Piling Wrapping & Piling Repair in South Florida
Black UV-stabilized HDPE wraps with 316 stainless steel nails, from the mud to 2 ft above the high-tide line: the proven way to protect a sound wooden piling. Snap Jackets for the ones past wrapping.
- 5.0★ on Google · 335 reviews
- Licensed & insured
- $2,000,000 liability insurance
- 5.0★ on Google · 335 reviews
- Photos after every cleaning
- Monthly dive report: zinc % and bottom paint condition
- Licensed & insured · $2,000,000 liability
Wooden pilings deteriorate quickly when exposed
Piling wraps are crucial in extending the lifetime of wooden pilings. In our experience, unwrapped wooden pilings on South Florida canals often need help after 10 to 15 years; a wrapped piling gets at least 20 more years on top of its normal life, and properly applied wraps have a service record of 25 years and more.
When exposed to the elements, wooden pilings deteriorate quickly. Excessive oyster growth eats away at these pilings and hides the deterioration. Shipworms, bivalve clams that bore into the wood as larvae, hollow the piling from the inside out through an entry hole no bigger than a nail head; in warm, salty water like ours, unprotected wood shows structural damage in three to seven years. These worms reproduce every 90 days and will cause the pilings to collapse. All of this can be prevented by wrapping the pilings while they are still sound.
Barnacle Doctor uses the best marine-grade tools to extend the life of your piling. We use black UV-stabilized high-density polyethylene material as our piling wrap and type 316 stainless steel nails. Our piling wraps cover the entire piling from the mud up to 2 ft above the high-tide water line, so your piling is protected from marine borers. Thin films tear on crabs and oysters; a proper wrap is a heavy sheet fastened with stainless, not a bag.
What a piling wrap does
At least 20 more years
In our experience, unwrapped wooden pilings on South Florida canals often need help after 10 to 15 years. A wrap adds at least 20 years on top; properly applied wraps have a service record of 25 years and more.
Marine-grade materials
Black UV-stabilized high-density polyethylene wrap fastened with type 316 stainless steel nails, so neither the sheet nor the fasteners corrode.
Mud to 2 ft above high tide
Each wrap covers the piling from the mud up to 2 ft above the high-tide line. Borers need oxygen and water flow; the wrap cuts off both.
Looks better too
Besides protecting the piling, the wraps tidy up the look of the dock.
Signs your pilings need attention
Wrap early. A wrap protects a sound piling; a hollowed one needs a Snap Jacket instead.
Pinholes at the waterline
Shipworm entry holes are no bigger than a nail head while the inside is hollowed out.
Soft wood under a screwdriver
Press a screwdriver into the piling at the tide line: sound wood resists, soft wood means borers or rot.
Oysters and barnacles
Heavy growth eats at the wood and hides the deterioration underneath; it comes off with the cleaning before the wrap goes on.
Old wraps that have failed
Borer damage hidden under a torn or too-high wrap is the most common failure contractors find after storms.
Snap Jackets: concrete sleeves for pilings past wrapping
A wrap protects a sound piling. For pilings that are already warped, hollowed or separated, a Snap Jacket snaps around the piling in place and is filled with concrete, restoring the piling without removing the dock above it and without a barge. Permit needs vary by city; we check what yours requires. The piling repair guide compares wrap, Snap Jacket and replacement with published market costs.
Licensed & insured: $2,000,000 liability insurance through Fisk Marine Insurance
Keeping the boat at a marina with vendor rules? Tell us where it is docked when you book. Our divers work from your dock or slip, and you do not need to be there; in a gated community they call ahead and send a text right before the visit.
Piling wrapping questions
Why should I wrap my wooden pilings?
Because exposed wooden pilings deteriorate quickly: oyster growth eats at them and hides the damage, and shipworms hollow them from the inside. Our wraps are black UV-stabilized high-density polyethylene fastened with type 316 stainless steel nails, from the mud to 2 ft above high tide, and add at least 20 years to a sound piling.
Should I wrap my wooden pilings or use Snap Jackets?
Wrap sound pilings, sleeve worn ones. HDPE wraps with 316 stainless nails stop marine borers from the mud to 2 ft above high tide; Snap Jackets pour a new cement sleeve around a warped, damaged or separated piling without removing the dock, and the cement kills the organisms in the wood.
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Protect your pilings before the shipworms do
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