# How to drive 4x4 post in water for a dock?



## Quail man (Dec 1, 2013)

Building a small dock and trying to figure out how to sink the post. No electricity out there, do I sharpen the end and pound them in with sledge hammer???? Suggestions and comments please, thanks. Dock is in about 4 feet of water.


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## basstrkr (Dec 1, 2013)

*Dock*

That worked for me at lake sinclair. after you sharpen and hit afe times to get started lay a piece of sacrificial 2 X 6 on top of the post and hit it with the hammer.


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## sinclair1 (Dec 1, 2013)

Lag bolt your brace on the bottom about 1.5 ft up before you drive the post. You can keep it against it until it's driven and then you just pull it over to the other post top and lag them together. It will sturdy up the job since you can't get them as deep as a pile driver and keep from screwing braces under water.
When you do second post, put the brace on the other side at the bottom, when you get done you pull both over to create a x and that's it.

Hopefully this makes sense, if not I can explain better.


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## Artfuldodger (Dec 1, 2013)

What about a fence post driver and a piece of pipe to make a pilot hole and then pound the wood post into the hole?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/deluxe-post-driver?cm_vc=-10005


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## Todd71673 (Dec 1, 2013)

Those drivers are great for t-post but you won't be able to fit a 4x4 in it!


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## Artfuldodger (Dec 1, 2013)

Todd71673 said:


> Those drivers are great for t-post but you won't be able to fit a 4x4 in it!



I was thinking it might make a big enough pilot hole to help get the 4x4 post started.
I wonder if you could make a hole with a water hose inserted into a 4" pvc pipe. I've made holes with a water hose before.


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## sinclair1 (Dec 1, 2013)

Unless your doing a boathouse that needs to support a roof, I wouldn't worry much, I have a neighbor who has a dock that was set in buckets of concrete twenty years ago.


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## Todd71673 (Dec 1, 2013)

Easiest way to do it would be to go with a floating dock...


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## northgeorgiasportsman (Dec 2, 2013)

Quail man said:


> Building a small dock and trying to figure out how to sink the post. No electricity out there, do I sharpen the end and pound them in with sledge hammer???? Suggestions and comments please, thanks. Dock is in about 4 feet of water.



Is this a pond or lake?  We had to get creative building a dock on a pond with a rocky bottom one time.  We couldn't drive the posts in, even with the help of a track hoe.  So we got some whiskey barrels (the kind people make flower pots out of) and centered up the post in the barrel and poured Quickrete around it.  That's been several years ago and they haven't moved an inch.


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## BriarPatch99 (Dec 2, 2013)

I helped a follow worker put dock post in using a portable (6 HP) water pump....  the pump hose was connected to a length of 6" PVC pipe with a tee .... place the tee so it is sideways ... connect the pump to the side part of the tee... the top of the tee had a screw on cap .... wash the hole down as deep as you need it .... unscrew the cap ....slide 4x4 down in side the PVC .... pull the PVC up leaving the post in the hole .... by doing this mud does not fall back into your washed hole until you pull the PVC ... we used a 12'/14' Alum boat to hold the pump ....

 v cap  
l l.__
l . __  hose
l l
l l
l l


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## 3ringer (Dec 2, 2013)

BriarPatch99 said:


> I helped a follow worker put dock post in using a portable (6 HP) water pump....  the pump hose was connected to a length of 6" PVC pipe with a tee .... place the tee so it is sideways ... connect the pump to the side part of the tee... the top of the tee had a screw on cap .... wash the hole down as deep as you need it .... unscrew the cap ....slide 4x4 down in side the PVC .... pull the PVC up leaving the post in the hole .... by doing this mud does not fall back into your washed hole until you pull the PVC ... we used a 12'/14' Alum boat to hold the pump ....
> 
> v cap
> l l.__
> ...



Smart idea.


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## Dr. Strangelove (Dec 2, 2013)

sinclair1 said:


> Unless your doing a boathouse that needs to support a roof, I wouldn't worry much, I have a neighbor who has a dock that was set in buckets of concrete twenty years ago.



We did the same on Lake Keowee in SC about the same number of years ago.  It's still holding up well.


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## bluemarlin (Dec 2, 2013)

BriarPatch99 said:


> I helped a follow worker put dock post in using a portable (6 HP) water pump....  the pump hose was connected to a length of 6" PVC pipe with a tee .... place the tee so it is sideways ... connect the pump to the side part of the tee... the top of the tee had a screw on cap .... wash the hole down as deep as you need it .... unscrew the cap ....slide 4x4 down in side the PVC .... pull the PVC up leaving the post in the hole .... by doing this mud does not fall back into your washed hole until you pull the PVC ... we used a 12'/14' Alum boat to hold the pump ....
> 
> v cap
> l l.__
> ...



Just slightly smaller scale of how the Golden Gate Bridge was made.


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## mattech (Dec 2, 2013)

Artfuldodger said:


> What about a fence post driver and a piece of pipe to make a pilot hole and then pound the wood post into the hole?
> 
> http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/deluxe-post-driver?cm_vc=-10005





Todd71673 said:


> Those drivers are great for t-post but you won't be able to fit a 4x4 in it!





Artfuldodger said:


> I was thinking it might make a big enough pilot hole to help get the 4x4 post started.
> I wonder if you could make a hole with a water hose inserted into a 4" pvc pipe. I've made holes with a water hose before.



What about driving t-post into the ground and then put the 4x4's beside the t-post and putting a few long bolts through them both.


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## Artfuldodger (Dec 2, 2013)

Precast concrete deck post bases? Man, we've been from one end to the other with our engineering ideas, cool!

They recently put "octo fibers" in my neighborhood and used water pressure to lay the pipes. I know it's fiber optics, but my friend calls them octo fibers. He also has sleep acne.


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## mattech (Dec 2, 2013)

Sleep acne.


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## Patriot44 (Dec 2, 2013)

Is That is when she wakes up uglier than when she went to sleep.


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## PappyHoel (Dec 2, 2013)

Dr. Strangelove said:


> We did the same on Lake Keowee in SC about the same number of years ago.  It's still holding up well.



PM about Keowee, we are looking at property there.


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## The Longhunter (Dec 2, 2013)

BriarPatch99 said:


> I helped a follow worker put dock post in using a portable (6 HP) water pump....  the pump hose was connected to a length of 6" PVC pipe with a tee .... place the tee so it is sideways ... connect the pump to the side part of the tee... the top of the tee had a screw on cap .... wash the hole down as deep as you need it .... unscrew the cap ....slide 4x4 down in side the PVC .... pull the PVC up leaving the post in the hole .... by doing this mud does not fall back into your washed hole until you pull the PVC ... we used a 12'/14' Alum boat to hold the pump ....
> 
> v cap
> l l.__
> ...





Dr. Strangelove said:


> We did the same on Lake Keowee in SC about the same number of years ago.  It's still holding up well.





3ringer said:


> Smart idea.




That's the way do it.  Don't have to fight the clay as much.


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