Important Factors

• A floating pier dock is a dock that is free-floating but still attached to the shore. However, unlike other piers or docks, there is a limit in size and shape for a floating pier dock. This should be taken into consideration when building a floating pier dock. Otherwise, your dock may be too heavy and not float properly, cause damage to surrounding items or sink.
  
  In some instances, you may need a larger pier but you also need a floating dock due to frequent changes in water heights. In this case, you should consider looping together several smaller floating piers to prevent the dock from being too large or sinking. You can string the docks together using a heavy-duty nylon rope to prevent the water from deteriorating the rope and losing portions of the floating dock.
  
  Also, determine the height you will need between the top of the water and the top of the floating deck. If you plan to use your floating deck for swimming or small boats such as canoes or kayaks, then you will only require a height between eight and 12 inches. For larger boats, higher floating decks that are between 12 and 16 inches in height are recommended. Generally, any larger heights above 16 inches are usually used for commercial boating.
  
  

Choosing Materials

• Materials for building a floating pier can be extremely expensive. Buying the dock floats alone can run several hundred dollars and even into the thousands of dollars. Some companies will offer a discount if you buy all the materials from them. However, in some cases the discount can still mean higher costs than buying materials through several different companies.
  
  If you are not purchasing your materials directly through a company that specializes in water-based projects, then other factors may come into play. For example, while it may be cheaper to buy wood at your local home improvement store, you will also need to buy sealants to prevent water from rapidly eating through the dock. You may benefit from using hard woods that do not soak up as much wood, such as teak, oak or hard maple and avoid soft woods like pine or cedar. However, teak can cost significantly more than others. Instead, purchasing sealants and following up with regular maintenance can help prolong the life of the wood.