How to Build a Lake Bulkhead

Bulkheads can be stood on while fishing.

This can be aggravated by heavy rain and entire sections of bank can fall into the lake. A bulkhead keeps the water at bay while holding the soil in place.

1. Dig a trench. Use a shovel or earth moving equipment to dig a narrow trench where you want the buikhead to go. Make it several inches deep and about 1 foot wide.

2. Dig holes for the anchors. Use the shovel and post hole digger to make holes every 10 feet. Make the holes 3 feet deep.

3. Install the anchors. Place the 5-by-5 poles in the holes. Hold them straight while packing the dirt back in the holes around the poles.

4. Install the back wales. Nail the 6-by-6 planks to the poles at the top of the pole and half way down the pole to form a support frame for the wall.

5. Lay down the sheeting. Put the vinyl sheeting in place, positioning them flat against the back wales. Overlap the ends of the sheeting.

6. Install the front wales. Run the 4-by-6 planks along the top front of the wall against the vinyl sheets, sandwiching them in. Hold them in place temporarily by connecting them across the top to the anchor poles using the pieces of 2-by-4 and hammer and nails.

7. Drill holes. Use a 1/2-inch drill bit to drill holes every 10 feet through the front wales, the vinyl, the top back wales and the poles.

8. Insert the tie rods. Pass the tie rods through the holes you drilled, so they go through the front wales, vinyl, back wales and come out the pole. Screw a nut onto the end and tighten it with a socket wrench.

9. Install the top cap. Remove the pieces of 2-by-4. Place the 2-by-12 planks along the top of the wall. Nail them down into the front and back wales.

10. Push the dirt back in around the bottom of the wall.