Lake Anna is a fantastic place to call home, and if you are looking to have your home here, you should be considering a lakefront home. This is because lakefront homes here are relatively affordable compared to the average national prices for beachfront homes. Once you have your lakefront home, your next consideration should be building a floating dock to allow you to make the most of the lake touching your property. At Sacra Custom Homes, we are the best Lake Anna dock builder, and we are here to help you make your boating dreams a reality. Here’s what to keep in mind when building a floating dock.

Is a Floating Dock the Best Fit for You?

Before you embark on your marine construction on Lake Anna, you should consider – is a floating dock the best fit for you? There are two types of docks that you can go for, a stationary or pilling dock and a floating dock, each with its unique advantages. The former is more robust as it sits in place on top of concrete or woodpiles fixed to the lake bed. It’s more expensive to construct but can handle more strenuous tasks like commercial fishing.

On the other hand, a floating dock is more affordable to set up as there is no need for wood or concrete piles. As it floats on water, it adapts to the changes in water levels, making it easier to get into the boat at all times. This ability also makes a floating dock the best option if you are also looking to engage in watersports.

floating dock in fall

The Design

It’s crucial that you think about what design you want your floating dock to be before starting your marine construction on Lake Anna. At Sacra Custom Homes, we advise our clients to go for a modular design for their floating dock. This means having several smaller floating structures attached to make a bigger floating dock.

A modular design allows for the flexibility of quickly removing the dock from water during the off-season. Moreover, it makes the dock much easier to repair as each module can be lifted out of the water and attended to separately. The modular design also enables the floating dock to be quickly and affordably extended or expanded to fit different uses.

The Materials

The materials you use to construct your floating dock will affect its durability. When thinking about what materials to use for your floating dock, you need to break the dock into three components, the deck, frame, and floats. The floating dock will likely be spending most of its time in the water, and how it affects the materials used is a crucial consideration.

Thanks to our extensive experience in marine construction on Lake Anna, we know the suitable material to use. We suggest using either wood, aluminum, or composites for your decking and fiber-reinforced concrete, aluminum, or wood for the frame. For the floats, you use polystyrene or plastic options.

If you have to settle for wood, remember that regular wood will quickly deteriorate when exposed to water for lengthy periods; therefore, pressure-treated wood is a better, affordable, and relatively lasting option. Though it’s better than standard wood, pressure-treated wood tends to swell in water and shrink during hot weather, grow algae and mold, and eventually rots. If you have a bigger budget, modified wood is the top-recommended solution as it doesn’t have any pressure-treated wood problems.

floating-dock

We are a trusted Lake Anna dock builder

Sacra Custom Home has earned a reputation in Lake Anna, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and the surrounding counties as a trusted dock builder. Reach out to us for any marine construction on Lake Anna and get expert help.