Town of Bethany Beach, DE Part 2 Bulkheads

[Adopted 3-18-1982 by Ord. No. 112 (Ch. 80, Part 2, of the 1992 Code)]

Article II General Provisions

§ 395-4 Material specifications.

All oceanfront bulkhead construction and repair shall be done in conformance with the following material specifications:

A. All wood material used as a permanent part of a bulkhead shall be yellow pine treated with creosote at 12 pounds per square inch.

B. All metal material used as a permanent part of a bulkhead shall be hot-dipped galvanized steel.

C. All bolts and anchor rods shall have a minimum diameter of 3/4 inch.

D. All bolts and anchor rods shall have a washer of the ogee type with a diameter of no less than three inches.

E. Face wall (Diagrams 2 and 3) piling shall have a minimum butt diameter of 12 inches.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Diagrams 2 and 3 are included at the end of this chapter.

F. Anchor piling (Diagram 1) shall have a minimum length of 10 feet and a minimum butt diameter of 10 inches.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Diagram 1 is included at the end of this chapter.

G. Face walers (Diagram 1) shall have a minimum cross-section measurement of six inches by eight inches.

H. Lock walers (Diagram 1) shall have a minimum cross-section measurement of four inches by six inches.

I. Sheeting (Diagram 1) shall have a minimum thickness of four inches; either two layers of two-inch square-edge material or one layer of four-inch tongue-and-groove material.

§ 395-5 Construction methods.

All oceanfront bulkhead construction and repair shall be done in conformance with the following construction methods:

A. Piling used in construction of the face wall and 18 feet of a return wall shall be installed to a minimum depth of 10 feet below mean sea level.

B. The elevation of a bulkhead shall be measured from mean sea level to the top of the finished piling and shall be set by Town authority.

C. The maximum distance between piling shall be no greater than six feet measured from center to center (Diagram 2).[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Diagram 2 is included at the end of this chapter.

D. All walers shall be through bolted to each piling and at the midpoint between pilings (Diagram 2).

E. The top waler shall be in line and joints shall be either lap joints (Diagram 3) or plate joints (Diagram 5).[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Diagrams 3 and 5 are included at the end of this chapter.

F. There shall be a minimum of three walers evenly spaced and not less than 10 feet from the top surface of the top waler to the bottom surface of the bottom waler (Diagram 1).[3]

[3] Editor's Note: Diagram 1 is included at the end of this chapter.

G. The middle and bottom walers may be stagger lapped with each end extending no less than six inches beyond the bolt in the piling (Diagram 4).[4]

[4] Editor's Note: Diagram 4 is included at the end of this chapter.

H. Sheeting shall extend from the top of the bulkhead to a point no less than eight feet below mean sea level (Diagram 1), and each board shall be securely fastened to each waler with no less than two nails of adequate size.

I. When two layers of two-inch sheeting is used, the second layer shall be installed in a manner to provide the maximum cover of each joint in the first layer (Diagram 3).

J. Where a bulkhead is constructed to join an existing bulkhead, the joint shall be made sandtight from the top of the bulkhead to mean sea level.

K. All walls of bulkheads shall be anchored as shown on Diagram 1.

L. One anchor piling shall be set for each face wall and return wall piling.

M. Anchor piling shall not be set closer to the bulkhead piling than 10 feet (Diagram 1).

N. A continuous horizontal member (deadman), no less than two inches in thickness and 10 inches in width, shall be installed extending the full length of the bulkhead face wall and return wall and connected to the anchor piling by through bolting with the anchor rod (Diagram 1).

O. An anchor rod shall extend through from the rear face of the anchor piling to the front face of the bulkhead piling but shall not pass through any waler (Diagram 1).

§ 395-6 Violations and penalties.

[Added 9-18-1992 by Ord. No. 279; amended 2-17-2006 by Ord. No. 407]

Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this Part 2 shall be punishable, upon conviction, by a fine as set out in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I, Penalties.