Seawall inspections in Boca Raton

When to book an inspection

Book one when something changes, not only when something breaks.

• After a city citation or warning
• Before buying or selling a waterfront home
• After a hurricane or a run of king tides
• When you see new cracks, stains or sinkholes

Designed for 12 to 18 more inches

The same manual asks for seawalls designed to take an added 12 to 18 in of height later without alteration. That sizes the piles, panels and tiebacks today for a raise the owner may only pay for in ten or twenty years.

Every inspection records the cap elevation against that standard.[1]

Tide on Lake Boca Raton

NOAA's Lake Boca Raton gauge, just inside Boca Inlet, records a 2.19 ft mean range and a 2.47 ft great diurnal range (1983 to 2001 epoch). With the dock band set in NAVD88 and the tide close to the inlet's, lift and float travel is planned from these numbers.

We inspect at the lowest tide of the week so the lower wall face and the toe are visible.[2]

A survey before the cap is poured

Boca Raton will not let a seawall cap be poured until a ZON location survey is approved, and after the work an engineer reports the finished cap elevation with photos. Docks and lifts finish with a Final Marine Structure Survey, so the elevation band is checked in the field, not just on paper.

The inspection notes which repairs are exempt and which need a permit.[3]

A height band, not just a minimum

Boca Raton's Engineering Design Standards Manual sets any new or replaced seawall or dock between 4.0 ft and 6.0 ft NAVD88. The maximum is unusual among the cities we work in: a wall or dock cannot simply be built as high as the owner likes.[1]

What makes Boca Raton different

Plan review needs a current-conditions survey showing the seawall wet face or bulkhead line, the property line and piles, section details with the finished cap elevation, and a proposed site plan. Inspections are staged: a location survey before the cap is poured and before the structural cap and piling inspections, a final engineer report on cap elevation with photos, and a final marine structure survey for docks and lifts.[3]

Agencies beyond the City

Palm Beach County's marine structure checklist for unincorporated areas lists the outside approvals agencies expect to see: FDEP, the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) and the Army Corps, as applicable. That checklist is dated 2005, so we confirm current requirements for each job. The federal seagrass range used in dock design covers Palm Beach County waters.[4][5]

Permits in Boca Raton

• City of Boca Raton Development Services: Marine structure permits under City Code Chapter 22, with staged survey and engineer inspections.
• Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND): May be involved for work along the Intracoastal Waterway.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption for docks, walls and lifts on Lake Boca Raton and the Intracoastal Waterway.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal authorisation along the Intracoastal, which the Palm Beach County checklist expects to see with the building permit.

What we check

We walk the full length of the wall from the land and the water.

• Cap: cracks, spalling, rust staining, height against the local standard
• Face and panels: cracks, open joints, lean
• Tiebacks and anchors: signs of movement
• Toe: scour or undercutting
• Land side: sinkholes, soft ground, weep holes

Who is responsible for a private seawall?

The property owner. Miami Beach requires owners to correct walls that let tidal water flow over or through them and can cite owners with no seawall at all. Fort Lauderdale presumes a wall is in disrepair if it lets upland soil erode, material pass through it, or tidal water flow onto neighbours or the street, and gives owners 60 days to show progress and 365 days to finish.[7][8]

Frequently asked questions