The essentials before you start
- Compare the same three choices
Set targeted repair, partial rebuilding and replacement beside each other.
- Draw the proposed wall line
Its position is part of the permit decision, not just a construction detail.
- Compare exclusions as well as totals
List access, drainage, dock work and restoration in each written scope.
Compare three written scopes
| Approach | Evidence to request | Scope question |
|---|---|---|
Targeted repair | Location and cause of a defined defect; condition of the parts being kept. | How will recurrence be prevented? |
Partial rebuild | Measured limits, connections and support of the adjoining sections. | Where does the new work tie into the old wall? |
Full replacement | Survey, sealed engineering design and the proposed wall line. | Where will the new face sit, and what happens to the old wall, drainage, dock and soil? |
The 18-inch line shapes the permit route
Florida law exempts restoring a seawall at its previous location, behind it, or within 18 inches waterward of it from state environmental permitting. FDEP’s rule adds conditions: the wall was damaged by a discrete event within the last year, or the work needs only minimal backfill, and the 18 inches is measured face to face.
A separate exemption covers seawalls in artificially created waterways and legally existing residential canal systems, which describes many Port St. Lucie finger canals. Building the new wall in front of the old one (“encapsulation”) is common; ask the designer to show the new face on a survey so the 18-inch question can be answered.
Florida Statutes s. 403.813 - Permits issued at district centers; exceptions · Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.051 - Exempt Activities
On the open river or lagoon, expect riprap questions
Florida discourages vertical seawalls in estuaries and lagoons. When a permit (rather than an exemption) is needed to repair or replace a vertical wall on open estuary frontage, the agency is to “generally require” riprap facing or replacement with riprap, unless the site is an existing manmade canal already lined with seawalls, a port, a marina or a public utility.
In Martin County, a new seawall, new riprap or replacement of an unpermitted structure also goes through the county’s Shoreline Stabilization Permit, which starts with a determination of whether the shoreline qualifies for a structure at all.
Florida Statutes s. 373.414 - Additional criteria for activities in surface waters and wetlands · Shoreline Stabilization Permitting (SSP) Application Help Document
If the proposal keeps the existing wall
- Identify each retained component and the inspection that supports keeping it.
- Explain whether the repair addresses structural damage, leakage, lost soil or more than one problem.
- State how hidden conditions and uncertain quantities will be priced.
- Describe remaining limitations without promising an unsupported lifespan.
Caps, batter piles and king piles installed only to stabilize an existing wall are listed in FDEP’s seawall exemptions. They still need local approval and a design that addresses why the wall is moving.
If the proposal builds a new wall
Resolve the new wet-face location before pricing the design. Ask how the work affects the shoreline, the dock and lift, utilities and temporary equipment access. On Port St. Lucie canal lots, docks may protrude only 5 feet into the waterway (with lifts allowed up to 10 feet beyond the dock on waterways at least 60 feet wide), so moving the wall waterward can affect a future dock.
Port St. Lucie will not issue a permit for a structure built into a canal or waterway until any state or federal agency with jurisdiction has approved it.
§ 158.217 Accessory Uses and Structures (Port St. Lucie Code of Ordinances, Ch. 158 Zoning Code, Art. XI) · § 158.217 Accessory Uses and Structures
Compare exclusions before comparing totals
Put inspection, design, permits, demolition, access, turbidity barriers, backfill, drainage, cap, dock and lift work, utilities, landscape restoration and closeout on one worksheet. Ask each bidder to mark each item included, allowance or excluded.
Martin County’s 2020 Tuckahoe seawall bid drew ten bids from $964,457 to $1,649,374 for the same public scope. Wide spreads are normal, which is why several written bids matter. Use the budget planner with project-specific figures.
Resolve the unknown that could change the whole scope
| Unresolved point | Decision to request |
|---|---|
The proposal keeps panels or anchors | Which evidence supports keeping them, and what finding would change the recommendation? |
Damage appears only at one section | How will the repair connect to the retained wall, and where will the investigation stop? |
The estimate has hidden-condition allowances | What measurement releases the allowance, what unit price applies, and who approves an increase? |
Work is proposed in phases | What must be safe between phases, and could later work undo the first repair? |
Keep evidence of what was retained
At handover, ask for a marked plan showing replaced parts, repaired parts and components left in place, plus the final inspection and dated photos from before concealed work was covered. In Port St. Lucie, seawall inspections include a final inspection and a final survey stage. A clear record keeps a future listing or insurance file from calling a partial repair a “new seawall.”
Show sourcesHide sources
- Building Department Checklist for Miscellaneous PermitsSource reviewed 2026-10-25
- Florida Statutes s. 403.813 - Permits issued at district centers; exceptionsSource reviewed 2026-10-25
- Fla. Admin. Code R. 62-330.051 - Exempt ActivitiesSource reviewed 2026-10-25
- Florida Statutes s. 373.414 - Additional criteria for activities in surface waters and wetlandsSource reviewed 2026-10-25
- Shoreline Stabilization Permitting (SSP) Application Help DocumentSource reviewed 2026-10-25
- § 158.217 Accessory Uses and Structures (Port St. Lucie Code of Ordinances, Ch. 158 Zoning Code, Art. XI)Source reviewed 2026-10-25
- Supplemental Memorandum, Contracts That Meet the Threshold for Board Approval (21-0014); RFB2020-3264 Bid Tabulation; revised CIP sheet 12/8/2020Source reviewed 2026-10-25
- Inspection Type CodesSource reviewed 2026-10-25