SnapJacket Composite Piling Jacket for Preserving and Repairing Marine Pilings In Place

Snapjacket is constructed using UV protected PVC material. It’s extremely durable and we guarantee it will last at least 25 years. In reality, it likely will last much longer than that. The Timber Council published a study that says marine pilings using this technology will last “indefinitely”. You can view that study here.

Once you watch our installation video and have all the materials on hand, it should take an experience crew of 2 people about 5 minutes per piling to place the jacket. Concrete can be placed in as little as 2 minutes per pole, depending on the filling method. A homeowner would likely take about 20 mintues to mix bags of cement and pour them into the void.

You can leave your cranes and barges at their home dock because you likely wont need them. To install the SnapJacket you will need a powerwasher or jet pump to blow out the sand out at the bottom. The jacket is cut with a sawzall with a fine tooth blade. All that’s left is getting the concrete into the SnapJacket. Watch our installation video for more helpful hints.

We recommend that you have at least 1.5 inches of annular space around the jacket. When pumping cement into the jacket, using a flexible flat hose over the end of the cement hose will allow you to fit the hose into tighter voids, so it is easier to use a tighter jacket. When pouring mixed cement in from the top, it is easier to have more space to allow the concrete to fall in easier. You will need more concrete but will save yourself the headache of getting the cement to fall through such a small void.

You can, but we recommend upgrading to a larger diameter ring to accommodate the jackets larger diameter. Retrofitting a floating dock with SnapJackets can be tricky as adding the extra thickness around the piling can effect the way a floating dock moves with the tide. Having a very tight space with little wiggle room can scratch up the jacket as the dock repeatedly floats up and down. To best protect the jacket, we recommend upgrading to a hoop with rollers or a plastic liner on the inside. See the Pile Glide by Carolina Water Works or something similar. We recommend taking extra precautions when using the SnapJacket with a floating dock piling. Even with these Specialized hoops, wave action and tidal changes can cause the floater to hang up on the SnapJacket, causing damage. The SnapJacket’s warranty does not cover any damage done to the jacket by impact, weather it be by boat or parts of the structure.

You sure can! Just use an abrasive brush to remove marine growth. However, cleaning the SnapJacket is not required and has no effect on its useful life. The plastic is far easier to keep clean than wood. Pro tip: by using flexible irrigation line to make a circle around the jacket, the ring will float up and down around the pole. By going up and down with the tide everyday it will agitate the barnacles off before they have a chance to latch on and die, leaving you a much cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing pile.

Because the wood piling is encapsulated with concrete and the SnapJacket, it creates a water tight seal. All pilings are pressure treated and contain harmful chemicals that are toxic to marine creatures. This seeping happens immediately after the piling is installed. Using SnapJacket stops this process.

Material Safety Data Sheet

Creosote environmental impacts

Effect of CCA treatment in water

SnapJacket Submittal and Application

Thermoplastic Resistance to Biological Attack

SnapJacket Warranty

Concrete Axial Strength

Marine Boring Organisms Paper

FIU study

Pile-Wrap Study

Timber Repair Study