Timber pile protection system

Abstract

A device for protectively encasing wooden piles to reduce marine borer attack, abrasion and other structural damage, comprising: a sheet of flexible plastic wrapped around a pile in a substantially circumferential configuration, where the longitudinal edges of the sheet are placed in an overlapping position; compressible seals attached to both of the horizontal edges of the sheet and to one of the longitudinal edges of the sheet; strap members encompassing the compressible seals of the horizontal edges; a reinforcement member positioned adjacent to the outside longitudinal edge of the sheet; and a plurality of fastening means securing the reinforcement member and the overlapping longitudinal edges to the piling. The present invention also provides a method for protectively encasing a wooden pile against marine borer attack, comprising the steps of cleaning and preparing the surface of the piling by removing all marine growth and foreign matter, wrapping the flexible plastic sheet around the piling, overlapping the longitudinal edges of the sheet, placing a strap around the bottom and top of the sheet to ensure a uniform overlap at the top and bottom of the sheet, tightening the straps so as to ensure a sealing engagement of the sheet and the piling, placing a reinforcement strip upon the overlapping longitudinal edges, and driving nails or comparable fasteners through the reinforcement strip, overlapping longitudinal edges and into the piling.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.