How the Deck Board Spacer Cuts Labor Costs

Time is money in the dock building business. As a professional dock-building contractor, I’ve learned that even small improvements in efficiency can lead to big savings. In this post, I’ll share one of my favorite dock builder tips for boosting productivity, improving overall jobsite efficiency, and saving money: using a Deck Board Spacer from Top Marine Supply. This simple device has become an essential part of my crew’s dock construction toolkit. We’ll explore why time matters so much on the job, the traditional spacing problem we’ve all faced, how the Deck Board Spacer increases efficiency, and a real-world cost analysis showing 25–40% time savings. By the end, you’ll see how this labor-saving deck tool can help increase deck installation productivity and improve your bottom line. Let’s dive in!

Why Time Matters in Dock Construction

In professional dock construction, every hour of work carries a high price tag. With fully loaded labor costs around $40 per hour per crew member, wasted time literally means wasted money. If a task takes longer than expected, those extra hours eat into your profit and push the project behind schedule. This is why efficient workflow is critical. In my more than 15 years of experience building docks, staying on schedule keeps clients happy and leaves room to take on more jobs. Speed isn’t about rushing sloppy work – it’s about working smarter. Using professional dock building tools that streamline tasks is key to maintaining quality while finishing faster. The faster we can safely build a dock, the fewer labor hours we bill, which directly saves money on deck installation costs for us and the client. In short, time matters because time is money – especially when you’re paying a crew of 2–3 skilled workers by the hour.

The Traditional Deck Board Spacing Problem

One of the biggest time sinks in building a dock (or any deck) is installing the decking boards with proper spacing. We all know deck board spacing is not optional – those gaps between boards are critical for allowing decking to expand and for water to drain. So, getting consistent gaps is a must for a long-lasting, professional-looking dock surface.

The problem is how we traditionally achieve those gaps. For years, my crew and I used whatever was on hand as spacers – manual shims, 16-penny nails, even pencils – to eyeball a gap between each board​.

 

It works, but it’s painstaking. You have to place a nail or shim between every pair of boards, often at multiple points along an 8-foot span, then hold it in place while fastening the board. If you’re measuring each gap with a tape measure or speed square, that’s even slower. Traditional spacing methods turn into a two-person job: one person positions the spacer or reads the measurement, the other drives the screw. It’s easy to drop a shim, lose count of what’s spaced and what’s not, or end up with uneven gaps that require re-doing a section. In short, old-school spacing is slow and error-prone.

One other issue to consider is when a typical dock piling is set, the piling is set into the deck approximately two inches so that a trimmable overhang is created. This means that in order to install the deck boards that go in the locations between pilings a contour cut needs to be made in the deck boards before they can be installed. This halts progress on the deck until the cuts can be made and potentially leaves the crew members not making the cuts standing around until  the cut boards can be brought back. This issue then repeats every 8’-10’ of decking.

Over an entire dock, these little delays add up. The decking phase can bottleneck the whole project. In fact, the decking portion of an 8' x 50' dock (that’s 400 square feet of deck) might take my crew two full 8-hour days using manual spacing methods. Why so long? Because we’re constantly stopping to adjust gaps and make sure every board is just right. It’s tedious work that can easily consume 16 crew-hours (or more) on spacing tasks alone. There had to be a better way – and that’s where the Deck Board Spacer tool comes in.

 

How the Deck Board Spacer Tool Boosts Efficiency 

Enter the Deck Board Spacer  – a simple yet game-changing device for any dock builder. I was skeptical at first that a tool like this could really make a difference. But once we started using the Deck Board Spacer, the improvement in speed and consistency was obvious.

From a time-saving perspective, the deck board spacer turns a two-person chore into a one-person breeze. You can lay down multiple boards, space, align, then fasten them in one go, rather than installing one board at a time and fussing with its gap before moving on. There’s no need to pause and measure each gap or hunt for dropped shims. The Deck Board Spacer also gives the ability to skip multiple boards and maintain exact spacing allowing decking to continue while one carpenter makes the needed contour cuts for areas such as in between pilings. The Deck Board Spacer maintains the gap, so you can drive screws with confidence that the spacing is correct.

Crucially, the Deck Board Spacer maintains consistency. When you look down the finished deck, the lines between boards are perfectly straight and even – a sign of quality that impresses clients. I like to say it “makes a pro look like a pro,” because the end result is as good or better than what we’d get laboring over each gap manually. And if you’re using a patterned board layout, accurate spacing is even more important. The Deck Board Spacer handles it with ease, even on complex layouts that would be a headache to gap by hand.

In terms of speed, using the Deck Board Spacer can cut decking installation time by 25–40% (in my experience and depending on the project). Simply put, it slashes all those micro-delays spent adjusting gaps. Fewer pauses and corrections mean the crew’s time is used more efficiently. Let’s quantify what that looks like on a real job.

 

Real-World Cost Savings: 8′ x 50′ Dock Example

To truly understand the impact, let’s run the numbers on that 8′ x 50′ dock example. We’ll use the assumptions mentioned earlier:

• Dock size: 8 feet wide by 50 feet long (approximately 400 sq. ft. of decking).
• Crew size: 2–3 workers.
• Labor rate: $40 per hour per person (fully loaded with insurance, taxes, etc.).
• Traditional method time: ~2 full workdays to deck the dock (about 16 hours of work per person, not counting breaks).

First, calculate the labor cost using traditional spacing methods:

• 2-person crew, traditional: 2 days × 8 hours/day × 2 workers = 32 labor-hours. At $40/hour, that’s $1,280 in labor just for installing the deck boards.
• 3-person crew, traditional: 2 days × 8 hours × 3 workers = 48 labor-hours. At $40/hour, that’s $1,920 in labor for decking.

Now, if using the Deck Board Spacer tool cuts installation time by 25% (a conservative estimate), here’s what happens:

• 2-person crew with spacers (25% faster): 32 hours × 0.75 = 24 labor-hours. Labor cost = 24 × $40 = $960. Savings: $320 on that job.
• 3-person crew with spacers (25% faster): 48 hours × 0.75 = 36 labor-hours. Cost = 36 × $40 = $1,440. Savings: $480.

If the tool achieves a 40% time reduction (which we’ve seen on simpler layouts):

• 2-person crew with spacers (40% faster): 32 × 0.60 = 19.2 labor-hours (we’ll call it 19 for simplicity). Cost ≈ $768. Savings: ~$512.
• 3-person crew with spacers (40% faster): 48 × 0.60 = 28.8 labor-hours (about 29 hours). Cost ≈ $1,152. Savings: ~$768.

Even on the low end, you’re saving around 8 labor-hours for a two-man crew, which is a full day’s work saved between them. On the high end, a larger crew might save nearly 20 hours, which is like eliminating two and a half days of work (if you consider 20 hours spread across 3 people). In dollar terms, for that one dock, the Deck Board Spacer could save several hundred dollars in labor – roughly $300 to $800 depending on crew size and efficiency gains.

Those savings go straight to the bottom line. If you’re the contractor, that’s money you don’t have to spend on wages – effectively increasing your profit on the project. Alternatively, it could allow you to price your jobs more competitively knowing you’ll spend fewer man-hours, helping you win more bids. And remember, this is just for one 400 sq. ft. dock. Imagine you build 10 docks a year: even at $500 savings each, that’s $5,000 saved annually on labor. Over a few years, a simple spacer tool can save tens of thousands in labor costs.

Time savings also mean you can complete the project sooner. Finishing the decking a day (or even half a day) early means you and your crew can move on to the next phase of construction – whether it’s installing railings, doing trim work, or starting another job altogether. This flexibility can reduce scheduling gaps and keep your team productive. In construction, being able to pull in your timeline has a ripple effect of efficiency across all your projects.

Beyond the Dollars: Other Benefits of Using a Deck Board Spacer

Saving labor hours and money is huge, but it’s not the only benefit of using a deck board spacer tool. From my experience, here are a few other ways this professional dock building tool helps my crews and improves our work:

• Fewer Mistakes & Rework: With manual spacing, it’s easy to mis-measure a gap or accidentally tighten boards too close. A spacer tool virtually guarantees each gap is correct, greatly reducing the chance of errors. We’re not having to unscrew boards to fix spacing goofs, because there aren’t any. Avoiding even a couple of do-overs can save a lot of frustration and time.
• Consistent, Quality Results: The uniform spacing achieved with the tool gives the finished dock a crisp, professional look that impresses clients. Consistency is key in high-quality construction – uneven board gaps can be an eyesore (and a point of complaint). The spacer ensures every gap is identical, which not only looks good but also meets any code or structural requirements for spacing. It’s attention to detail without the tedious effort​.
• Easier Work for the Crew: Let’s face it, crouching over to place shims and measure gaps every few inches is tedious work. Using the Deck Board Spacer is simpler and faster, which keeps morale up. Crew members can establish a rhythm – lay spacer, set board, drive screws, repeat – which is less physically and mentally draining than constantly fidgeting with measurements. A happier, less fatigued crew often means better productivity in other tasks too.
• Better Allocation of Skills: When you free up time by simplifying decking, you can reallocate your crew to other tasks. For example, while one team member secures spaced boards, another can start cutting the next batch of boards or begin installing hardware on finished sections. The tool effectively lets a smaller subset of the crew handle decking, so others can tackle work that might have been waiting. This increases overall jobsite efficiency – multiple things get done at once.
• Works for DIY or New Hires: If you occasionally work with less experienced helpers or even DIY clients, a spacer tool is a great equalizer. It helps someone with basic skills achieve pro-level spacing without extensive training. I’ve found that when breaking in a new crew member, giving them the spacers to handle decking helps them learn faster and work more confidently, since the tool guides them to do it right.

In short, using the Deck Board Spacer doesn’t just save time – it also improves the quality of the build and the working conditions for your team. It’s a small investment that yields benefits across the board (no pun intended).

Conclusion: Save Time and Money on Your Next Dock Build

After using the Deck Board Spacer tool on multiple dock projects, I can confidently say it’s one of those “work smarter, not harder” innovations that I wish I’d adopted sooner. Labor-saving deck tools like this spacer have helped me dramatically increase deck installation productivity without sacrificing craftsmanship. When a tool can save you hundreds per project, it’s a no-brainer for any professional. The Deck Board Spacer essentially pays for itself over the course of only a few projects.

If you’re still building docks or decks with the old shim-and-nail method, I encourage you to give a Deck Board Spacer tool a try.

More importantly, you’ll save money on deck installation labor that you can pocket as profit or pass on as cost savings to win more jobs.

Ready to boost your dock-building efficiency? Do yourself and your crew a favor and add a Deck Board Spacer to your toolkit. It’s an easy upgrade that will streamline your workflow on every decking project. Don’t let outdated spacing methods slow you down – work smarter with the right tools. Give the Deck Board Spacer a shot on your next dock build, and watch your time savings turn into dollar savings. Your bottom line (and your back) will thank you!