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How To

Height Adjustment

06/27/2023

Height Adjustment

First Time Height Adjustment

As with everything else about our pier, height adjustment is simple and reliable. If you want to raise the pier, lift the pier up and step down on the footpad. That’s it! It stays there. Period.

The secret is a one-way cam, the leg can slip one way but not the other. The clever engineers at Pier of d’Nort figured out which way to mount the cam so it holds the pier up rather than the other way around.

Adjusting the one-way cam to change leg height
One-way cam adjustment

When you want to lower the pier, all it takes is a 1/8 turn of a wrench to loosen the cam mechanism. Now you can lower or raise the pier. When you let go of the wrench the pier stays. No more set screws that can strip and rust. No expensive, slow, heavy, and finicky screw-type adjusters. (more about those shortly).

installing Pier of D'Nort section and adjusting leg height
Adjusting the leg height before you flip the section in makes it easier to get the right height the first time.

Grab the cam’s shaft with a common half inch wrench and pull up. As you lift the frame with the wrench, the leg releases, allowing you to lower (or raise) the frame using the wrench as your lifting point. When you’ve got it where you want it, release the wrench to re-engage the cam. Large adjustments can be made in mere seconds, which comes in very handy when installing your pier for the first time. No other height adjustment scheme is faster.

Let’s say you’re installing your pier for the first time. Before installing a section, slip a pair of legs into their leg sleeves one at a time using the wrench to hold the cam “open.” Unless you measured an old pier, you’ll be guessing how far to insert the legs and that’s fine. Throw the section in as shown previously. If the section lands too low, that’s good. From in the water, pick the section up from one corner until it’s level, then push the footpad to the ground. The pier is stiff enough so that the other footpad will now be above the ground. Move to that side and simply push that footpad down. Now you’re ready for the panels and the next section. If you can guestimate your leg insertion on dry land so that the frame sections always land a bit lower than horizontzal, the above simple procedure will allow your pier to be installed in not much more time than that taken walking back and forth.

Now let’s say the section lands higher than horizontal. Grab a camshaft with your wrench and lift, then raise the freed leg way up off the ground and lock it there. Move to the other side and, again using the wrench, raise that leg also. While still holding the frame up with with the wrench, lower the frame to where it’s level and drop the leg to the ground. Go back to the first side and push that footpad to the ground (or drop it by releasing the cam with the wrench). You’ve still only taken but a few moments.

A word about above-deck adjustment

Is it possible to install the pier the first time without getting in the water? Yes; we offer two different jack systems to help you out: the Jack of All Heights and Pulling-Your-Leg Jack.

Let’s say it’s spring and you notice that the water is up a foot or down a foot. You can simply go to your stack of frames with your wrench and slide each leg the necessary foot. They’re all right there. Alternatively, let’s say come mid-summer you realize that you need to raise your whole pier, say, six inches. The great news is that now the water's warm!? Lift each corner in turn and push the footpad down. If your water is too deep, check out our jack options.

Cutting down pier leg using a pipe cutter
Once your dock is installed and looking good, some folks will use a pipe cutter to trim down excess length on dock legs.

Stabilizing

For pier heights of 7 feet, you may want to add deep-water bracing to the last section for extra stability.

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