Guides
Resources for waterfront property owners
What we would tell you on a site visit, written down — costs, permitting, materials, maintenance and the decisions that matter before anyone quotes.
Costs & budgeting
Costs & budgeting guides
Planning
Planning guides
Dock Repair or Replacement: How to Tell Which You Need
The test is whether the pilings are sound. If you are replacing timber above sound, well-embedded pilings you are maintaining a dock and repair is good value. If you are working on or below the pilings, repairs are usually a premium paid to delay a replacement.
6 min read
Boat Lift Sizing: Getting Capacity Right the First Time
Size a lift against the vessel's loaded weight — hull, engine, full fuel and water, batteries, gear and any tower or hardtop — then add headroom. Loaded weight is commonly thirty per cent or more above the dry figure in the brochure.
6 min read
Dock Layouts: Straight, L and T Configurations
A straight dock gives access and alongside tie-up at the lowest cost per foot. An L-shape adds a terminal platform parallel to the shore and a sheltered approach side. A T-shape extends the platform both ways, giving two approach sides and the most usable deck for the walkway length.
6 min read
Designing a Waterfront Deck That Gets Used
The two decisions that determine whether a waterfront deck gets used are elevation — whether you see water or vegetation from a seated position — and shade, which decides how many hours of a Florida day the space is comfortable.
6 min read
Materials
Materials guides
Composite vs. Wood Decking in the Florida Climate
Composite costs more up front and removes the clean-and-seal cycle that Florida sun and humidity impose on timber. Treated wood costs less initially and looks excellent when maintained, but most owners underestimate what maintaining it here actually requires.
7 min read
Dock Materials: What Goes Where, and Why
On a Northeast Florida dock the framing and pilings are pressure-treated timber specified by exposure, the walking surface is either treated timber or composite, and the hardware is hot-dip galvanised at minimum and stainless near salt water. Hardware specification is what most often decides service life.
7 min read
Start your project
Read enough? Let us look at your shoreline.
Photographs and rough dimensions are enough for us to tell you something useful.
Every enquiry goes straight to the contractor who would build the project — not to a lead-sharing network.