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Lake Home

The Dock Renovations!

Well, this is the first dock I have ever done! Maybe my last! 😉 Lol… but really. It was sooooo much more work than anticipated. If you are unfamiliar with how docks work on Lake Lanier here is the skinny. If you have a lake home with a dock you basically get a permit to use that dock. The dock is placed on the core’s property so they govern basically everything you do. But the core really doesn’t give out permits anymore so hence the reason lake homes are more valuable. It is basically a fee you pay to have your dock and things on their lake.

I originally wanted a newer dock but after realizing I could not go any larger in size and the cost of it had gone up 30% just since last July, it just didn’t make sense. I also had a dock that had a solid foundation but it needed a lot of work. The steel foundation was solid but it needed all new boards on the upper deck. The railing on the upper deck was rusted and rotted out, and the lower portion where the sun and water hit it also needed to be completely restored as well and it needed to be painted. But the lift, floats, and foundation were all solid.

First, it was a decision on what material to use to recover the dock. Almost went Trex or another comparable because wood is so much higher but lumber ended up winning. One thing you have to take into consideration on a dock is the weight of the material. Trex was almost 2 times the weight of lumber and it wouldn’t do well for the floats. After pricing it out with two different dock companies and realizing not only were they outrageous but they were also 12 weeks out I decided to go a different route and do it in stages.

Stage 1 was replace all the wood. Both the foundational boards and the deck boards. Johnstone and Co did this.

Stage 2 painting it. Went with Classic French Grey on deck boards to match the house and tie it in, but went with Iron Ore on all the metal. Again TMQ Interiors, Thea with finalizing colors.

Stage 3 was the upper railing. I literally weighed all the options. The sections you can buy and put together. The options online, the options at dock companies. Debated on wood, cable railing and ultimately went with a custom steel railing that I just sketched out and it is my favorite thing about the dock!!!

Stage 4 Furnishing it!! I found lounge chairs at Costco and to save a couple of dollars I found a table and chairs on Marketplace. They just needed a little DIY and love. And you know I apparently needed another project but that is done now too! ! 😉

The biggest problem with a dock is getting material down to that dock! My stairs are no easy feat so we actually use a local park to bring the lumber and supplies, loaded it onto the boat onto moving blankets, and transported it via water. That sounds easy, right? I honestly lost count of the number of trips it took. Also all the demoed wood from the dock I didn’t want on my boat so we had to get a dumpster and carry it up! Thank goodness for two neighborhood boys that wanted to earn some extra money!

And you all know the price of lumber right now. It was not ideal timing, but I was already too invested! Johnstone and Co, Trevor’s company, literally deserves all the credit for all of the work being completed. From overseeing a crew to redoing all the deck boards and foundation to literally constructing the custom steel rails by hand! He literally made my vision come to life and it is better than I could have imagined! I debated so many options and I am 100% happy this is the route we went! Literally went to a steelyard, picked out exactly what was wanted and it came to life because of him and his crew!

Okay enough talking here is the dock!!!! This is before and after!

This is a closer look at the before and after!

You can see rust and boards that were just bad. I never got any furniture for this space until it was done because it was so bad!

This just shows the foundation under the boards. All is new!

Worked with Sherwin Williams to get the right paint material for the job. Here we had to use a submarine paint. I mean look how bad it was all rusted and just faded!

Nothing like NEW!!!

My kids wanted me to leave it just like this. (eye roll) Lol It became a huge platform for them to easily dive in anywhere. I was so worried someone would fall wrong though. So glad the railing is up now!

It is in the details… I mean look at the boat lift now! And yes I installed all new rubber guardrail. Is that what you call it. lol. I boat it off Amazon. Originally it was white and just gross and this just cleaned up the lines.

My little slice of heaven…

SOOOOO much better!

Again this is custom railing. So it was fabricated prior and here on site. I am SOOOO happy with this choice! Oh and on the right all new stairs!

I will have to share it now that it is furnished! Still have to get the table and umbrella down there and honestly probably will take it by boat!

Grateful is an understatement that this is done. This was my sanctuary. Even the old dock that was broken down was a place I came for peace. But it became work and a place I came to get stuff done. For the last month, my kids would be playing on the Lilly pad and I would be screwing in nails or carry wood, or installing the rubber, or watching youtube videos on how to install stairs. IT IS DONE!!!! I have my space back to just enjoy with family and friends and that is what I plan to do!!! It was a HUGE project and I am so grateful it is over and I couldn’t be more excited about how it turned out! 🙂

Thanks for being here friends. xoxo

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