Choosing A Dock Builder

Tips to help you pick the right marine construction company

Building a custom dock is a fun and exciting experience, but there’s a lot to know and consider before you decide which contractor to hire. Whether you don’t know how to make a final call between several different marine construction companies, or you haven’t even begun to research local contractors with dock building experience, there’s no need to feel fraught with indecision. 

This guide from Yelton Construction is the only tool you’ll need to point your sails in the right direction — in other words, get ready for some seriously helpful hacks on how to choose a dock builder! For more information about what we do, please visit our site or contact our crew in Jacksonville today.

Tip #1: Quality vs. Quantity 

If you’re currently undertaking a boat dock build in Jacksonville and are seeking a construction company or specialized contractor to take the reins on project management, it’s pretty easy to find a dozen or more options with just a single Google search.

However, that doesn’t mean that all of these marine construction “professionals” offer the same degree of expertise, industry experience, or quality of service. So if you’re in the market for a dock builder, you may — gasp — have to look at more than one page of the search engine results.

It’s safe to say that you can stop your contractor inquiries around the third or fourth page, but so long as you narrow down your dock contractors of consideration to six contractors or fewer, you should be good to get started. Of course, there are still a few things you’ll need to check to ensure you’re pursuing the right professionals for all of your marine construction needs.

Tip #2: Reviews Reflect Results

As most people might imagine, customer reviews and testimonials are much more likely to influence a potential customer’s final decision on a contractor than any construction service menus or any company’s high-budget digital designs. 

With that in mind, when you’re considering your handful of prospective professional contractors (see Tip #1) look for dock builders who, from the very start of your research, give some indication of transparency about customer reviews. Bonus: A great builder will probably have product partnerships with big-name boat dock brands or marine construction material companies.

To put it plainly, any time you’re assessing a contractor for your construction project, as soon as you access their website, ask yourself several or all of these questions:

• Does this contractor or company offer services for boat dock construction?
• How long have they been offering this dock building service?
• Does this contractor specialize in marine construction projects? Residential? Commercial? Both?
• If so, does this contractor have a visible presence on any online platforms that involve customer reviews and/or rankings? 
  • These include Yelp, Facebook, Google My Business, & Angie’s List
• Does this potential dock builder have a page on their site called “Reviews”, “Testimonials”, “Our Partners” and/or “What Our Customers Are Saying”?

After assessing with the questions above, you may realize that many Jacksonville marina contractors offer boat dock building services, but very few of these companies have immediately available resources that show favorable customer opinions. Without any proof of client satisfaction or affiliated product partners, it’s pretty easy to narrow down your list of prospects now, huh?

Tip #3: Marine Construction Knowledge & Dock Building Background

The third and final tip we’ll address in this guide to selecting the right team to build your boat dock involves the specific construction experience and technical expertise of the contractor under consideration. 

Here’s how we suggest breaking down the specs that every quality dock contractor should possess: 

• Number of years in the custom marina construction industry
• Geographic area of service — if it’s not coastal, they’re probably not masters of marina construction
• Construction Accreditations — do they hold certifications with any relevant industry organizations or labor unions? For example, look for some kind of affiliation with the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)
• “About Us” — It might sound cheesy, but it’s a good sign if a dock builder is willing to share something personal about why they love what they do, or why they care about their projects and clients.

Final Tip: The Best Docks Begin with the Best Contractors in Jacksonville

If you live in the greater areas of Jacksonville or St. Augustine, Yelton Construction is your go-to construction resource for boat dock builds, boat lifts, custom boat houses, and more! Of course, we still suggest that you research other marine contractors in your area, but when it comes to Southeastern Florida as a whole, you really can’t beat our regional performance or our Top Rated Local® status with clients. 

Whether you come to Yelton Construction for a dock building crew, or you’re interested in becoming one of our construction product partners, you can trust us to deliver superior results on every project, every time. Contact our Jacksonville contractors today to get started!