Dock & Piling Cleaning in Coral Gables, FL

A Gables canal dock sits in a salt-and-fresh mix with almost no current, so growth stays put on the pilings and on the wheels of a floating dock. The diver clears it with cavitation, which is safe on wood, concrete and rubber, and then does the multi-point inspection while the structure is visible. Shipworm bores in wood and concrete are what we look for first.

Two local rules shape the work. Docks and moorings in Coral Gables need a Public Works permit and county DERM approval, so a piling repair that changes the structure is a permitted job, and the mangroves along the shoreline are protected by state law. Wrapping a piling in HDPE or sleeving it with a Snap Jacket changes nothing above the water and needs no barge, which is why we recommend it for worn wooden pilings on the Waterway.

The bridge list is the dock owner's map of the city. With clearances from 7 feet at Pisano Avenue to 21 feet at Isla Dorada Boulevard across 18 bridges, a dock's location on the Waterway decides what size boat can reach it and therefore what the dock and its lift have to carry. Gables by the Sea is run under an interlocal agreement with Pinecrest, so part of that community may sit outside the city line, but the water and the oysters don't know the difference. Any change to a dock or mooring needs a Public Works permit and county DERM approval; cleaning and inspecting one does not.

A Coral Gables dock owner should know two local things before booking: the dock is behind a fixed bridge (so we ask for the canal name, and if there is a gate the divers call ahead and text you right before the visit), and any structural change to the dock needs a Public Works permit with county DERM sign-off, while cleaning and inspection need nothing. The inspection itself looks at each piling once the oysters are off, at the floating-dock wheels, and at lift hardware. On the Waterway's still, slightly fresh water the growth is softer than on the bay, but shipworms bore through it just the same, and a Cocoplum piling that has never been looked at bare is the one most likely to surprise its owner.

Coral Gables docks stand on Biscayne Bay and the Coral Gables Waterway, most of them behind homes in Cocoplum, Gables Estates and Gables by the Sea. ZIP codes 33143, 33146 and 33156: no pickaxes, no chisels, inspection included.

Growth hides damage, so the inspection follows the cleaning, while the diver can see the structure.

• Shipworm holes in wood and concrete pilings: enough of them and a piling snaps.
• Oyster damage on wooden pilings, which eats the wood while hiding it.
• Floating-dock wheels and hydro-hoist hydraulic lines, where barnacles cut and jam.
• Whether a wrap or a Snap Jacket sleeve would extend the piling's life.

How often docks and pilings need it. Seawalls and concrete pilings: cleaned annually. In our experience, unwrapped wooden pilings on South Florida canals often need help after 10 to 15 years; a wrap from the mud to 2 ft above high tide adds at least 20 years.

Full dock and piling cleaning guide