Seawall Repair in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Seawalls in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale calls itself the Venice of America for good reason. A large share of its homes sit on canals, the New River and the Intracoastal Waterway, and almost every one of them depends on a seawall. In neighborhoods like the Las Olas Isles, Nurmi Isles, Seven Isles, Idlewyld, Rio Vista, Harbor Beach, Coral Ridge and Bay Colony, the walls hold up lawns, pools and docks against tides that come a little higher every few years.

Many of these walls are decades old. Common problems include cracked and spalling caps, panels leaning out where tiebacks have failed, soil washing out through joints, and walls that now sit too low during king tides in the fall.

Fort Lauderdale's seawall elevation rule

In March 2023 the City of Fort Lauderdale updated its seawall ordinance to match Broward County's regional tidal flood barrier standard. New seawalls, and walls that are substantially repaired, generally need a top elevation of 5 feet NAVD88. Applications submitted before January 1, 2035 may be permitted at 4 feet NAVD88 if the wall is designed so it can be raised to 5 feet by 2050. A wall that lets tidal water flood a neighbor or the public right-of-way can also trigger the rule.

Most structural seawall work in the city needs a building permit, and work in tidal water may also need Broward County environmental review. A licensed contractor normally handles the permit process, so ask for it to be included in your written quote.

Tell us what you are seeing and roughly where your property is. We connect you with a licensed, insured local seawall contractor who serves Fort Lauderdale for an on-site look and a written quote.