I'm looking at buying a home on the water, and I have the option of rolling the cost of the dock and lift into the loan (having the builder construct it), or telling him to not do it, and then hiring an outside person to build it. <BR> <BR>Either way, I'm just asking, what is the typical expense of a dock with a lift? I'm not talking anything too fancy, maybe 15-20 feet wide at the widest, with a couple of walkways and a slot for the boat with a lift (and covered canopy or roof over the boat). <BR> <BR>Estimate anyone? <BR> <BR>thanks

id say realistically around 30k when its all said and done.(im pulling that number out of my head using CA prices and what my dad has spent on repair work over the years) <BR> <BR>you will need to have the pilings driven into the ground, im guessing 2-4 of them, the dock, foam, stabilizers, nice material(brock type vinyl) to eliminate splinters, a ramp, run power and water lines down, a lift and canopy.

If you can put it into the loan that would be best. One less thing to worry about later. In general, you can figure the cost to be between $30 and $35 bucks per square foot.

David, get some estimates and compare w/ what your builder is quoting. I live on a lake in Texas, and have a boat house on steel pilings. In some areas, you may need a floating dock. It depends on how much your water level fluctuates. One thing I can tell you, build the dock with more square footage than you think you will need. I have expanded mine twice. For us, it is where we hang out in the summer. I had a guy drive the piers, then I built the rest myself and saved a ton. Docks are higher square foot cost than other types of construction if you contract it out. Ask your new neighbors for costs and referrals.

Here in Georgia I got a price on a 2 slip aluminum dock with roof and 1 Hyrdo Hoist lift and it was around 22K. I also got a price on a wood stationary dock with a cable lift it was around 14K and only 1 slip.

David.. <BR> <BR>Look at my profile pic, Thats my dock and lift. The storage room on the dock is maybe 8x15. All in all, to have the pillings drivin and the boat house constucted, with lift and all, was about 18K. <BR> <BR>Sean

nice dock Sean. I don't need anything that awesome as far as the roof and etc, mostly I'm looking for a little more sqaure footage - a place for some chairs and a table, my boat on a lift, and maybe a canopy. For some reason, on the lake I'm looking at moving to (in TX), no one has the roof structure over there boat like people here in FL do - they use the canopy looking thing instead. <BR> <BR>Thanks for the $35/ft estimate Scott. That sounds pretty realistic. <BR> <BR>

Hey Rich - do you have any pics of your dock?

How deep is the water? It is much more expensive to put a fixed dock into thirty foot water than it is into six foot water. <BR> <BR>Tough to state price with out knowing the area and availablity of materials. Going Trex or treated? <BR> <BR>If you don't want a roof over your boat--check out the Dooize lifts. About $3K installed. Plan your dock and hire someone to sink posts. Do everything else yourself. Easy to do a dock for $7K to $10K--but it ain't going to be fancy. <BR> <BR>I'm wanting to build a 2500sq ft dock with four slips. In my area it is going to cost $80K or so with pressure treated lumber.

The water is probably 6-8 feet deep. It's on a canal that opens up to the main lake. I'll probably go with treated lumber. <BR> <BR>What could I expect to save by hiring someone to sink posts and doing the majority myself?

David, I don't have any pics, but might be able to take 1 or 2 and send to you. Mine is pretty simple; not really an architectural showpiece. Sean's is more attractive. Mine is your basic treated wood deck w/ a built in corner bench on the end away from open water. Also have an enclosed closet about 6x6. The deck part is not covered, but I have a hip roof over the boat slip. I can't imagine not having the boat under a roof. I built mine 10 years ago and saved at least $10K. To drive the pilings, you have to have a barge w/ a pile driver; not a DIY job. Then they left bolt holes at the right level and the rest was simple construction. "simple but not easy"

Hey I have a friend in CA that sells docks and lifts. They even have kit docks. <a href="http://www.calboatlift.com" target="_blank">www.calboatlift.com</a>. Call Tom at 925-360-lift. They can ship / deliver anywhere.

I should also mention that there is a company in Houston <BR><a href="http://www.boatliftdistributors.com" target="_blank">www.boatliftdistributors.com</a> <BR>I bought all my lift components from them, and it was a better deal than what I saw in the catalogs. I have the kind of lift that is suspended from the rafters. I had to also get a pipe from a local supplier that the cable wraps around. I think the lift was about $1000 10 yrs ago. I made the support beams out of (2)2x8's w/ 3/4" plywood sandwiched between them.