A boat dock is commonly associated with fun and amusement. After all, it’s a place where you will likely enjoy spending much time with family and friends, partaking in all the activities and joy a waterfront lifestyle has to offer. However, a boat dock is also an investment. It can be rather pricey but if well taken care of it will hold its value for many years to come.
What is Piling Wrap?
A major component of every dock are the dock poles or piers.
Dock piers or dock poles are the supports that hold your dock up and keep it secure (and hopefully, level) through its lifetime. As such, they’re critical to the longevity and “health” of your dock.
On the other hand, because these poles are, at least in part, in the water throughout their lifetime, they can be subject to many threats.
Some of these include:
- Degradation from and by marine life
- Deterioration and damage caused by the sun or other weather
- Destructive weathering (wave action)
- And even damage from impact
Dock piling wrap is a product that you can wrap around dock piers and poles to help protect from these threats.
How Does Piling Wrap Protect a Dock?
Piling wrap helps to protect a dock by putting a physical barrier product between the dock piers and poles and the aforementioned threats.
Even though most piling wrap products are not extremely bulky, they can still provide that needed layer of protection.
Newer piling wrap products, such as Pier Protector, can even provide protection for dock piers and poles even while being very thin.
Pier Protector, for example, is made of 100% recycled HDPE plastic that is totally flexible and malleable to any shape. It’s attached to the pock poles with stainless steel fasteners. Pier Protector is very effective at keeping dock poles from being damaged if it’s installed onto new or clean piers and pilings.
Should You DIY for Piling Wrap Installation or Hire a Pro?
Most piling wrap is not hard to install. This is especially true it the dock piers are clean and free from barnacles or other marine life.
Thus, if this is not the case, you — or someone you hire — will need to do that first, before piling wrap is installed.
Next, the piling wrap will be attached to the poles. Many products, like Pier Protector, make it very easy for you to do this yourself, without the need to hire a professional. A quality product should provide easy-to-follow piling wrap installation instructions. Thus, you don’t necessarily need experience either.
Therefore, if you do a little prep work, find a product like Pier Protector that is easy to use and install via clear installation instructions, you should be able to DIY piling wrap fairly easily and effectively. Of course, hiring a piling wrap installation pro is not ever a bad idea either. But with piling wrap, the good news is that’s a choice and not necessarily a necessity.
