Bulkhead Project
Love it or hate it, the old dock and bulkhead had to be demolished. The structure was falling apart, unsafe and an eyesore from our deck and from the bay looking toward us. Winding tree roots and weeds pushed through the decayed boards, there were holes large enough to welcome the sea between the wooden bulkhead and the side of our hill. The bottom of the hill was slowly sinking, so the bulkhead was a top priority when we purchased the property. This type of project was way over our heads LOL, we knew we had to skip the DIY and find a reputable bulkhead contractor:)
The interior and exterior of the boat house will be a DIY project for Kevin and I. We love being able to contribute to some of the work when we build and renovate.
We hired Kremer Marine from our area. The staff and employees are incredibly welcoming! The day they brought the barge into the bay was really the best thing that has happened on our property since we moved here! We are still waiting on approvals for Phase One (Garage/Guest house) and Phase Two (Main House), so you can understand the exhilarating feeling of the barge arrival.
It took the crew a few days to dismantle a portion of the wooden bulkhead and replace with vinyl sheet pilings. The results even at this point are amazing! The plan is to do small sections at different times since we are in a tight area between two other docks. We have tons of landscaping and walkways and other things that are contributing to a few hurdles. The boat house is positioned right on top of the old bulkhead, this will take extra time and TLC…we don’t want to lose the boathouse in the water when they remove the old bulkhead LOL The crew has been so careful and very professional with all the extra work involved. The whole process is really a great learning experience coming from a couple who never owned waterfront property. The men are incredibly fast and are working from sunup to dinner time. Never missing a beat and doing a fantastic job!
I am so happy to see the old dock heading to retirement somewhere besides our property! We are past the halfway point and edging toward the boathouse. Those feelings of uncertainty is sneaking in! We are very hopeful the crew can restore the bulkhead under the boathouse without any complications. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the old boathouse and the crew is fully aware how important the old structure is to me:) The restoration of the boathouse will hopefully begin this fall 2022 and be completed by early spring 2023. I have such amazing design plans, you can watch the process and follow along when I blog within my DIY projects:) I will also be sharing via social media.
So here we are….the most important part of the new bulkhead project, my beloved boathouse. I have full confidence and trust in the crew to save our historic building. The boathouse was built almost 50 years ago and eagerly waiting for someone to save her. After the restoration of the boathouse, we plan to christen her with a well deserved name and she will stand so proud along our bay! From tourist boats, neighbors and others who come into our bay to jetski, paddle board, kayak, cruise around the bay to sightsee, she will be there for all eyes to see:) I am so excited to see her fully restored!
The plan is to add a full support beam across the interior of the ceiling to hold up the boathouse so it does not collapse into the water while dismantling the old bulkhead. The support beam will be secured long enough to add new vinyl sheet pilings, additional drilling underneath the old floor into the existing hill to add helicals and new floor joists. The new vinyl sheet pilings for the front of the boat house were changed in length so the crew didn’t have to cut into the existing roof using the vibrating hammer. It was a long day of discussions and preparing the boathouse for a new bulkhead:) We are so incredibly happy with their plan of action and results!!
I see a light at the end of the tunnel:) with the crew focused on the boathouse, the process is coming along quickly! The helicals are dug and joists are secured and they can backfill behind the new bulkhead. With all the hard labor and a small prayer, our boathouse is still standing! Throughout the process I am wondering if the boathouse was worth saving. The extra time and physical labor to save our old boathouse was something we didn’t expect, but what can you do when you are knee deep in mud, pardon my pun:) Once the bulkhead was capped, they added new support posts to hold the roof.
And just like that, the bulkhead is completed. Stay tuned with more updates for our new boardwalk and the restoration of the old boathouse. More dock posts and a new dock will be added in summer of 2023.
