The Jetty...

The jetty has been complete for a few weeks now. Having decided where it was going and how big it was going to be, we had to decide how we were going to construct it. Our friend Richard helped us with the build. He did some recognisance work during his holidays at the lake, kayaking under the many private jetties on the lake and discovering how they were put together. After this we set about the construction...

It started off as posts in the ground. We cemented them in with quick drying wet condition concrete mix (it doesn't get much wetter than this)....

We then affixed 6" x 2" H4 treated timber to the marine grade strainer posts,
all the way around the jetty with 6" lag screws, ensuring that it was level...

After that we braced the framing internally with further lengths of 6" x 2" timber and
lag screws, pre-drilling all the holes with a brace and bit...

Finally, we placed the top boards on and nailed them in with 4" nails, then trimmed the edges with a circular saw...

Above and Below: Almost finished. I was waiting till the lake was lined before I took the final shots. Now there is a finished jetty, with an empty lake!

We then promptly ended up draining the lake in vain. We managed to get the water down to a few inches in the bottom, but when the company turned up to install the liner, they said that they couldn't install it if there was any water in the lake at all, because they could not weld the liner to the rubber boots they had made for around the jetty posts. Frustrating! (You'd think that a company that specialised in lining ponds and lakes would have equipment that could cope with surface water!).

So we now have to wait until it dries out completely, which will be about December. In the meantime we have planted all the bulbs that were to go around the lake, elsewhere, and have post-poned the order for all the water lilies and lotuses. Still, it will give me time to restore the boat.