How to Replace a Dock Pier

Dock piers need to be kept in good repair.

Dock piers are constantly exposed to enormous amounts of stress. They get hit by boats, spend 24 hours a day soaked in corrosive sea water, have to support large amounts of weight and are exposed to wave action. It's no wonder that they often fall apart and break down. Replacing a wooden dock pier is a time consuming but straightforward process that is made easier by the fact that it can usually be floated to where you need it instead of carried.

Things You'll Need

• Motor boat
• Electric drill
• Truck
• Strong rope
• Styrofoam
• Rubber tubing
• Bolts
• Sledge hammer
• Chainsaw
• Reciprocal saw

Instructions

1. Take complete and careful measurements of your existing dock. Make sure that its length and width are at least carefully recorded so that when you build the new one, it isn't too large or too small. Also, measure the dock's depth from deck to bottom.

2. Remove your old pier by cutting away the main wooden beams which attach it to the dock. Another option would be to cut off the tops of the bolts which affix it to the dock and then hammer them through their holes and into the water with another bolt and a hammer. Once you've removed the old pier, tow it to where you will be building your new replacement with a motor boat. You can use the old pier as a construction reference when building your new one.

3. Use a scow with a crane on it to lift your old pier onto a concrete landing. If this isn't available, tow it by boat to the nearest beach or boat launch ramp with truck access. You can use a truck to drag it out of the water. Here you may cut your old pier into pieces with a chain saw and reciprocal saw (cutting up the old bolts) and dispose of it at a dump or waste removal facility.

4. Take the new pier you have built or bought and drag it down to an inclined boat ramp or to the edge of the dock. Have a group of people help you flip it upside down. Strap large rectangular blocks of Styrofoam to the underside of the pier all along its length, You can use elastic tubing that you nail down to the wood. Push the pier to the edge of the water and either flip it in or drag it in. In the water, flip it right side up with help from a couple of other people.

5. Tow the pier to the section of dock where the old one was removed and align it as the previous one was aligned. Depending on how your previous pier attached to the dock, you'll attach the new one in the same fashion. Most likely you'll have to use a large electric drill with a 1 to 2 foot wood drilling bit to bore holes through the pier and into the dock until they pass straight through. Hammer in large bolts, and secure their ends with nuts and washers. Your dock has now been replaced.

References

• Dow Chemical: Plans for Build-It-Yourself Floating Docks, Rafts and Boatwells