We recently finished installing a new steel seawall in Pinckney, Michigan. Located in Livingston County on beautiful Rush Lake, this customer had a common lakefront problem that we often see in the area. The existing seawall was constructed out of wood and due to the harsh climates in Michigan, the seawall was now failing. Although access to the lakefront was a relatively steep hill, Seaside’s machinery navigated the landscape with no issues. The new seawall is made out of Superior 8-guage black steel, which is ideal for the ground and ice pressure problems that we face during our long winters. In every steel seawall or galvanized seawall, we install drainage weepholes, backed with a geotextile fabric mesh. These drainage weepholes ensure proper drainage through the new wall. After the wall is installed, we backfill behind the new seawall. This customer’s grade sloped down at the shoreline, so as Seaside was backfilling the new wall, we raised the grade of the yard to the height of the new seawall to have a beautiful even lawn right up to the seawall. They also had a small beach area that we brought the new seawall right up against. We used a geotextile fabric mesh 15-18″ underneath new beach sand to help revive the beach area. We topsoil and seeded any areas of disturbed lawn to bring a wonderful finish to this project. This customer also had an existing dock, so Seaside welded dock attachments to the new seawall. Now completed, they have an amazing lakefront area to enjoy for years to come.
You may wonder why they chose to install a steel seawall as opposed to another wood seawall or perhaps a vinyl seawall. The life-span on a new steel seawall far surpasses the life-span of a vinyl seawall or wooden seawall. A steel seawall is virtually maintenance free and with the anchors and tiebacks installed correctly will last for many, many years. Our marine construction specialists take great pride in the job that they do and because of their expertise we guarantee our steel seawalls for 10 years against ice and ground pressure. Many contractors will take shortcuts, sometimes with the length of the steel pilings or with the anchors and tiebacks, and will pass what seems like savings on to the customer. Unfortunately, the seawalls that they install often have to be repaired and/or replaced much sooner than if they had done the job correctly. So if you want to have a beautiful lakefront with a seawall that will last for many years, call Seaside Seawalls. We take pride in every job that we do.
