Dock Damage - HELP!

[csuhockey3]

Hi Folks,
Well, we thought we escaped any ice damage this year, but over the weekend the wind and rain pushed a large sheet of ice over Meredith bay right up against our shoreline and destroyed our dock. It was raised, but the lower legs were caught and the whole dock was ripped down and bent/folded 90 degrees until it was underwater and parallel to shore (UNREAL to see)! We got an un-Godly estimate already and another estimate from someone who seems he can salvage most of it. The aluminum is very straight, the pieces/braces that did break are broken at the welds. The second guy thinks he can essentially re-assemble what we have but it may be 1-2" narrower as he would need to cut the welds clean and re-do them. Without mentioning the companies that came today, who has a good (no, a great) dock repair company they would recommend or at least those to stay away from? It's an aluminum frame with 5 4x6 posts per side (posts are fine as well -- all 10). As a matter of fact, you can see the exact dock in one of the aerial photos I took of Meredith bay the day before it happened and see 100+ yards of open water in front of it :( Never saw this one coming, those winds Saturday night were apparently pretty nasty.

Any help is appreciated!!!!

[trfour]

As I am in Dallas/Fort Worth as I speak! It's been bumpie here as well what-with all of the spring weather tornadoes that Mother Nature is dishing around these days. I don't even have dish, but she has a way of giving it to whom ever, 'weather you are prepaid or other, wise?... I am an certified welder in aluminum, stainless, cast iron, bronze, brass but I am still and mild steel.

Now, If I was up there, I'd help you for free. None of my welds has ever broken, and includes a section of railroad track that Hallimore Heavey Haulers, over there in Holbrook MA used to load various railroad cars for shipment over the road on.

Used to be, what Northwest Airlines sold cheep seats until they heard about not only the cost of fuel, that alone never rattled them, but that bill might be in the airspace somewhere in the Northeast. At this time they also took advantage of what they call ( carry on bags ). That made it impossible for and to afford a ticket to fly up there, let alone me too!

Anyway, I am sure that someone will be out here to give you support and resolve your immediate concern.
Hang in, things will get better,
Terry
___________________________________

Copy?; http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/outbreak-recap-041811_2011-04-18

[fatlazyless]

Could be that home owner's insurance may cover this as ice damage is similar to having a falling tree destroy a structure in that both a falling tree and moving ice are wind driven forces that occur in the great outdoors.....minus a deductable? It's always nice to have a friendly insurance company help you out.

Any chance you can post some photos of the damaged dock?

[DRH]

My homeowner's insurance policy specifically excludes coverage for ice damage to docks.

[Lakesrider]

And the pictures are....where?:( It is really unfortunate your homeowners won't cover that. Big $$$ outta pocket. I can relate. Ice damage is like gambling. Sometimes you luck out, which you should have being it was up out of the water, and sometimes you lose. Yeah that ice is highly unpredictable, as is the wind that pushes it. So sorry to hear. Sounds like it was a nice dock. Hopefully someone can do a good job salvaging it instead of having to replace it all.

[hampfarms]

I had dock damage last year to my crank up dock and called several dock makers in the area and they all said they had to come take my dock to their shop and fix it and then return it at a cost of approximately $2500. I then was referred to Sean Byrnes who came to my property which happens to be on an island fixed it in a couple of hours and charged $600. I thought I hit the lottery. I totally recommend him. Please contact me @ my e-mail hampfarms@aol.com and I will give you his number......

[Slickcraft]

Last year neighbors on Welch had damage to two seasonal docks. They were up but the shore end feet not removed so the moving ice twisted the aluminum frames.

Repair was by Diversified Marine Construction; Dave Farley; 528-4151;
http://www.divermarine.com/
The repair was done on site at a reported reasonable price.

Dave did our breakwater repair also at a reasonable price.

[MAXUM]

Remember that you don't necessarily need a dock repair company, anyone who does metal fabrication could fix it. The key thing to be mindful of is that aluminum is a difficult metal to work with, and welding it is not something just anyone can do, it really is almost an "art form" so to speak.

Two reason for that. Aluminum is very soft and cannot hack excessive amounts of heat. The welding solution must be able to get just enough heat to properly penetrate without blowing holes through the metal. That is a fine line to walk and easier said than done.

To do it right it needs to be TIG welded which requires a more elaborate setup and uses compressed Argon gas. Now there are those that say it can be mig (spool fed) or even arch welded with a stick, both are not as good because with aluminum heat is your enemy and very hard to control with both a mig or arch getup. Matter of fact if anyone suggests they can arch weld it they are a fool and don't let them touch your dock! I'll briefly explain each solution.

TIG welding uses argon gas as a medium to control heat around the fixed arch point. It also acts as a flux to blow out any impurities in the surface of the metal, and with aluminum the metal has to be super duper clean. The control of the heat applied when creating a welding puddle can be far better controlled and media used for welding can be better control fed into the puddle because it is NOT the source of the arch. The net result good heat control, good penetration and less likely to have a blow through.

MIG welding uses a wire feed and the welding puddle is created by the arch created at the end of the wire (welding media) as it feeds into the puddle once established. Control of the heat is directly affected by the gauge of the wire used and the feed rate of the gun. Since no flux is used, and aluminum being what it is, MIG welding is more subject to spattering and potential blow through if any oxidation is present. The heat source being the welding media must be kept steady hence the reason why this is not a preferred method.

Stick welding is well using a aluminum rod covered in flux where the welding is manually controlled by the steady hand of the welder feeding the rod as it melts into the puddle once formed. The problem with stick welding is that it requires the greatest amount of heat to keep that rod lit up, and is extremely unforgiving. Heat can vary especially as the rod is consumed and as I said the key to proper aluminum repair is controlling the heat. Doing steel it's great with a stick, unless it's sheet metal, as it takes a lot to screw it up or blow through your work material.

So my recommendation to you would be to seek out a metal fabrication place with somebody that is experienced with aluminum repair. Make sure they are going to TIG the spots that need to be repaired and one last thing, any areas that show ANY sign of stress need to be removed. Once aluminum has been stretched or stressed it's junk. It's not going to be a cheap fix so be prepared to spend a few bucks, but at least you know a little bit about the process and options out there so you can be a little more knowledgeable when questioning how the repair work is going to be done.

[fatlazyless]

East Coast Welding in Gilford and Lowe's-Gilford both carry dock repair items such as large corner angles and flat bars. East Coat Welding most likely has some good aluminum welding skills because they work on aluminum pontoon boats. Aluminum docks can be fixed forever, using bolts and mending plates, in addition or besides to getting it welded.

It never hurts to run it past your insurance company to see if you are covered. With Allstate, you are in "Good Hands," or something like that?

[Grady223]

Remember that you don't necessarily need a dock repair company, anyone who does metal fabrication could fix it. The key thing to be mindful of is that aluminum is a difficult metal to work with, and welding it is not something just anyone can do, it really is almost an "art form" so to speak.

Two reason for that. Aluminum is very soft and cannot hack excessive amounts of heat. The welding solution must be able to get just enough heat to properly penetrate without blowing holes through the metal. That is a fine line to walk and easier said than done.

To do it right it needs to be TIG welded which requires a more elaborate setup and uses compressed Argon gas. Now there are those that say it can be mig (spool fed) or even arch welded with a stick, both are not as good because with aluminum heat is your enemy and very hard to control with both a mig or arch getup. Matter of fact if anyone suggests they can arch weld it they are a fool and don't let them touch your dock! I'll briefly explain each solution.

TIG welding uses argon gas as a medium to control heat around the fixed arch point. It also acts as a flux to blow out any impurities in the surface of the metal, and with aluminum the metal has to be super duper clean. The control of the heat applied when creating a welding puddle can be far better controlled and media used for welding can be better control fed into the puddle because it is NOT the source of the arch. The net result good heat control, good penetration and less likely to have a blow through.

MIG welding uses a wire feed and the welding puddle is created by the arch created at the end of the wire (welding media) as it feeds into the puddle once established. Control of the heat is directly affected by the gauge of the wire used and the feed rate of the gun. Since no flux is used, and aluminum being what it is, MIG welding is more subject to spattering and potential blow through if any oxidation is present. The heat source being the welding media must be kept steady hence the reason why this is not a preferred method.

Stick welding is well using a aluminum rod covered in flux where the welding is manually controlled by the steady hand of the welder feeding the rod as it melts into the puddle once formed. The problem with stick welding is that it requires the greatest amount of heat to keep that rod lit up, and is extremely unforgiving. Heat can vary especially as the rod is consumed and as I said the key to proper aluminum repair is controlling the heat. Doing steel it's great with a stick, unless it's sheet metal, as it takes a lot to screw it up or blow through your work material.

So my recommendation to you would be to seek out a metal fabrication place with somebody that is experienced with aluminum repair. Make sure they are going to TIG the spots that need to be repaired and one last thing, any areas that show ANY sign of stress need to be removed. Once aluminum has been stretched or stressed it's junk. It's not going to be a cheap fix so be prepared to spend a few bucks, but at least you know a little bit about the process and options out there so you can be a little more knowledgeable when questioning how the repair work is going to be done.

Sounds to me like a new aluminum dock would be the way to go - easier, certainly.

[csuhockey3]

Thank you all for the insight. Sorry, I have been out of touch since I posted the question -- I just started a new job and commute to Dover every day and search for apartments after work. The aluminum seems to be very straight and the posts look good, here is a picture of the day it happened and I'll post another one of what it looks like now (with some pieces pulled out and the ice away). It basically looks like the welds on the cross members all broke but they all appeared to remain straight. I will ping some of you directly for numbers, I really appreciate the help. My first year back and I couldn't wait to drop the boat in...now we have ice out and no dock!! Thanks folks!