden structure is needed. It can be partially attached to the stones, but also needs additional fastening points. Further out, where the stones are a bit below the water surface, I can have either a fixed pier or a floating pier. Regardless, I need to anchor it to the bottom somehow. For this I see essentially three methods, but I'm unsure how feasible they are:
1. Piling. You can pile iron/steel poles or treated wood poles. But how do you pile out there? An excavator with a long arm and piling equipment could work. But can I find a contractor who both has such equipment and is interested in the job, far out in the countryside in northern Blekinge?
2. Stone crib. You can construct a stone crib or buy ready-made fiberglass crates. But how do you get the stones out there to fill it? I think the standard answer is to barge the stones there, but that doesn't work in a lake. Additionally, I sometimes read that the stone crib should also ideally be piled.
3. Ground screw. Should work well once it's in place. But how do you install it? Is it the same situation where the installer expects that one can barge equipment/platform to the installation site?
I can't be the only one building piers in a lake, I think, but I'm surprisingly finding little information about it.
The pier should not need to be taken in during the winter. I'm a beginner with piers, and grateful for any tips and advice. So far, I've come up with the following ideas:
On top of the existing visible stones, a wooden structure is needed. It can be partially attached to the stones, but also needs additional fastening points. Further out, where the stones are a bit below the water surface, I can have either a fixed pier or a floating pier. Regardless, I need to anchor it to the bottom somehow. For this I see essentially three methods, but I'm unsure how feasible they are:
1. Piling. You can pile iron/steel poles or treated wood poles. But how do you pile out there? An excavator with a long arm and piling equipment could work. But can I find a contractor who both has such equipment and is interested in the job, far out in the countryside in northern Blekinge?
2. Stone crib. You can construct a stone crib or buy ready-made fiberglass crates. But how do you get the stones out there to fill it? I think the standard answer is to barge the stones there, but that doesn't work in a lake. Additionally, I sometimes read that the stone crib should also ideally be piled.
3. Ground screw. Should work well once it's in place. But how do you install it? Is it the same situation where the installer expects that one can barge equipment/platform to the installation site?
I can't be the only one building piers in a lake, I think, but I'm surprisingly finding little information about it.
Last edited:
Floating docks are often laid with different types of anchors on the bottom. The exact design varies, the pier builder can help you with that, but crosswise with concrete weights for example.
Don't forget that you need to notify the County Administrative Board!
Don't forget that you need to notify the County Administrative Board!
I can't find a "dock builder" in these parts, so I probably need to think for myself, I'm afraid.G Genomklok said:
Yes, I'm aware of the process with the county administrative board.
Piling with impregnated wooden posts and steel posts is done by my farmer with a tractor or excavator. They slide easily into the ground when weight is applied. He drives the post down the first decimeter just to make it stand straight.
Do you mean that after making it stand straight, you just press the post down with the bucket? Or am I misunderstanding you?pacman42 said:
That's exactly what the farmer does here. But the person standing on the ground (in the water) moves a few meters when this is done.WaldenWoods said:
Edit: but then there aren't any rocks underneath...
Mmm.. okay. Thanks. Interesting. The stones aren't everywhere, so they probably don't pose a problem in this context.
I'm not an expert on this, but my feeling is that if it's that easy to push down the posts, the ice is likely to lift up the dock, with posts and all.
EDIT: But a floating dock should work for that.
Personally, I would have put in a gabion cage and filled it with stones. Then adjusted the bridge a little each year based on how the ice has moved the cage (usually nothing in a lake unless we're talking about the really big ones).
Maybe you can consult someone who is not in the area? A suggestion: https://bryggkompaniet.se/
Yes, that's what I meant with fiberglass cages in my option 2. But it feels challenging to fill with stones when you can't efficiently barge them there. Bringing out a couple of stones at a time in a rowboat... you could keep doing that for a very long time then.
How long a dock are you thinking of? Place a rowboat outside and put up a gangway to it so you can go out with stones in buckets. Or put out a raft. Or lay out a couple of logs to put the gangway over and drive in some screws. There are many ways.
Compared to that video, I have a good starting point. I already have the stones in place. I can construct a frame around the stones, so I have anchoring in place for the inner part of the dock, in a similar way as in the video.B Bonafluff said:
But how do you anchor the outer part? It’s not shown in the video, it's out of the frame.