Tips to construct using vinyl seawalls

Using vinyl sheet piling for vinyl seawalls and various other geotechnical applications is of recent origin. During the initial stages, vinyl sheet pilings were far too thin and did not did offer the much needed strength. Since then, the vinyl sheet pilings have seen a lot of improvements with regard to its thickness, strength and resistance power and shape. The present-day vinyl seawalls are made of thick, rigid vinyl that is extruded in a "z"shape or "box shape".

Vinyl seawalls can be cut to any length based on how tall a wall height you need. As a rule, there must be as much sheet length in the ground as is out of the ground. For instance, a 16ft. sheet would have approximately 8 foot in the ground and 8 foot exposed. But the fact remains that if poor soils are prevalent, it may become necessary to put more sheets piling in the ground.

Vinyl Seawalls are not only an effective way to arrest erosion but they add aesthetics and visual beauty to a property. Constructing vinyl seawall is not all that complicated and can be done by you if you follow certain guidelines. But even at the outset, you should know that the seawall project will entail lot of labor and you may not need many tools.

Determine the length of the seawall that you wish to construct and make out a drawing of the proposed seawall – this will also be necessary for procuring the permits. Once you come into possession of the permits you can commence the seawall build.

As a first step, you fasten a 2x6 treated board to the old seawall at least a foot away for backfill using any available crap lumber. The board serves to level and straighten the 2x6 so that the vinyl sheet piling will be straight and even. If there is no old wall to fasten to, you may use 4x4' boards to build a structure as a guide. If you try to put them in without a guide, it will be difficult to get them straight.

Being in sand obviously makes it that much easier to install the vinyl seawall. You can use a trash pump that sucks water from the canal and forcibly ejects it through a fire hose with 8' pipe attached to the end.

You can attach a 2x12 treated cap and a 2x6 front board level with the 2x6 guide to sandwich the sheets together. You may drill holes through the top boards to attach a 12' galvanized tieback so the wall remains firm. This is very important.

This job will take you about 4 days but you will save a lot of money you would otherwise have to pay to a contractor. Vinyl seawalls have become the latest trend in the marine industry, due to the relatively easy installation procedures. Even an inexperienced person can - using a circular saw, water pump to "jet" the sheeting in, sledge hammer, and drill - can construct a vinyl seawall.