Marine Construction

6006F Scope Sheet

2011-09-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

Scopes Manual

Posted 01 Jun 2008 12:00:01

6006F

PHRASEOLOGY (FL)

MARINE PILE DRIVING, DOCK & SEAWALL, JETTY OR

BREAKWATER, DIKE OR REVETMENT CONSTRUCTION—ALL OPERATIONS TO

COMPLETION & DRIVERS

NAICS Code(s):

(For reference only. Not to be used for classification of risks for workers compensation purposes.)

237990—Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction

Description:

Code 6006F includes the construction of jetties, breakwaters, seawalls, groynes, dikes, revetments, etc.

A jetty involves substantially more construction than either a dike or a levee in that it must extend into a

body of water. A jetty will extend from the shore out into the water and will be constructed of heavy

timber cribbing filled with boulders or heavy stones. Frequently a jetty built of stones or boulders will be

topped off with an asphalt surface or with concrete.

Code 6006F includes the construction or repair of wharfs, docks and piers on a body of water. Code

6006F includes floating docks that are attached to these structures, while floating docks used in

boatbuilding or repair are separately rated to the appropriate boatbuilding code. The construction of

groynes (rigid structures built out from a shore to protect the shore from erosion), seawalls, bulkheads,

and jetties or breakwaters including marine pile driving is assignable to this code.

Applies In: Replaced By:

FL Not Applicable

Established: Retained:

July 2006 Not Applicable

Discontinued: NCCI Schedule and Group:

Not Applicable Schedule 26, Group 265

Note:

River work and shoreline construction are included in Code 6006F. The manufacturing of

concrete piles at the job location or the pouring of concrete into hollow steel piles is separately

rated as concrete construction. Caisson or cofferdam work is separately rated as Code 6252—

Shaft Sinking—All Operations. Refer to Code 6004 for land pile driving operations in Florida.

Floating docks used in boatbuilding or repair are separately rated to the appropriate boatbuilding

code.

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Analogy Assignments:

Equipment and Materials:

Special Conditions:

Related Operations Not Classified to Code 6006F:

• Code 6006F is assigned to the wrecking or demolition of piers and wharfs.

• Code 6006F includes carpentry work of decking, railings and boathouses associated with marine

construction projects.

• The construction of docks, seawalls and other similar structures on land prior to installation on

the water is included in Code 6006F. This includes all construction, assembly or prep work

performed at a contractor’s yard prior to installation.

• The construction of a dike as contemplated by Code 6006F involves operations in which an

embankment of earth is thrown up along the edge of the river. The embankment is frequently

paved with loose stone. In addition to the stones, the embankment may be anchored by lumber or

willow mattresses which are laid against the surface of the dike and held down by stone or

piling. Another type of construction involves the building of crib work, which may be filled in

with stone or other types of fill, for the purpose of keeping the embankment in place.

• Revetment work involves a facing or sheathing or woven mattresses of willow, lumber, etc., that

are usually anchored to piles driven a few feet above the mean low water line and extended out

into the river as the work progresses. Ballast stones are placed on the graded dike slope from the

top down into the water's edge. This type of work is performed in the water from work barges

for pile drivers, derrick barges, mat and weaving barges, stone barges, etc.

• Code 6006F is assigned to marine pile driving associated with the construction or repair of

bridges. All other bridge work should be assigned to the appropriate construction classifications.

• Rocks, soil, concrete, asphalt, wood

• Cranes, bulldozers, derricks, barges

• Please refer to Code 5403 for extra-territorial premium determination guidelines that may be

applicable to insureds that have operations outside their headquarters' state.

• Land-based pile driving is assigned to Code 6004 in Florida.

• Structures other than boathouses, decking and railings are assigned to the appropriate

construction classifications (with an ‘F’ load if applicable).

• The manufacturing of concrete piles at the job location or the pouring of concrete into hollow

steel piles is rated as concrete construction.

• Caisson or cofferdam work to be separately rated as Code 6252—Shaft Sinking—All

Operations.

• Diving operations, including deck hands or other “diving tender” support personnel who assist in

diving activities, conducted in conjunction with marine construction are separately rated to the

appropriate diving code.

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6006F- The Mystery of United States Longshore and Harborworkers Act Insurance

2011-09-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

by Rick Fender, Chapter Chair Central Florida for the Florida Marine Contractor's Association

For that last several years since the new 6006F workers compensation code was developed by NCCI with help from your Florida Marine Contractor’s Association, I have struggled with who is required to carry the coverage and when the coverage applies. If I am confused about it perhaps some of you are as well. Two of the major problems that I face in the marine construction business are unlicensed activity and un-insured or underinsured activity. Not only are lay persons such as homeowners and business owners unaware of these issues and the exposure to liability that they face but I have found that many city and county governments as well as insurance agents and carriers are unenlightened as well.

My most recent frustration was with an Orange County city that did not require 6006F on a weir/sheet pile and revetment job they had for bid. Their reasoning was that it was on a non-navigable waterway. My mistake was stating to the City that the work required United States Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Act insurance. Then the City called their carrier who said the USL&H was not required. I called the City’s Loss Prevention Department and discussed this with them. They said if I had additional information for them, they would consider it.

I enlisted Kelly White of Kelly White & AssociatesInsurance, LLC who is my insurance agent as well as the Second Vice President of your Florida Marine Contractor’s Association, to clarify this issue and convince the City to require this coverage.

The following is an excerpt from the emails between NCCI Holdings, Inc.’s Regulatory Assurance professional Veruschka Zachtshinsky and Kelly White-

Dear Lori Lovgren, I need some assistance if possible. I have an insured that is having a difficult time understanding why he is required to carry the 6006F class code for his work and he is losing jobs to other marine contractors insured under 5403 with no F loading or even 8227. Rick Fender has been contacting the various municipalities to discuss the 6006F code prior to bid due dates and continues to run into a brick wall. He has requested that I forward the below job description to NCCI for a determination as to what code he would need for that job. He feels he may be the one using the incorrect code. Kelly White

Hello Kelly, I am responding to your email on behalf of Lori. In reviewing the insured’s website and the job description provided in your email, it appears Code 6006F is the appropriate class code. In Florida, Code 6006F is an all-inclusive code applicable to marine construction such as marine pile driving, dock & seawall, jetty or breakwater, and dike or revetment construction. Code 8227 can be assigned to a permanent yard maintained by the insured for the storage of material or the storage and maintenance of equipment since Code 6006F is a construction code. Veruschka Zachtshinsky

To: Veruschka Zachtshinsky-What if “all” of the work is on non-navigable water? Kelly White, CRIS

Hi Kelly, In Florida, there doesn’t appear to be a distinction. I’ve attached Circular FL-2006-04, which announced the approval of Item 04-FL-2005. This filing discontinued national Code 6003—Pile Driving and Code 6005—Jetty or Breakwater Construction—All Operations to Completion & Drivers. These codes were replaced with state-special Code 6004—Land Pile Driving and Code 6006F. Veruschka Zachtshinsky

Further, Kelly has explained below how the USL&H benefits apply and where the State Act Workers Compensation applies.

Insured’s working on Navigable and Non-Navigable waters are required to insure under the same workers compensation code 6006F which includes the USL&H load. The code is combined to include USL&H as well as State Act. Therefore, if an employee is working on non-navigable waters during all of their employment, then the WC company would settle the claim as a State Act exposure. At that point there would not be any jurisdiction for the Federal requirements and the exemptions would technically be sufficient.

If however, that same company worked on Non-navigable and navigable waterways, the WC company would have to determine how much time was dedicated to what would be considered subject to USL&H and how much for State Act. This situation could go either way depending on various circumstances. If it was determined that the exposure was USL&H then an exemption would not be sufficient, if the worker was an owner of the company that had the exposure.

The really difficult part of determining who is and isn’t subject to USL&H claims settlement is because every company has different areas they work in. There are inland lakes that are considered navigable due to being connected by locks or tributaries or quite possibly commercial commerce (boat rental facilities). The chances of having a company work only on retention ponds and land locked lakes in Florida is in the low percentages at best. However the staff the insured has maybe assigned duties that do not make them subject to the USL&H so again the claim would be settled as State Act.

Please find the attached 6006F Scope Sheet that gives you more information regarding the coverage you are paying for. I hope this helps all of my fellow legitimate Florida marine contractors in the battle to comply with the law and make an honest dollar.

Orange County Environmental Protection Department’s Environmental Streamlining Task Force

2011-07-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs has appointed a 9-member task force to review environmental regulations, in an effort to reduce duplication and improve the permitting process. Orange County Environmental Protection Department’s Environmental Streamlining Task Force held a meeting 7-20-11 to review of our Natural Resource ordinances.

FDEP spoke about the SLERP which is the State Lands and Resources Environmental Permit. They explained that they serve the Governor, Secretary, Army Corp, SJRWMD and SFWMD as well as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Resources.

They stated that almost all work on land, wetlands and water bodies requires an Environmental Resource Permit. Some of the projects the review include marinas, docks and seawalls.

The State’s streamlining efforts include giving more exemptions, Noticed General Permits and self certifications. They are becoming more “lean” and are helping applicants to acquire the permits. Their goal is to provide 90% of the permits that they handle within 180 days.

They made fun of the Self Certification process showing a photograph of boathouse in the middle of a lake with the access walkway underwater. They stated that 23% of the Self Certified projects are out of compliance.

Most of the meeting dealt with State agencies and permitting but Orange County did say that in their process of streamlining their permitting, they would consider doing away with duplicate permitting if the State if already permitting an activity.

I, Rick Fender of Fender Marine Construction representing the Florida Marine Contractors Association Central Florida Chapter spoke about the County’s and State’s streamlining efforts. On beneficial planting permits in Orange County, contractors are required to procure a permit from OCEPD and then the same information and plans must be submitted to FMC (Fish and Wildlife Commission) for their permit. The County charges a fee for their permit but the State does not. Further, when we make application with the County for the beneficial planting permits, they contact the State FWC to let them know to contact us for the duplicate permit.

I recommend that all marine contractors and other interested parties attend the next one of the Environmental Streamlining Task Force meetings so that you can understand where they are going and provide your comments on the direction of the Task Force. You can find them at http://www.orangecountyfl.net/YourLocalGovernment/CountyDepartments/CommunityandEnvironmentalServices/EnvironmentalProtectionDivision/EnvironmentalStreamliningTaskForce.aspx.

Rick Fender, Vice President- Fender Marine Construction

Chapter Chairperson- Florida Marine Contractor’s Association

The power of the consumer when dealing with licensed marine contractors

2010-12-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

Property owners in Florida are lucky when it comes to easily hiring and controlling licensed marine contractors contractors. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) really does a great job of making sure that “bad” contractors that damage the public are weeded out. They respond quickly to complaints they are given from consumers. Complaints from other legitimate marine contractors are addressed as well but perhaps a little slower and with less feed back from DBPR. Developing a one on one business relationship with a DBPR representative helps legitimate contractors in controlling the unlicensed activity in their area but DBPR is underfunded that the investigators are spread thin.

If a property owner hires a State licensed marine contractor, they do have an enormous amount of power over that contractor. If the property owner has a problem with a licensee, the property owner has the following options:

If the licensed marine contractor abandons the project and refuses to return the customer’s call, one remedy is for the customer to call the DBPR or send DBPR a complaint form. The DBPR will then contact the contractor to resolve the issue. Every licensed contractor who wishes to maintain their license will immediately work with the DBPR and get the issue resolved right away.

Even if the licensed marine contractor has gone out of business or is dodging the DBPR, the residential consumer can go for the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board’s Construction Industry Recovery Fund to recover all or a portion of their losses. The rules for the fund read: Payment may be available from the construction industries recovery fund if you lose money on a project performed under contract, where the loss results from specified violations of Florida Law by a state-licensed contractor. For information about the recovery fund and filling a claim, contract the Florida Construction Industry licensing Board at the following telephone number and address: Department Of Business and professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing Board, 7960 Arlington Expressway, Suite 300, Jacksonville, Florida 32211-7467. Telephone: (850) 727-3650.
All residential construction contracts are required to contain this clause. The fund provides residential property owners who contract with licensed contractors with the ability to recover up to $50,000.00 if they have been ripped off or otherwise damaged by that licensed contractor.

You may review the Florida Statutes by clicking on: www.myflorida.com/dbpr/pro/cilb/index.html and click on Statutes and Rules.

Call Rick Fender, the Vice President of Fender Marine Construction for additional information at 407-481-2750 and http://www.fendermarine.com/

Belle Isle Florida Boat Dock Regulations

2010-10-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Call Fender Marine Construction for the best designs and prices! 407-481-2750 http://www.fendermarine.com/
Sec. 48-31. - Application process.
(a)Permit and review. Any person desiring to construct a boat dock, regardless of whether it is made of wood or another material, within the city shall first apply for a permit to construct the boat dock. Applications shall be made to the city. Upon receiving the application, a city administrative officer shall perform a site review of the proposed dock location. The city shall review the application and shall contact the applicant if the application fails to meet any of the requirements set forth in this section.

(1)City's administrative review fees. An administrative review fee of $165.00 shall be paid at the time the application is submitted. The administrative review fee does not include the Orange County building permit's processing fee.

(2)Application. The applicant shall submit a city boat dock application, a county boat dock application, a survey and three sets of plans showing the dock. These forms shall be available in the city hall office. The survey and plans shall provide accurate information as to all of the following items:

a.An arrow indicating the northerly direction and an indication of the scale to which the drawing was prepared;

b.The dimensions of the property, and the length and location of the proposed dock;

c.The exact distance between the existing shoreline, at the point where the dock is to be constructed, and a permanent object or construction (e.g., house, tree) to be used as a reference point;

d.The exact distance of setbacks from adjacent property lines, and an approximation of the distance from the closest dock on each side of the property;

e.The floor and roof elevation of the proposed dock, boathouse or other structure connected to the dock;

f.The depth of water at the end of the proposed dock; and

g.A survey, performed within the last three years, of the property indicating the normal high-water elevation of Lake Conway (86.9) as established by the county on October 25, 1982.

(3)Building permit. Following the approval by the city of a boat dock application, the applicant is also required to obtain a building permit from the county building department prior to commencing construction. In the event electricity is run to the boat dock, the proper electrical permit must also be obtained from the county building department.

(b)Commencement and completion of construction. All construction must be commenced, or completed, or both, within the guidelines established by the county building department. The applicant is responsible for all fees associated with the procurement of the necessary permits.

(Ord. No. 92-6, ch. V, art. A, § 1, 12-15-1992; Ord. No. 04-03, § 5, 3-12-2004)

Sec. 48-32. - Design criteria.

Boat dock applications shall be reviewed under the following rules and regulations:

(1)Setbacks. Boat docks shall have a minimum side setback of five feet from the projected property lines of all abutting shoreline properties.

(2)Length. Consideration will be given to the length of other docks within 300 feet on either side of the proposed dock and to any previous length restrictions that the city council may have established. For comparison, the length will be measured from the existing shoreline, with reference to a fixed object or structure on the lot. If there are no other adjoining docks in the vicinity, then the maximum length of the boat dock shall not exceed 40 feet measured from the 86.9 normal high water elevation contour line of Lake Conway, as marked by a registered surveyor, to the lakeward end of the dock.

(3)Total area. A boat slip, platform and any other portion of the dock, covered or uncovered, collectively may not exceed 500 square feet in total area.

(4)Height. Except for floating docks, the minimum height of boat dock decks shall place them one foot above the normal high water elevation of Lake Conway. The maximum height, which is to be measured from the top of the structure, shall be 13 feet above the normal high water elevation of Lake Conway. The minimum height of a floating dock deck shall be one foot above the water level.

(5)Walkway. That portion of the dock lying waterward of the 86.9 feet contour line of Lake Conway as established by the county on October 25, 1982 and extending to the juncture of the slip or platform, whichever is closest to the shore. A walkway shall be a minimum of four feet in width. The area for a walkway shall not be included as part of the total area for the structure unless the walkway exceeds four feet in width. In such cases, the excess square footage generated by the width in excess of four feet shall be included in the total area for the platform and/or slip.

(6)Number and location of boat docks.

a.No boat dock construction permit shall be issued on a lot or combination of lots that does not have a principal building first located thereon.

b.Only one boat dock per principal building that is located on a lot or combination of lots shall be allowed on any such lot or combination of lots.

c.Boat docks shall only be permitted on lots or combinations of lots zoned or used for residential purposes, and no boat docks shall be permitted on any lot or combination of lots used for agricultural, commercial, professional-office and/or industrial purposes.

d.Boat docks on public property and/or homeowners associations lots shall be exempted from provisions of subsections (6)a and b of this section. However, only one boat dock per parcel may be located on public property and/or homeowners association property. The term "parcel" shall mean all contiguous property owned by a homeowners association or by a public entity.

e.All boat docks shall be permanently affixed to the lake bottom, and shall be subject to the provisions of this article except where noted.

(7)Restrictions. All boat docks shall adhere to the following restrictions:

a.No work shall be within areas which constitute easements for ingress or egress, or for drainage.

b.No structures having flat roofs will be permitted. The pitch of the roof shall have a minimum slope of 2:12 and a maximum slope of 5:12.

c.No structure having enclosed sidewalls shall be permitted. This includes areas for fueling and/or storage facilities. The term "enclosed" shall be defined as, by way of example but not by limitation, screen enclosures, chainlink fencing, lattice fencing and any form of paneling.

d.Under no circumstances shall a permit for the construction of a boat dock to be utilized for residential purposes be issued.

e.No permit applications will be accepted unless there is a principal building established on the property, or a building permit has been issued to construct said building.
(Ord. No. 92-6, ch. V, art. A, § 2, 12-15-1992; Ord. No. 95-4, 4-18-1995; Ord. No. 98-2, 4-21-1998)

Sec. 48-33. - Variances.

In the event the applicant wishes to construct a boat dock in excess of any of the criteria mentioned in section 48-32, a variance must be applied for to the board. There shall be a $100.00 application fee for the first variance and a $50.00 fee for each additional variance requested at the same time. The board shall not approve an application for a variance unless and until each of the following criteria have been met:

(1)The boat dock shall not create conditions hazardous to navigation nor any safety hazards;

(2)The location and placement of the boat dock shall be compatible with other docks in the area, and the shoreline contour of the lake;

(3)The current level of the lake shall not be a factor in deciding whether to approve or deny a variance; and

(4)The requirements of section 42-64(1) except for subsection 42-64(1)d.

(Ord. No. 92-6, ch. V, art. A, § 3, 12-15-1992; Ord. No. 04-03, § 5, 3-12-2004)

Sec. 48-34. - Boat docks not on Lake Conway.

(a)Any person desiring to construct a boat dock in an industrially zoned district shall be subject to the provisions of this article except as follows:

(1)A boat dock constructed in an industrially zoned district shall not be required to comply with the provisions of section 48-32 except that all boat docks shall be permanently affixed to the water body bottom; and

(2)The survey required by subsection 48-31(a)(2)g. shall indicate the normal high water elevation (if any) of the applicable body of water.

(b)Zoning approval for construction of a boat dock on a waterway other than Lake Conway shall be subject to the following criteria:

(1)The boat dock shall not create conditions hazardous to navigation.

(2)The boat dock shall not create any safety hazards.

(3)The boat dock shall not interfere with the riparian rights of any adjacent property.

(4)The boat dock shall have a minimum setback of five feet from projected property lines of all abutting shoreline properties.

(Ord. No. 06-04, § 1, 4-4-2006)

Secs. 48-35—48-60. - Reserved.

Aluminum Floating Dock for Haines City Park

2010-08-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Fender Marine Construction We have been working as a subcontractor for Welbro Constructors for a long time doing their marine construction. We designed and built this aluminum floating dock through Welbro for a Haines City park. It was ADA compliant and required State permitting as well as local. Here you can see the upper portion of the fixed dock, the gangway and the floating dock.

Fender Marine Construction Another photo of the Lake Eva- Haines City floating dock featuring our President Lucy Fender!

Our customer Welbro Constructors and thier customer Haines City are very happy with the project.

Boathouse Orlando with difficult soils but great results!

2010-08-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Fender Marine Construction Started a new boathouse in the Isle of Catalina Orlando on a canal that leads to Clear Lake. The soil was very hard and the piles could not be jetted into place. We used our auger to drill the pile holes to a 6' depth.

Here on the Isle of Catalina boathouse you can see the piles set into position and at the required depth. It took a long time to get the piling right, but "you have to build upon a good foundation"!

This is a photo of the Johnson boathouse almost finished. Here we are working on the installation of the aluminum boat cradle.

Just got this photo of the Johnson boathouse- Giant 30' long for the hugh 28' float boat. We upgraded the lift system to 6,000 lb capacity boat cradle, lift motor and gear assembly. Great marine construction project for really wonderful customers!

Cloud 9 Services, Inc. forms dba Fender Marine Construction

2010-08-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Fender Marine Construction We appeared before the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board 2 weeks ago to get the subsiiary of Cloud 9 Services, Inc., Fender Marine Construction approved as a Florida State Certified Marine Contractor. We were approved unanimously. See the new logo!

Florida Marine Contractor's Association Uninsured Enforcement Success

2009-10-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to report that after months of discussion, break through changes were confirmed on a conference call this past Friday that will positively affect the Marine Industry. Below is a summary of the conference call for your review.

Until recently, uninsured marine contractors were able to build docks and seawalls on “non-navigable” waterways with no repercussions from the State of Florida’s Division of Workers Compensation if that contractor had no Workers Compensation coverage (code 6006F) in force. Past case law prohibited the State from pursuing violators and issuing “Stop Work Orders” because of a loop hole concerning enforcement jurisdiction of State Act coverage (regulated by the State of Florida’s Division of Workers Compensation) and United States Longshoreman and Harbor Worker's Act (USL&H) (regulated by the Department of Labor).

Bottom line, marine contractors who have been losing work due to the under priced estimates of uninsured contractors can now seek assistance from the State to issue “Stop Work Orders” at jobs that are on “non-navigable” waterways.

This is a huge step forward for the marine industry in getting the State to step up to assist on this matter, because up until now, they would only refer frustrated inquiries to the Department of Labor. As many of you know, due to funding and government cutbacks, the Department of Labor does not proactively enforce the need for USL&H coverage for “jobs in progress”.

At an upcoming FMCA Central Florida Chapter meeting being held on Wednesday, October 14th, we hope to address enforcement of USL&H with the Department of Labor of uninsured contractors working on “navigable” waterways.

In the meantime, violators can be reported via the web by going to: www.myfloridacfo.com/wc Go to the area located on the center right of the web page entitled: Report Suspected Workers’ Comp Non-Compliance. People can check their local phone listings to their local representatives. In Central Florida, Terence Phillips can be reached at 407-835-4467. In Tallahassee, William Dorney can be reached at 850-413-1825.

FMCA continues to work hard to benefit its members and looks forward to pressing forward on the challenges the marine industry faces.

Respectfully submitted,

Rick Dalrymple, CPIA, CMIPFMCA Chapter Director, Central Florida(407)998-4108 Fax: (407) 788-7933Email: Rick.Dalrymple@IOAUSA.comWeb: http://www.ioausa.com/

For the finest in Marine Construction in Florida, call Rick Fender @ Cloud 9 Services, Inc. 407-481-8383

Seawall and retaining Wall Repair Solutions

2009-07-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Seawall and retaining wall problems in Central Florida.

Following the hurricanes back in 2003 and 2005, there was a flurry of dock and seawall reconstruction in Central Florida. When there is so much opportunity for work, every guy with a pickup truck becomes a marine contractor. The problems with hiring an inexperienced licensed contractor to perform marine construction such as docks, seawalls, retaining walls, boardwalks, boathouses, channel markers, mooring piles and marinas. There are special skills and techniques as well as specialized equipment required for marine construction repair and new construction projects to be successful.

Today I met with a customer in Phillips Landing on Sand Lake. She had a non-marine contractor install a 5’ high and 250’ long aluminum seawall after the hurricanes. She called me because the wall was falling over into the lake. Not only is the damaged seawall dangerous to walk around but the beautifully landscaped yard is about to be destroyed. This wall needs to be repaired immediately.

It appears that the seawall or retaining wall failure was a result of a combination of mistakes made by the contractor. The wall did not have any ports in the face of the wall to allow water to flow from behind the wall. This causes the seawall to fail as a result of the hydrostatic pressure building behind the wall.

The homeowner did the right thing by requiring the contractor to be licensed and to procure a building permit. However, the contractor was fly-by-night and is now out of business. There is no company left to stand behind the wall construction. The customer did not require that the seawall contractor be a member of the Florida Marine Contractor's Association which requires its members to not only be appropriatley licensed but also carry the required United States Longshoreman's Insurance.

The solution we suggest is costly but effective. We would remove the soil from behind the wall where the wall has begun to lean and bow. We would then install new deadmen and tiebacks between the old tiebacks. We would then use a mini-excavator to pull the wall back into a vertical position. We would replace portions of the seawall cap where it cannot be reused. After the wall is straight, the original deadmen and tiebacks will be adjusted to pick up a portion of the load exerted on the wall by the soil. After the deadmen and tiebacks are right, we would carefully backfill against the wall. Once the wall is backfilled, the tiebacks are adjusted again and the yard is cleaned up and sodded.

We would install vents in the seawall face to allow water to pass from behind the wall into the lake through the wall. This will limit the hydrostatic pressure building up behind the wall during the wet season here in Florida.

There are other solutions available that do not require digging up the yard to install deadmen. We will go into that system in another entry to my marine construction blog.

If you need help with marine construction anywhere in Florida, feel free to contact Cloud 9 Services, Inc. We are State Certified Marine Contractors. 407-481-2750.

Unlicensed and underinsured contractors

2009-02-28T10:07:00.000-08:00

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation writes a lot about their efforts to stop unlicensed activity. I appreciate their efforts although they are severely limited by a lack of funding which results in less of an ability to enforce the law. When they write about unlicensed activity and what consumers can do to protect themselves, they mention checking the contractor’s license of the person performing the work. They should also inform you that consumers should make sure that the company or person that they are entering into a contract with is the same person or company listed on the license. This is because some unlicensed contractors use another contractor’s license to pull the permit. This is illegal and is called aiding and abetting an unlicensed contractor. The DBPR should also educate the consumer and the local building departments that they should never pull a permit for anyone to do work on their home. The exception which never happens is if the consumer follows the law and covers that unlicensed worker as an employee with workers compensation and withholds payroll taxes.

If the consumer knows that that is the requirement, homeowners would never pull the permit. This can best be stopped at the building department level. The other day I was attempting to procure a permit for an extensive dock repair with one of my customers. He and his engineer had prepared the plans for the permitting. I took my customer who is over 80 years old with me to get the permit in case the plans examiners had questions for him. When we appeared at the permit intake desk, the lady assumed that I was an unlicensed contractor helping the owner to pull the permit so that I could illegally repair his dock. She directed us to fill out the Homeowner’s Affidavit form that the building departments supply that basically states that the owner is going to perform the work himself or with family or with insured employees withholding payroll taxes. It was apparent that there was no way that the owner was capable of installing the piling for the dock as was required in the permit and the permit intake lady knew that. But she sent us over to fill out the form fraudulently. When I advised her that I am a Florida State Certified Marine Contractor, then of course the form was not needed. But had I not indicated that I was a licensee, we would have gotten the permit and if I were unlicensed and uninsured and performed the work, the project would have been performed illegally exposing the customer to great risk.

If the DBPR educates the building/permitting departments and gets their cooperation on this, we would cut unlicensed activity in the State by at least 70%. This would mean a lot less ripped off consumers. There would be significantly less docks and seawalls being built over neighbor’s property lines, built incorrectly and a lot less pain and suffering associated with such things.

Another way to view this issue is to consider an unlicensed doctor. By being unlicensed, he is showing that he lacks the ability to become licensed and exposes the consumers to great harm. Unlicensed doctors go to jail. In fact all the licensed doctors who went to school, passed their tests, performed their internship and became a part of the medical establishment would be up in arms if they knew of an unlicensed doctor seeing patients and performing operations. What of the consumer? If he did not know that the doctor was unlicensed and perhaps there were forged documents on the wall or websites showing the doctors fine work, well then the poor consumer has been duped and could suffer greatly. But what about the consumer that goes to the doctor knowing that the doctor is unlicensed and breaking the law? For the illusion of saving money, they are willing to help the doctor break the law that was designed to protect the consumer?
I don’t feel that the consumer deserves the bad workmanship or lack of exposure to loss without recourse that they receive working with the unlicensed doctor. They may have not been educated on the serious ramifications of dealing with an unlicensed professional.

For marine construction, United States Longshoreman and Harborworker’s Act insurance is required. Through our work at the Florida Marine Contractor’s Association, we have gotten the cost of the coverage reduced significantly. It is now an additional rider on top of the normal worker’s compensation insurance. Our code for Workers Comp for dock and seawall building is 6006F. While we are training the building/permitting departments about the unlicensed activity, we hope to also train them to reject contractors from permitting docks or seawalls if on or adjacent to any water body unless they have the 6006F on their policy. This further protects the consumer in case one of the workers is injured. Learn more about worker's compensation fraud.
If we can stop unlicensed contractor activity, the consumer will be better off, the economy will be better off and the contractors who have paid their dues by procuring the experience, the licensing and the insurance to work as professionals for the public will be better off. Everyone wins except the criminals who should not win. Crime should not pay, but until we can stop unlicensed and uninsured and underinsured contractor activity, crime does pay.

For a licensed marine contractor with the appropriate insurance to protech thier employees and customers, contact Cloud 9 Services, Inc. at 407-466-9952

Dock and boathouse amenities

2008-07-31T04:59:00.000-07:00

After the last Board of Director’s Meeting of the Florida Marine Contractor’s Association this past July, my wife Lucy and I hosted a small party at our home for the meeting attendees. The purpose of the party was to entertain my fellow Board Members and their families and enjoy their company. I also wanted to show off some of the amenities that I sell with the docks I build. I try to get my prospective customers to come to my house and check out the work so that they can get an idea of the craftsmanship, design and possible amenities they could enjoy by working with Cloud 9 Service, Inc.

At the party, I discovered that most of my coastal brother and sister marine contractors do not have the ability to build covered decks or boat houses in their area. For those of you who are able to build covered activity decks and are not as limited on the maximum square footage allowed, I offer these design and amenity tips.

When designing your access walkway and you say have a stand of trees and you could just draw a straight line to get to the terminal platform or you could meander the walkway through the trees, choose to meander. I tell my customers that getting to the terminal platform is a major portion of the enjoyment of having and dock. It costs more money for the added walkway, but it is worth it.

When adding lighting to the dock or walkway, we use trim boards to conceal the wiring and we use lights that shine down onto the deck as opposed that shine out and cause light pollution. I am considering adding rope lighting to the sides of the terminal platform and walkway, but if I do, it will be behind a skirt so that the light shines down into the water as opposed to shining out across the lake.

In Central Florida, we are permitted to have covered activity decks. Cloud 9’s header system for the roof is comprised of (2) 2x10s sandwiching the 6x6 piling with a 2x6 at the bottom forming a trough beam. This trough beam allows us to add recessed can lighting in various colors and attached to a dimmer, it can be very beautiful. For my activity deck I also added LCD TVs driven by a DVD player with speakers hidden in an enclosed box in the ceiling. Sometimes we play movies but we mainly play music videos when we are entertaining. Then for the real parties we added a disco light that simulates waves of light across the deck, water and ceiling.

The summers are so hot here that we really can’t sit out on the covered activity deck without over heating or being eaten by mosquitoes. Those problems were solved by the addition of a water mist system to the box beam header system over the covered activity deck portion of the terminal platform area. The mist can reduce the ambient air temperature by up to 30 degrees depending on the relative humidity of the air. When you add the black lights, disco lights, blue recessed can down lights to the mist, it is a party on the water.

Since we planned the covered activity deck as a separate entertainment area, we finished it off with a granite table(wind stable) and chairs, a small drink frig and a waste and recycle bin area.

I know many of you have your own great ideas of amenity packages and I encourage you to write about them in an article like this and send to the Editor(Steven Webster) for publication of the FMCA. In this way, all of our fellow members and our customers across the State and Country can share our ideas that could help our businesses and make our lives more enjoyable. Rick Fender Cloud 9 Services, Inc. 407-481-2750

Decking Options for docks, decks and walkways

2007-11-09T07:51:00.000-08:00

There are many decking options available to dock and deck owners here in Central Florida. In this article I will try to touch on a few of the wood decking materials I use with the benefits and challenges associated with each one.

The natural wood decking materials can be the domestic Southern Yellow Pine or Cypress or the imports such as the Brazilian Hardwoods. The Southern Yellow Pine decking normally offered on the standard deck or dock is pressure treated to .40 ACQ or CA. These treatment chemicals are now in use since the EPA ruling making the use of CCA pressure treated wood illegal for all marine uses except for structural timbers. The #1 grade of Southern Yellow Pine should be used as a minimum if you choose to go with a Pine deck. I recommend the use of 2”x6” boards for the decking without a gap being placed between the boards. As the deck boards dry out, they will develop their own gap of approximately 1/4".

The 2”x6” Pine decking will allow you to have your joists spaced 24” on center whereas if you use the less expensive 5/4”x6” Pine decking I would space the joists 16” O.C.

If you are on a tight budget, the 2”x6” #1 pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine is the way to save money in the short term. However, in order to keep the wood surface looking good for years to come, you will need to perform periodic maintenance on the decking. This includes lightly pressure cleaning and sealing every 12 to 24 months for the life of the deck. There are several types of stains and paints that are made specifically for use on pressure treated Pine decking. The one I recommend most is Spa-n-deck from The Flood Company. The best price I have found for this ultra-violet wood protectant and stain is from Decks & Docks Lumber at 4801 95th St, N St. Petersburg, FL 33708. Contact: Mr. Dan Gileo phone: 727-399-9663 fax: 727-399-8453 email: decksanddocks@tampabay.rr.com website: http://www.decks-docks.com/.

Of course the #1 Pressure treated Southern Pine decking is available from several lumber yards around town. I deal with Southern Pine on Hansel Avenue in Pine Castle. They deliver in a timely manner and the quality of the decking is good. Their phone number is 407-251-1900.

Another type of Southern Yellow Pine decking that I recommend is the “UltraWood” 2”x6” decking. This Pine is a grade above the basic #1. It is a #1 dense or better grade which means the wood grain is tighter, the knots are smaller and because the edges are rounded(eased), there is very little wane. This means almost every piece of the wood is good for decking and requires very little culling. Another reason and I feel the most important reason to buy this “UltraWood” is that during the pressure treatment process, it is also treated with a water repellent. This means that the normal hydration and dehydration which occurs to the decking when it rains and dries out does not occur with the “UltraWood” to the extent that it does with normal #1 Pine decking. This constant expanding of the wood when it gets wet and then shrinking again when it dries out causes the wood to splinter and crack prematurely. Certainly painting and applications of the “ultra-violet wood protectant” to the normal #1 will help slow this natural weathering and inevitable aging of the wood, starting with the “UltraWood” decking is a great way to make sure you deck will have a long life. The “UltraWood” can also be stained and treated with the ultra-violet wood protectant.

The most beautiful of the wood decking products that I have found are the Brazilian hardwoods. This material is sometimes called “Ironwood” and there are several different types with different colors and grains. It is the same decking used by Disney World on most of their wood deck area. It is very good for not splintering since the fibers of the wood are very dense and almost hair like when they are cut. There are three ways you can go with the maintenance of this wood. You can choose to simply do nothing to it and it will dry and weather to a silver gray. You could also choose to apply a nut oil called “Penofin” to the Ipe to get a very rich Mahogany brown color and deep luster to the wood. The challenge with the Penofin is that it must be applied several times over the next few years. The Penofin oil tends to build up after every application so that the frequency the application is required decreases over the years. The Penofin is available from 84 Lumber in Tavares at 352-742-8500 or Ace Hardware in Cape Canaveral at 321-784-1528. The final treatment I have found for the Brazilian Hardwoods is Floodpro Supreme Performance available from Decks & Docks Lumber as listed above. This coating is water based and carries a 3 year warranty on decks.
The Brazilian Hardwoods are very dense and pre-drilling and counter sinking of the screws is required. You must use carbide blades for sawing and carbide drill bits for drilling. A 5/4”x6” deck board can span up to 36” but I always use it with 24” O.C. joists. Lumber dealers carry the Ipe in a 1” nominally thick deck board which is reported to span up to 24” but I have not tried it as I use the 5/4” thick board. Even though there is some periodic maintenance required for the mahogany look of the Ipe to be maintained, I think as it is the most beautiful natural wood decking, it is worth it.

Next article I will write about the composite and plastic decking that is setting the market on fire.

Cloud 9 Services, Inc. is a Central Florida Marine Contractor. We build boat docks, boathouses, decks, boardwalks, gazebos, pergolas, seawalls, retaining walls- both commercial and residential. Our State Certified General Contractor's License number is CG C026854. Our website is http://www.cloud9services.com/. We can be reached by email at rick@cloud9services.com. Our phone number is 407-481-2750. We are members of the Florida Marine Contractor's Association whose website is http://www.fmca.us/.

Working with Marine Contractors- Stay Safe!

2007-10-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Working with Marine Contractors-

People that own a lakefront home need to maintain thier seawalls, retaining walls, bulkheads, boathouses, boat docks, boat lifts, decks and railings on a periodic basis or they will fall apart. This situation is compounded when you have waterfront property. If you are really lucky, you or your spouse is skilled in performing repairs and making improvements around the home. For even the most skilled homeowner however, there will come a time when they need a contractor to work on their property. The following is my advice on working with contractors or handy-persons on your property:

If you are approached by a local handy-person and you know they don’t have Workman’s Compensation Insurance or Liability Insurance, then be aware that you will be liable for their injuries or death. The best way to go is to get contractors with the insurance coverage to protect you from losses and litigation. When you are considering hiring a contractor and I refer to any person or company that comes onto your property to perform work for you as a contractor, get a Certificate of Insurance coverage from them. The Certificate would be sent to you by the insurance company and not handed to you by the contractor. You would be listed as additionally insured on the certificate. If the certificate comes from the insurance company, then are assured that the contractor does in fact have insurance and that you are covered in case he or his workers get hurt on your property and you have liability coverage for his operations. If you are listed as additionally insured on the certificate, then if the contractor does not pay his premium or is canceled for another reason, you are notified normally 30 days prior to the cancellation that the contractor will not have coverage by that insurance company after that date. In this way, you will know that they either need to finish the project in that time frame or they have to have another Certificate of Insurance sent to you before the date of cancellation of the original certificate. Workman’s Compensation Insurance is statutory and is the same for all contractors. However, Liability Insurance coverage varies between contractors. Most contractors that have Liability Insurance coverage will carry at least $100,000. Some will carry $1,000,000. Cloud 9 Services, Inc. carries $2,000,000 worth of coverage because some of our commercial marine projects require that level of coverage.

A lot of contractors will ask for a deposit from you before doing any work. Sometimes a deposit is warranted such as in the case of a home addition or major repair. Deposits should not be given if there is not permitting or engineering involved or if there are not special materials that must be purchased by the contractor prior to starting the work. If a deposit is being required by a contractor, make sure it is covered in an agreement with that contractor. In fact don’t allow any work to be performed on your home valued at over $100.00 without some kind of written and executed agreement. There are always questions that will arise when performing the work on a project and having something in writing helps avoid disagreements and lawsuits.

Make sure the contractor is licensed appropriately for the work they are going to perform for you. Make sure they are State Certified Contractors if you are doing any kind of construction or repair that requires a building permit. Get their license number and make sure the license is for either the contractor himself if a sole proprietor or for his corporation. You can get this information through WWW.MyFlorida.com. This is important in that if you hire someone that says that they are a contractor but they have another licensed contractor pull the building permit, it is an illegal act. It is called aiding and abetting an unlicensed contractor. If you want to go after the entity that you entered into the agreement with and he is not licensed, you will not be able to go after his license since he doesn’t have one. Also, do not pull a permit as the homeowner for a contractor to perform the work. This is also illegal and if something goes wrong on the project, you are left in a bad situation.

If you give a contractor a deposit and they fail to perform or if you are having a problem with a contractor failing to perform in any way, if they are licensed, you will have some recourse. The Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board has a program to reimburse homeowners for damages caused by licensed contractors. If you call the FCILB or file a report on the contractor through the internet, the FCILB will contact the contractor and then you will most likely get a call from the contractor trying to resolve the problem. The FCLIB is very strict about making sure licensees/contractors do not harm the public and they will suspend or revoke a contractor’s license if they don’t walk the line.

The following is an excerpt from one of my standard agreements for dock or seawall construction. This clause is required to be contained in the proposals offered by licensees on residential projects.

Construction Industry Recovery Fund: Payment may be available from the construction industries recovery fund if you lose money on a project performed under this contract, where the loss results from specified violations of Florida Law by a state-licensed contractor. For information about the recovery fund and filling a claim, contract the Florida Construction Industry licensing Board at the following telephone number and address: Department Of Business and professional Regulation, Construction Industry Licensing Board, 7960 Arlington Expressway, Suite 300, Jacksonville, Florida 32211-7467. Telephone: (850) 727-3650.

Cloud 9 Services, Inc. specilizes in residential and commercial marine construction. We build docks, decks, boathouses, seawalls, bulkheads, retaining walls, pergolas, trellis and many other custom marine structures. Visit our website at www.cloud9services.com

Cloud 9 services, Inc. serves all of Central Florida including Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Geneva, Lake Mary, Lake Monroe, Longwood, Oviedo, Sanford, Winter Springs, Alafaya, Apopka, Bay Lake, Belle Isle, Christmas, Doctor Phillips, Eatonville, Edgewood, Lake Buena Vista, Maitland, Oakland, Ocoee, Orlando, Tangerine, Windermere, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Zellwood, Campbell, Celebration, Kissimmee, Poinciana, St. Cloud, Auburndale, Bartow, Davenport, Dundee, Eagle Lake, Fedhaven, Fort Meade, Frostproof, Haines City, Highland Park, Hillcrest Heights, Indian Lake Estates, Lake Alfred, Lake Hamilton, Lake Wales, Lakeland, Mulberry, Nalcrest, Polk City, Providence, Winter Haven, Altoona, Astatula, Astor, Bassville Park, Clermont, Eustis, Forest Hills, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-In-The-Hills, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Mount Plymouth, Okahumpka, Paisley, Sorrento, Tavares, Umatilla, Yalaha, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, DeBary, DeLand, Deltona, Edgewater, Holly Hill, Lake Helen, New Smyrna Beach, Oak Hill, Orange City, Ormond Beach, Pierson, Ponce Inlet, Port Orange.

Cloud 9 Services, Inc hold State of Florida Certified Underground Utility and Excavation Contractor, General Contractor, Mechanical Contractor and Plumbing Contractor's licenses.

Rick Fender
Cloud 9 Services, Inc. 407-481-2750

Pile Driving and Jetting for Marine Construction of Docks, Boathouses and Seawalls

2007-10-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Pile Driving and Jetting in Marine Construction

When you are thinking of building your own dock or seawall or hiring a contractor, here are some problems to watch out for.
In general, do now hire unlicensed or uninsured contractors. This practice is wide spread in marine construction as there are plenty of people with a pickup truck and the ability to sell. If the marine builder does not have a license, he has (3) choices.

1- He can build the structure without a permit and hope he does not get caught.
2- He can get you to pull the permit for him as the homeowner. This is somewhat tricky as you have to swear to the permitting agency that you or your family will be constructing the project.
3- He could ask a friend with a license to pull the permit for him.

The last (2) of these options are third degree felonies. So really none of these options should be acceptable to you.

When you actually start installing either wood piling for a dock or sheet piles for a seawall, you must make sure that the post rests on a good foundation. This is accomplished by using water pressure from say a 2” trash pump with a steel wand reduced down to a ¾” pipe. The post or sheet is placed in position on the bottom of the lake and the water is used to wash the sand away from the base, allowing the post or sheet to settle slowly downward. When the bottom of the post reaches the hardpan or so much friction at say 4’ to 6’ below the mudline, the post will not go any further, you have reached a good foundation for the post. For the sheet pile, unless the sheet hits a void or deleterious materials at the pre-described amount of sheet penetration below the mudline, then it is considered to have been set to a good foundation.

The reason this good foundation is important is that if the post is not seated correctly, it will drop after a load is placed on it. Further, the post will be more susceptible to wave and wind uplift during high wind or wave conditions.

For the seawall sheet, the correct amount of penetration below the mudline will prevent the panels from kicking out at the bottom. If you have someone else setting the posts or the sheets, measure them before they are installed. That way when they are done, you can measure the length of the post or sheet above the mudline and calculate the length of post or sheet embedded below the mudline.

Sometimes you will find a root or rock or other obstruction impeding your way to getting the proper penetration. Don’t give up! Either jet or cut or dig the obstruction out of the way and continue down with your sheet or post. If you leave it up higher than required, you will have trouble in the future.

Until next time, “You’ve got to build on a good foundation!”

Rick Fender- Cloud 9 Services, Inc.
407-481-2750
rick@cloud9services.com

2007-10-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

When considering building a marine related project, consider these items that make our company better than the other Marine Contractors in Central Florida.

These are thing property owners should consider when deciding which Marine Contractor they should use when building a deck, dock, seawall, bulkhead, pergola, gazebo, retaining wall, boathouse, boat dock, boat lift or other related marine construction. This information is provided by Rick Fender, Vice President of Cloud 9 Services, Inc. located in Orlando Florida at 1201 West Jackson Street and available by phone at 407-481-2750 or on the web at www.cloud9services.com.

Materials used are better

Real tongue and groove v-joint roof decking
Typhoon Lagoon Polyester rope is better than the Polypropylene and Nylon ropes used by others
Copper caps we use have no wood just copper and have a longer life than the 2 to 3 years for the wood trim caps used by others
Heavier structural members- 6x6 piles, 2x10 bents, 2x8 joists and triple 2x10 boxed beam headers
Skirt board for trimming and strength
Trim blocks for beauty

Permitting is faster and easier

We don’t ask the customer to pull any permits
We have our own in-house permitting department run by Sally Li who has a Master’s Degree in Geology and is very experienced in Environmental Permitting.
We have our own draftsman and consulting engineers who work on a timely manner to get the plans out for permitting.
We guarantee that we will have your plans into the initial permitting agency within (10) days after the customer has provided their survey and other required information.

The customer is protected from losses

We are Certified by the State of Florida as General Contractors and as such, any residential customer who enters into an agreement with us is eligible for a $25,000.00 recovery fund from the State of Florida should we fail to perform on your project. Only by dealing with State Certified Contractors are you able to gain this protection.
We carry $2,000,000.00 General Liability Insurance policy which protects the customer and Cloud 9 from catastrophic losses which could occur when performing the work of marine construction which can be very dangerous.
We carry the statutory Worker’s Compensation Insurance to not only protect our workers and ourselves from loss but also to protect the customer from losses if one of our employees get hurt on a project. If the customer deals with someone who does not have the required insurance, the customer could be liable for any injuries or death that occurs on the project.
Cloud 9 has gone the extra step to protect our customers. We carry United States Longshore and Harborworkers Act Insurance which covers our workers if they are injured over navigable waters of the US. Although most of our work is on non-navigable waters, the current trend in worker’s compensation Insurance litigation is that the attorneys go for the best insurance to sue. We don’t want our customers to be exposed to any litigation or losses so we have the insurance that 90% of the Central Florida Marine Contractor’s do not have.

Our customers deal with a real Marine Construction company

They enjoy the comfort and confidence of Cloud 9 Services’ 24 hour a day 7 day a week service.
When our customers call Cloud 9 Services, Inc., they get a live person 24 hours a day. That live person is an employee of Cloud 9 Services, Inc., not an answering service. Never would our customers have to leave a message on an answering machine in the middle of the day.
We have (20) employees, working toward giving you the best marine project available at a reasonable cost and in a short period of time.
Cloud 9 Services, Inc. was establish in 2001 and has many satisfied customers for you to talk to.
Rick Fender, the Vice President of Cloud 9 Services, Inc. was the founding President and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Florida Marine Contractor’s Association. Only the real marine contractors belong to this association. Less than 10% of the Central Florida marine contractors belong to this Statewide association.

If you are considering building a marine structure such as a deck, dock, seawall, bulkhead, pergola, gazebo, retaining wall, boathouse, boat dock, boat lift or other related marine construction. This information is provided by Rick Fender, Vice President of Cloud 9 Services, Inc. located in Orlando Florida at 1201 West Jackson Street and available by phone at 407-481-2750 or on the web at www.cloud9services.com.

Seawall and retaining wall Construction Information

2007-09-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

Seawall News

With the recent hurricanes that have plagued us, many of our seawalls have been under water and damaged beyond repair. Some folks who had no seawall had their shorelines eroded and lost their back yard. A good seawall can help protect and beautify your valuable property. There are several wall systems to choose from. They are all priced about the same.

The following are some of the types on the market now-

Aluminum seawalls- This system allows you to either utilize a tieback system or you can install the wall in a cantilever type of configuration without tiebacks and dead men. The wall usually is installed with the panels, which are Z shaped, an equal distance of each panel embedded into the soil at the lake ward side (the mudline) and the same amount above the mudline. Then every 6’ to 10’ on center, tiebacks are placed with aluminum rods 10’ to 20’ behind the wall. The tieback rods attach from the face of the wall to a square aluminum plate (deadman) which is buried 10’ to 20’ landward of the wall. The threaded tieback rod is then attached to the wall though the aluminum wall cap which holds all of the wall straight and spreads the load of the wall to the tieback rods and deadmen. The length of the tiebacks, the size of the deadmen, the spacing of the tiebacks and the thickness of the wall panel is all engineered based on the site conditions.
When there is not enough room for tiebacks and deadmen such as the situation where there is a swimming pool very close to the wall, a cantilevered wall may be used. Instead of using tiebacks and deadmen, the wall is engineered to be self supporting. In normal soil conditions, this means that the panel will be thicker making the panel stiffer and it will be embedded deeper into the soil. This embedment is usually about twice the amount of wall above the mudline.
The aluminum wall cap is then installed and the wall is ready for backfill. You can also use a steel reinforced concrete cap on the aluminum panels although it requires a lot of extra labor and can be quite a mess. Concrete caps are normally used where the nature of the existing shoreline requires the wall to curve and meander. The aluminum caps cannot curve, but they can be mitered to make turns. Some people use wood caps on the wall, but it is a maintenance issue and I don’t recommend it. The aluminum seawall systems are available locally from Raven’s Manufacturing in Kissimmee. They also manufacture aluminum floating docks. Their phone number is 407-935-9799.

Vinyl seawalls- These walls can do the same thing as the above described aluminum walls. The caps for these walls can be aluminum, concrete or wood. The vinyl walls can even be used in a cantilever system but the depth of the panel corrugation is much deeper and the panel is thicker that the aluminum panel for the same application. You can purchase this system at Southern Pine in Pine Castle 407-251-1900.

Wood Seawall- An all wood wall can last a long time but has maintenance. They are constructed much in the same way as the aluminum and vinyl walls, but the deadmen are usually 6”x6” wood piles. The tiebacks are usually stainless steel cables but sometimes rods are used. The wood used must be suitable for water emersion. With the banning of CCA for most marine uses, the lumber you get now will be treated with ACQ or CA. Since these preservative treatments are new to us here in Florida, I believe a wood wall to be a poor choice. Southern Pine also has the materials to build a wood seawall.

MSE walls- The last seawall system I will discuss is the MSE wall which means “mechanically stabilized earth”. The wall is masonry and can be very beautiful. The choices of colors and designs are numerous. The first step in building the wall is to start with a firm, compacted gravel bedding layer of 6”. This gravel is placed approximately 12” below the mudline. Then the first row of the masonry block units is laid. Plastic pins are inserted between the rows of blocks and based on the engineer’s recommendation; plastic webbing is placed in the compacted backfill behind the wall and attached to the wall as a tieback system. This wall system cannot be installed in a cantilever design, but on shorter walls can be installed in a “batter” condition. While the wall is being constructed, each row of block is staggered landward by a very small amount. This results in the overall wall leaning back toward shore and thereby holding back the soil without the use of tiebacks.
This wall has the advantage of being able to be placed in a straight line as well as curved. Scour occurs at the front and bottom or toe of the seawalls when larger waves hit such as in a hurricane. I have seen where this scour caused the failure of one of these walls on Sandlake, but they had so much beach erosion, perhaps a wall with greater embedment may also have failed. Another benefit of the wall is that it can be repaired in such an instance without a great deal of work.
Paver Systems on Landstreet Road sells one of the many brands of MSE wall systems available. 407-859-9117

For beauty and longevity, I recommend the masonry MSE wall. For strength and durability and in cantilever systems I recommend the aluminum walls.

For those of you that have lost land during the last hurricane season, you need to move quickly to reclaim any lost land. I spoke to Wendy Meyer at DEP in the beginning of October with reference to this beach erosion issue on Lake Conway. She stated that there was a time constraint on how long you have to get the work done before the rules revert back to normal where you would not be allowed to recover you lost land. She said that there were three options. The first was to simply replace the soil that was lost. This soil down to the normal high water line would have to be sodded and staked or planted in some other manner and stabilized.
Another option is to replace the soil and then add a seawall to hold back the soil. The last solution is to replace the soil and then install a stone revetment along the shoreline. Although the stone revetment is not a vertical seawall, it can be a very beautiful and effective method to stop beach erosion. I recommend Coquina stone which is available on the East coast of Florida at Black Hawk Quarry-321-725-2400. First the beach is backfilled and graded to on a 2 to 1 slope. Then a filter fabric is placed over the graded soil. Then a 6” thick layer of gravel is placed over the fabric. Then the last step is to place large boulders over the gravel. Call DEP at 407-898-7864 for further information on the permitting.

For more information contact Rick Fender at Cloud 9 Services, Inc. 407.481-2750 or www.cloud9services.com