How to Build a Dock in a Pond
There are many reasons to learn how to build a dock in a pond. If a pond contains fish, a dock makes for a perfect platform to relax in the sun and enjoy a few hours of fishing or reading. There are also elements that need to be considered such as location and land access. You need to ensure that rising and lowering water levels will not affect the dock. The thought of building your own dock can be quite daunting. However, by following these three simply steps you can create your very own dock;
Support Posts
Before securing support posts you need to ensure that the soil in the bottom of your pond is firm enough to guarantee they do not move. If your soil is not firm there are several things you can do; either place several large rocks in the area where your posts are going to be, or you can install concrete squares underneath your posts to guarantee a strong and flat surface for your dock.
Once you have done this you need to consider how high you want the dock to be off the surface of your pond, and take this into consideration when purchasing your posts as approximately 1 foot of the post will be in the soil. Another aspect to regard is how long you want your dock to go out from the edge of the pond, as you need two parallel posts for every 3 feet at least.
Once you have procured your posts you need to drive them into the soil to about 1 foot with a mallet. When finished you should have two parallel lines going out from the edge of the pond for your required distance.
Building the Dock
How to Build a Dock in a Pond
You now need to build the frame for the actual dock. Make your square frame with weather treated wood and secure the corners with galvanised nails. For extra support you are able to fasten steel L brackets to the corners. Once this is done, cut your decking boards to the width of the frame with a circular saw.
Place the frame over the support posts and attach with steel screws. When the frame is in place, take the pre-cut decking boards and attach, beginning at the edge closest to the bank and work outwards, using the galvanised nails and attaching at either end.
Due to rain, it is best to leave a slight gap, roughly ¼ inch, between each board, in order to allow water to trickle through.
At each corner secure a decking post to clearly signpost the corners and therefore the edges of your dock.
Customize
Typically people customise their dock to make it a feature of their pond. You can add things to your dock such as tires, decking posts or a hand rail to decorate your dock as and how you like. However, another option is to stain the wood either a natural tone or an eye catching colour.