A dock drawn for your shoreline, not pulled from a catalog
No two Tampa Bay shorelines are the same. One lot has deep water ten feet off the seawall; the next has soft mud that swallows a piling. One faces open bay chop; the next sits in a quiet canal with a low bridge a quarter mile out. A catalog dock ignores all of that. A custom dock starts with it. That is what we build: docks designed around your water, your boats, and the way you actually use your waterfront.
Most of our custom builds are residential — a family that wants to fish off the end, park a center console, and watch the sunset from a bench. But we also build for people with bigger plans: a two-slip dock with a lift on each side, a wide sundeck with a roof for shade, a long pier reaching past the shallow flat to real depth. Whatever the shape, the process is the same. We visit, we measure, we design, we permit, we build.
What goes into the design
It starts with the site. We check water depth at low tide along the whole dock footprint — not just one spot — because Tampa Bay bottoms slope and shift. We look at what the bottom is: firm sand holds pilings well, soft mud needs more depth, rock needs a different approach entirely. We note the exposure: open water means bigger waves and stronger wind loads, so the structure gets beefier. We check your seawall's condition, because a dock tied to a failing wall inherits its problems.
Then we talk use. What boats, and how big? A kayak dock and a 28-foot center console dock are different structures. Do you want a lift now or later? Running the piling layout for a future lift costs little during construction and a lot afterward, so we plan ahead. Roof or no roof? A roof means shade and rain protection, but it also means more wind load and a taller structure — the engineering has to account for it. Lighting, water, power, a fish-cleaning station, a swim ladder — we lay all of it out on the plan before the first piling goes in.
Built for Tampa Bay conditions
Three things kill docks here: saltwater, marine borers, and storms. Saltwater corrodes cheap fasteners and rots untreated wood from the inside out. Marine borers — tiny shipworms and gribbles — tunnel through wood pilings below the waterline, and you won't see the damage until a piling snaps. Summer storms bring wind, surge, and flying debris.
So we build against all three. Pilings are marine-grade, rated for saltwater immersion, and set deep enough to reach firm bearing. Hardware is stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized — never plain steel, which rusts out in a season or two here. Decking is your choice of pressure-treated wood, composite, or PVC, each with honest pros and cons we will walk you through. Deck height is set for your local tide range. And the whole structure is cross-braced to handle wind and wave loads, not just dead weight.
Permits, handled for you
Almost every new dock in Tampa Bay needs permits — the county at minimum, and often the state environmental agency and the Army Corps of Engineers depending on location. If you are on a canal with an HOA, add their architectural review. We handle the paperwork: drawings, applications, agency coordination. Permitting takes time — often several weeks — so we start it early and keep you posted. You don't chase forms; we do.
Our process
Step one: you call or send the form, and we schedule a site visit — usually within a few days. Step two: we walk your property with you, measure everything, check depth and bottom conditions, and talk through what you want. Step three: you get a written estimate with the design, materials, and price, free and with no pressure. Step four: if you approve, we file permits and schedule the build. Step five: we build it, clean up, and walk it with you before we call it done.
Every project is different — contact us for a free written estimate.
Call (301) 679-9193 or send the form for a free on-site estimate.