What 2025’s Ice and High Water Taught Wisconsin Homeowners About Pier Design
The past year reminded everyone on Wisconsin lakes that no two seasons are the same. The real lesson? Your pier design needs to handle both extremes — not just one.
The shoreline keeps changing — your pier shouldn’t have to
Last winter brought extended freeze–thaw cycles and deep ice expansion across much of southern Wisconsin. Then came summer: weeks of record rainfall and lake levels that pushed higher than expected. Together, they exposed what many homeowners already suspected — most seasonal piers simply aren’t built for this kind of variability.
Across lakes like Pewaukee, Nagawicka, and Green, ice heave twisted aluminum and snapped wooden frames, while high water out-muscled shallow footings. Sections lifted, decking warped, and seasonal crews spent extra days refitting and resetting equipment.
What held up this year
Permanent piers with pilings driven deep — like Summerset’s Lifetime All Seasons series — performed differently. These systems use 7- to 9-inch steel pilings, driven up to 60 feet into stable lake bottom soils, anchoring the frame below frost and wave zones. Instead of fighting the water, they work with it — flexing slightly within variable environments while staying fixed through both ice and flood.
Their HDPE decking — the same marine-grade material used in commercial marina builds — won’t rot, crack, or delaminate when submerged. Even with standing water across parts of the state this July, permanent piers stayed level and accessible.
Planning ahead for 2026
If your pier shifted, sagged, or needed extra service this year, now’s the time to evaluate before next spring. Fall is ideal for consultation and permitting, as well as for installation. Summerset’s team can assess your shoreline depth, soil, and exposure to determine whether a permanent All Seasons system or another design makes sense.
Our process is straightforward — engineered for your lake, verified by our in-house experts, and supported from installation through every season that follows.
Ready to secure your shoreline for next year?
If 2025 was tough on your shoreline, let’s plan a pier that doesn’t need rescue work every season.
Fill out the form below to start your shoreline review with Summerset Marine Construction — Wisconsin’s driven-pile pier experts.
