You need a new floating dock or want to add to your existing one, but money is tight. Building your own dock can easily save you 50% over the cost of a new one. The cost of a finished dock includes the following:
• The cost of manufacturing the dock parts.
• The cost of transporting the dock parts to the final location.
• The cost of assembling the pieces into a finished dock.
Looking at the costs of building your own dock, it’s easy to assume the assembly cost is $0, because it’s just your time. However, three days after a base assembly went wrong, you may wish you had selected the base pieces a little more carefully. This article will outline the assembly process for the different floating dock construction options and hopefully save you some time and stress in building your own floating dock.
Welded steel or welded aluminum frames with custom floats
If you’re assembling a dock kit with a galvanized steel frame and custom floats, chances are it’s all shipped from the same manufacturer. Frames can weigh up to 300 pounds and even floats can weigh up to 110 pounds, so unless you have a forklift, you want to make sure all your friends are waiting when the cargo truck arrives. Move the pieces as close to the water as possible, because the final assembly will weigh the sum total of all the pieces you bolt and screw together. Once assembled, you will drag/carry the dock down the beach and into the water.
It is important to remember that the steel of your dock structure is protected by a layer of zinc that is applied after all the holes are drilled and the dock is completely welded. This layer is normally applied in a process known as “hot dip galvanizing”. Any new holes drilled in your galvanized structure will not be protected and will rust. Normally, the deck is attached by first screwing the pressure treated boards to which the deck can be screwed.
Pressure-treated wood frames with custom floats
If you are assembling a dock kit that is framed with pressure-treated lumber, the dock kit company will typically provide a custom hardware kit and floats. Hardware kit includes galvanized steel brackets and all necessary bolts and screws to attach wood frame and floats. They will also provide you with a list of lumber and it will be up to you to order the lumber. When building a 20’x8′ floating dock, a typical lumber list would include the following:
• 2×8 x 20′ main boards, Qty=5
• 2x8x8′ Dock Ends, Qty =2
• 2x6x8′ dock platform, Qty=42
The main lumbers are likely not a stock item and will need to be specially ordered from a local sawmill. In fact, you may find that your best price is to special order all the lumber and have it delivered on the same truck.
The 20×8′ dock described here will weigh even more than a dock with a welded steel frame, and worse, you’ll want to assemble the frame on as flat an area as possible. The finished dock may end up being much farther from the lake than the steel or aluminum framed dock, so launching your dock will involve surrounding it with all your friends and neighbors and walking the beach to the water.
“Bolt-on” aluminum frames and 55-gallon polyethylene drums
Aluminum spring kits won’t require an army to unload them upon delivery because aluminum is lightweight and the parts can be broken down into several smaller packages. Some aluminum base kits use stainless steel fasteners. There is an electrolysis effect between stainless steel and aluminum that will cause the aluminum to corrode into a white powder. This is significant in the presence of any type of salt. Even the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest has enough salts to see significant corrosion between stainless steel and aluminum after just one season in the water. The best aluminum frame spring kits will use 2024 aluminum bolts that have been anodized to improve their resistance to corrosion. Using aluminum bolts will allow your dock to last in all environments including the ocean.
The most common aluminum frame dock kits use 55 gallon polyethylene plastic drums for flotation. Reconditioned drums are much cheaper than custom dock floats and are usually available locally, thus saving shipping costs. Polyethylene drums are installed after the frame is assembled, but before the platform is laid. In most kits, the drums can be installed from the top.
Because aluminum frames are significantly lighter than steel and wood frames, the finished dock will be much lighter and therefore easier to transport to shore. Wheels cannot be added to steel or wood frame dock kits. However, some aluminum frame dock kits allow you to add poly wheels that will allow you and a couple of friends to easily roll your dock down the beach and into the water. Some aluminum frame dock kits even allow you to add a highway-rated axle that turns your dock into a floating trailer. These docks can be assembled miles from the lake and then towed behind a truck or SUV to the boat launch ramp.
I hope you enjoyed this article and that you are better prepared to build your own floating dock!