When a dock, deck, lift or patio near the water on St. Simons Island starts sinking, the fix is usually helical piers that bypass the soft marsh soil, or polyurethane to fill voids under slabs.
866-398-9323Licensed seawall specialists — FL · GA · SC
Seawall Repairs by Solid Foundations provides marine foundation repair in St. Simons Island, GA for waterfront homeowners, HOAs, and marinas. Typical projects include leveling dock walkways where they leave high ground, re-supporting decks and screened porches along the marsh edge, and lifting settled patios behind bulkheads. Call 866-398-9323 or use the quote form to book a free on-site inspection.
Almost always, the cause is soft ground or soil leaving through the wall.
Many island homes back onto Spartina marsh. The Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division explains that these marshes formed as lagoons slowly filled with river sediment (GA DNR CRD). The soil at the marsh edge is:
Posts and footings set in that top layer act like they're floating. A deck post that was plumb when it went in can drift and sink an inch at a time, and you may not notice until a door sticks or a railing leans. Storms push it further. Irma brought nearly 10 inches of rain to Glynn County on top of its surge, and ground that stays waterlogged for days loses strength. Structures sitting on it settle.
We turn steel shafts with helical plates down through the soft layers until torque tells us they've reached soil that can hold the load. Then we bracket them to the structure and bring it back toward level. See helical pier installation.
Where soil has washed out under a patio or slab, polyurethane fills the gap and can lift the slab.
Rotted or borer-damaged pilings can be wrapped, jacketed or given new support beside them.
If soil is escaping through the bulkhead, we fix that too with bulkhead repair on St. Simons Island.
A private dock that reaches from your lot over state water bottoms is covered by a Revocable License from the Coastal Resources Division (GA DNR CRD). The state is also finishing new private dock rules, with Board action expected in late October 2026. Repairs that keep supports in the same place and size are the simplest path, and we call CRD before starting. For larger changes, see marine construction on St. Simons Island. Where the land-side part of the structure is the problem, such as a deck or porch set back from the marsh, state approval usually isn't the issue, and a Glynn County permit covers the work.
Island pricing typically runs $700–$2,000 per helical pier and $8–$25 per board foot of void fill. Most residential marine foundation repairs on St. Simons Island total $5,000–$25,000, depending on the number of piers, depth to firm soil and access.
Our St. Simons Island seawall repair page covers every island service. We also handle marine foundation repair in Jacksonville.
That's the transition from firmer ground to soft marsh soil. Supports there often settle. Helical piers can carry the load deeper.
Often, yes. Helical piers can be added under the porch framing and used to lift it back toward level.
Call the Coastal Resources Division first. Repairs within the existing footprint are usually the simplest case, but CRD confirms.
Until they reach soil that carries the load, which varies from lot to lot. We confirm each one with torque readings.
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