When a dock, deck, or boat lift near the marsh in Savannah starts to sag, the lasting fix is usually to carry its weight down to firm soil with helical piers, or to fill the voids underneath with polyurethane.
866-398-9323Licensed seawall specialists — FL · GA · SC
Seawall Repairs by Solid Foundations provides marine foundation repair in Savannah, GA for marsh-front homeowners, HOAs, and marinas. Typical projects include helical piers under sagging dock walkways on Skidaway Island, re-leveling boat lifts on Wilmington Island creeks, and lifting sunken patios along bulkheads at Isle of Hope. Call 866-398-9323 or use the quote form to book a free on-site inspection.
Almost all of these trace back to one of two things: soil too soft to carry the weight, or soil washing out through the wall.
Many Savannah waterfront homes sit right where upland meets marsh, and that ground is rarely uniform. Georgia's salt marshes are built on mud that stays saturated and low in oxygen (UGA Marine Extension). Along the transition you'll often find:
Put a dock landing or a deck footing on the soft layer and it keeps sinking. The fix is to bypass it.
Steel shafts with screw-shaped plates are turned into the ground until they reach soil that can carry the load. The torque we measure as each one goes in tells us when it has. Then we bracket it to the structure and lift toward level. It works for dock landings, lifts, decks, and small outbuildings. See helical pier installation.
Where soil has washed out from under a patio or pool deck, polyurethane injection fills the gaps and can raise the slab back into place without tearing it out.
Pilings damaged by rot, borers, or storm debris can be wrapped, sistered, or supplemented with new support.
If soil is leaving through the bulkhead, a foundation fix alone won't last. We pair it with bulkhead repair in Savannah so the ground stops moving.
Typical Savannah pricing is $700–$2,000 per helical pier and $8–$25 per board foot for void fill. Most residential marine foundation repairs run $5,000–$25,000, depending on how many piers you need, how deep firm soil sits, and access. Structures tied to a failing wall may also need work covered on our Savannah seawall repair page.
Georgia handles private docks differently from other marsh work. They were exempted from the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act in 2003 and are authorized instead through a Revocable License from the Coastal Resources Division (Georgia Conservancy). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District may also need to sign off. Walkways must stay above the marsh grass. Before we touch an existing dock, we confirm with CRD whether the repair needs new paperwork. For a full rebuild, see marine construction in Savannah.
We also handle marine foundation repair in Hilton Head and Brunswick.
That's where the dock meets the transition between upland and marsh, and it's usually the softest ground on the lot. Helical piers carry that end down to firm soil.
Often, yes. If the pilings are sound but have settled, we add support and bring it back to level. Damaged pilings get replaced or supplemented.
As far as needed to reach firm soil, which varies from one lot to the next. Torque readings confirm each pier's capacity.
Only if the bulkhead is sound. If soil is escaping through the wall, we fix that too, or the gap will come back.
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866-398-9323