hi all,

i have a seawall (i think it's wood though, at least the top / front
portion is) on part of a canal that leads to a freshwater lake.

the soil is starting to erode. i'm worried eventually the seawall will
collapse? or someone's foot go through it..

what can i do? what i thought about doing was digging about a 6 inch
trench along the seawall, as low as i can go, and filling it with
gravel... or even pouring some concrete in there?

trying to avoid a costly visit from a dock repair man if possible.

check your property survey and see who actually owns it. check with
your neighborhood association sometimes they pool the owners money to
fix these all at once. if the thing is unique to your property and you
own it, you are obligated to safely maintain it. there may be visual
historic requirements for the repair as well. you need local
information and expert advice. the problem could be as deep as the base
of the seawall, or as simple as some topsoil.

kyle wrote:
hi all,

i have a seawall (i think it's wood though, at least the top / front
portion is) on part of a canal that leads to a freshwater lake.

the soil is starting to erode. i'm worried eventually the seawall will
collapse? or someone's foot go through it..

what can i do? what i thought about doing was digging about a 6 inch
trench along the seawall, as low as i can go, and filling it with
gravel... or even pouring some concrete in there?

trying to avoid a costly visit from a dock repair man if possible.

On 28 Nov 2006 15:27:49 -0800, "kyle" wrote:

hi all,

i have a seawall (i think it's wood though, at least the top / front
portion is) on part of a canal that leads to a freshwater lake.

the soil is starting to erode. i'm worried eventually the seawall will
collapse? or someone's foot go through it..

what can i do? what i thought about doing was digging about a 6 inch
trench along the seawall, as low as i can go, and filling it with
gravel... or even pouring some concrete in there?

trying to avoid a costly visit from a dock repair man if possible.

If seawall is on a public waterway; ask a local authority. Shore it
up as they like.

Yes, shore the back of seawall up....rocks,,things to stand up to the
constant water pounding,

--
Oren

"Well, it doesn't happen all the time, but when it happens, it happens constantly."

kyle wrote:
hi all,

i have a seawall (i think it's wood though, at least the top / front
portion is) on part of a canal that leads to a freshwater lake.

the soil is starting to erode. i'm worried eventually the seawall will
collapse? or someone's foot go through it..

what can i do? what i thought about doing was digging about a 6 inch
trench along the seawall, as low as i can go, and filling it with
gravel... or even pouring some concrete in there?

trying to avoid a costly visit from a dock repair man if possible.

How long is the seawall? Does it go below the water line? If so, how far?

We have a concrete (sections) seawall on a channel to the Gulf of
Mexico. Had major repairs done about 5 years ago. One issue was
whether the increased drainage would stop erosion. The contractor put
pipes through the wall which have landscape fabric on the soil side to
keep soil from washing through with the water. Works great. He told us
that if water and soil continued to wash through the joints between the
wall sections, to dig out behind them and place plywood wrapped in the
landscape fabric down behind the joint. Fortunately, we haven't had to
do that. The plywood was just the means to get the fabric in place and
laid out flat. There is fabric available at masonry supply outlets, I
believe. Not the same stuff used for lawns.

Our city has online databse of construction standards, including plans
for seawalls. Not suitable for your area probably, but your locale
might have the same. It would help to know what the area has and what
depth, wave action, etc., you get. Local code here is very specific
about what you can and cannot do, and not much that a homeowner can do
himself.

If the wood is in good shape, and you have just lost some soil over
time, you could probably throw in some ordinary landscape cloth, fill
with soil and plant something that will help hold the soil in place.

"kyle" wrote in message

trying to avoid a costly visit from a dock repair man if possible.


I can understand that, but are there any EPS restrictions? You certainly
don't want a visit from them as it will be very costly if you do something
wrong. Check to see if there are any regulations on the lake.