Here is a basic tutorial to show how to measure for a new dock system, especially with a seawall or rock wall which can change the dimensions required. We were cold (it was 29 degrees) and forgot to mention that it is critical to measure and record the muck depth at each measurement location every 10' (i.e. ankles, shins, knees, waist, etc.). This location was on pure sand, so that did not affect our measurements at all, or cross our minds to mention. In summary, to get an accurate quote for a dock/ pier system, if you have a beach or grass start, we need to know the water depth plus muck depth every 10' from your starting location (many people now start 4-8' in the yard to avoid having to walk through soggy shoreline before the dock, so measure from that exact point). Generally, we add the muck depth plus water depth together and round to the nearest 1' increment (when in doubt, we round up), and will then add 2' or 3' to that cumulative number, depending on if you want much pole sticking above the dock for bumpers, ropes, etc. or if you want to keep pole above the dock to a minimum while leaving yourself some slack to play with. Your dock should be at the very minimum 12"-18" above the water if on an inland lake with a steady lake level and without large yacht wakes on the larger inland lakes. If you are on an extremely rough lake, or have annual fluctuation in lake level or on a river where flooding is common, you must plan for the high level, even if that means your dock being 4' out of the water during the drought period. We feel that for inland lakes in our service area (Michigan and Northern Indiana), anodized aluminum dock is the ideal solution for 90% of people, and it is critical to keep aluminum dock from becoming submerged even for just a few nights in a row as the wave action and twisting can wreak havoc on any seasonal dock system when submerged or kept too low above the water, getting beat up by large wake boat wakes. If you have a sea wall or rock wall as shown, we need to know the type wall if you plan to attach directly to a steel/ wooden seawall, or if you want to go in front, or over the top of a rock wall, utilizing our 'shore starter kit' as shown here to go flush with the lowest landscaping step above the rock wall. Measure level out from your desired starting height using the method shown in the video, then measure directly down from the level, horizontal tape, and record the height to the horizontal tape and also the muck depth at that location. We would then round up to the next 1' increment, then add at least 1' above that to make sure there is sufficient spare pole in case the water level rises or if the measurements are off. Sometimes, docks going flush off a seawall end up with a dock that is 3' or more above the water, so if you want to stay in the normal recommended 12"-18" range above the water, we'll need to come up with a solution to attach to the front of the wall which would make you step down onto the dock. If you go off the front of the wall, keep in mind that your dock will be going at a 90 degree angle from the seawall, so your seawall is setting the angle of the dock- sometimes that means going crooked into the neighbor's yard, at which you will either need a custom-cut dock section or to go over the top of the wall to set the proper angle. Thank you for watching, we hope you learned something from our video and information provided in this description! Please check out our website for more information: www.LiftsLaddersAndDocks.com

• published: 13 Nov 2018
• views: 1882