Building a floating dock can be a great addition to your property, as it adds some visual appeal and gives you another way to enjoy the water. But, it sounds like a large and complicated process. It’s not. It can be a time-consuming one, but it doesn’t need to be impossible.
With the right preparation and proper steps, it could be relatively straightforward. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to build, install, and enjoy a DIY floating dock on your property. Let’s go through how you can do it.
What You’ll Need to Build a Floating Dock
Before starting off, make sure you have everything you need. For a basic wooden floating dock, you’ll need:
- Pressure-treated lumber for the frame and docking boards.
- Floating pontoons or foam-filled floats.
- Hot-dipped galvanized hardware, like bolts and screws.
- Float brackets and supports.
- Dock accessories, like cleats, bumpers, ropes, and anchors.
The exact amount of materials you’ll need depends on how large of a floating dock you’re building. The larger the dock, the more you’ll need.
Then there are the various tools you’ll need to put it all together yourself. Generally speaking, you’ll need:
- A Saw (Either Circular or Miter)
- Drill and Drill Bits
- Wrenches and Socket Set
- Tape Measure and Carpenter’s Square
- Screws, Screwdrivers, and Hammers
Get these early so you don’t have to worry about leaving your project in the middle of getting it done, just so you can head out and get anything you forgot about.
Sorting Out Practicalities & Legalities
Just because you’re able to build a floating dock yourself doesn’t mean you’re actually allowed to. You’ll need to check local regulations and laws ahead of time to make sure you can. Look into this before investing in your tools and materials so your money doesn’t go to waste.
The size and exact location of your floating dock will play a noticeable part in this. Figure them out early and apply for planning permission if you have to. You might have to wait a while to hear back and get approved, but it avoids quite a few issues later on.
Once you’ve got your materials and tools, and made sure everything’s legal, it’s time to build a floating dock. This takes time, effort, and a decent bit of work, but it doesn’t need to be nearly as complicated as you’d think. It’s just a matter of taking the right steps from the start.
Building a Floating Dock: Steps to Take
1. Getting Started
For a floating dock, assembling everything from the bottom up makes things much easier later on. While it means you’ll technically be doing it upside down, it saves a lot of hassle in later steps. At least, that’s the case when you’re laying out the stringers and ends of the base structure (and bracers, if you need them).
Make sure everything’s properly squared off by measuring the diagonals. These should be within an eight of an inch of each other. You can then temporarily secure these in place by screwing a board to a structure.
2. Drilling & Installing Bolts
Next, you’ll need to place your boards and pieces in the right places, marking the locations of holes with a pencil. This is to make sure the holes match up for when you need to start drilling later on. Take your time with this so you can make sure you’re marking the exact right spots.
Once you’ve marked everything properly, it’s time to drill and secure hardware that keeps your floating dock together. Hinges, leg holders, and back plates are some of the more notable of these. Like when you were marking for holes, take your time to do it right.
3. Laying Supports
Now you’ll need to lay out your supports to match them up and figure out accurate positioning. Mark the locations of float brackets and similar support mechanisms, taking your time to measure everything up perfectly. You should also mark the locations of the float brackets on the structure.
With everything properly marked and positioned, remove the floats and screw the brackets in place. Secure them with lag bolts or your preferred way of securing them, making sure everything’s properly held in place.
4. Finishing it Off
Before you can install your docking, you’ll need to turn the structure right side up. This takes time and care to do without damaging the structure or hurting yourself. Be careful from the start. Once it’s flipped, double-check the squareness to make sure everything matches up.
Start installing your docking at one end of your floating dock. You’ll need to adjust the second-to-last board to fit the remaining space, but this shouldn’t have to be too complicated. Make sure everything’s firmly screwed in place.
Anchoring Your Floating Dock
Anchoring your dock usually isn’t an area to focus on when it’s a fixed dock. With a floating one, however, you’ll need to invest in it. A proper anchoring system lets it stay in place when there are any strong winds, waves, or currents. Nobody wants their dock floating away, after all.
To do this, you’ll need:
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Chains and Weights - Use heavy anchor blocks or weights attached to chain points at each of the corners, as well as along every 30 feet of your dock.
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Secure Attachment - Drop anchors into the water while holding the chain at the dock corner, keeping tension so the chain stays taut once set. Repeat for opposite sides.
Anchors prevent your floating dock from drifting while making the structure itself a lot safer and more usable.
Enjoy Your Floating Dock
Building a floating dock can be a major addition to your property, but that doesn’t have to mean it needs to be an overwhelming project. You just have to know what you’re doing ahead of time.
Proper preparation makes sure everything should go relatively smoothly. After that, it’s just a matter of taking the steps in the right order, and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Your DIY floating pool could just be a few weeks away.