Composite dock decking in Fort Lauderdale

Who re-decks

Owners with splintering or soft boards on sound framing, and owners building a new dock who want less upkeep.

The Broward County license comes first

Broward County requires its own license before any work in, on, over or under county waters, and that includes repairing or replacing a dock or seawall. Pile replacement, lift repairs that touch the pilings and seawall work all need that county license before work starts, on top of the City permit.

New decking is only as good as the frame and piles under it, so we check them first.[1]

The 25% or 25 ft limit

ULDR 47-19.3(c) limits docks, lifts and other mooring structures to 25% of the waterway width or 25 ft, whichever is less, measured from the property line. On a 60 ft canal that is 15 ft; on the wide New River reaches the 25 ft cap takes over.

A redeck is the moment to check that the dock still fits the limit if you add width.[2]

Going past the limit

The City Commission can waive the projection limit on a finding of extraordinary circumstances. The application fee is $1,500, and the Marine Advisory Board looks at it first: in May 2026 it backed, 12 to 0, a boat lift reaching 27 ft 8 in at 1614 Brickell Drive.[2]

What makes Fort Lauderdale different

The City treats seawalls as tidal barriers. It presumes a wall is in disrepair if it lets upland soil erode, lets material pass through it, or lets tidal water flow unimpeded onto neighbours or the street, and gives owners 60 days to show progress and 365 days to finish. The City also spends $1.5 million a year on its own seawalls.[3][4]

The county layer

Broward County requires a license before any work in, on, over or under its waters, including repairing or replacing a dock or seawall. Broward's regional policy is a consistent top elevation of 5 ft NAVD for seawalls, banks and berms.[1][3]

Permits in Fort Lauderdale

• Broward County environmental licensing: A county license before any work in, on, over or under Broward County waters, including dock and seawall repair.
• City of Fort Lauderdale: Building permits; waivers of the dock and lift projection limit go to the City Commission with a Marine Advisory Board recommendation.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption for docks and walls on the New River and the Intracoastal, on top of the Broward County license.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal authorisation for work in the Intracoastal Waterway and other navigable waters.

What we check before re-decking

• Joists and stringers for rot
• Fasteners and hardware for corrosion
• Pilings at the waterline
• Board spacing rules for your waterway

Decking and permits

A like-for-like re-deck is DERM-exempt in Miami-Dade, but your city may still need a permit. Making the dock bigger changes the over-water area, which FDEP counts toward the 500 or 1,000 sq ft exemption limits, so it needs a permit review.[7][8]

Frequently asked questions