Homeowners who live on the shore of a beach or a body of water like a lake or pond have a lot of options to consider for the edge of their property. The last thing you want to worry about is erosion impacting size of your property and allowing water levels to slowly move closer to your home.
Consider the installation of riprap. Riprap offers a natural solution for your company and marine construction companies can provide a professional installation that looks nice and works proficiently for years to come. Follow this guide to learn more about riprap installations and see how the installation can dramatically change the waterfront of your home.
What Are The Benefits of a Riprap?
A riprap installation offers protection from erosion. This installation of stones will help block off water and keep areas like grass, sand, and soil protected from being washed away. The dense edges of your property will have layers of rocks that add protection for years. In some cases, you may need more rocks added down the line, but the initial installation will help.
Riprap also adds a nice visual to your property. The whole shore area will appear uniform and the colors of the rocks add some unique visual elements. The installation could increase the value of your property if you ever decide to sell or refinance in the future.
What Types of Stones Can I Use In Riprap?
A marine company will provide you with a wide range of options of stones for the riprap area. If you live on oceanfront property, then you may want to consider larger stones that can offer more protection from erosion. If you live next to a calmer body of water, then you can choose smaller stones that create a nice edge around the property.
Along with the riprap area, marine construction crews can create a walkway that follows the path of the riprap. This walkway can include pebbles for a natural design or you can add a raised cement walkway area if you seek out a harder surface. A marine construction company can provide you with detailed plans and blueprints before the process begins.
You can also see a gallery of other projects to check out the stone designs and walkway options to include with the riprap installation.
What Can I Use a Riprap for?
Riprap offers more than just a visual for your property. You can find several practical uses for the area. For example, you could have a couple large stones placed down with flat tops. The areas can offer ideal spots to stand or sit and look out onto the water.
You could turn large rock areas into fishing locations. The height of a rock gives you good leverage and allows you to cast out far into the water. Even if you don't sit on the rocks directly, you could put chairs right up to the edge and use the area to relax or meditate.
When water hits the rocks, you can hear all different sounds as the water trickles down, goes through the rocks, and pulls back into the body of water. The sounds will often vary depending on water levels and the intensity of waves.
Riprap areas may attract different types of aquatic life as well. You could find hermit crabs, snails, and other small creatures among the rocks. The area gives you a lot to explore after the rocks have been set up and sitting on the property for a good amount of time.
Can I Add A Walkover Installation?
When you install a riprap to the shore, you are not cutting off the possibility for other installations. For example, you have the opportunity to still install a dock walkover to your property. A walkover includes a dock with stairs that leads down to a lower dock, direct access to the water, or a dry part of land.
When ordered at the same time, a marine construction company can easily provide a walkover installation. Once the walkover planks get installed in the ground, the rocks that surround them can provide extra protection and strength from water and wind.
A walkover installation provides a smooth area to access the water's edge without the need to constantly step on the rocks. Handrails can provide extra safety and give you an extended area of your property to enjoy.
The walkover combined with riprap gives you the best of both worlds. You can often choose your ideal location for the walkover and expand it out over the water to create a large dock area.
For more information on riprap installations, contact us at Abbotts' Construction Services Inc. We will help you plan out your whole riprap design. We have years of experience and can make the final design look clean and professional.