A rock revetment in Miami should be looked over once a year and again after every tropical storm, so loose stones and exposed fabric are fixed before the bank behind them starts to wash away.
866-398-9323Licensed seawall specialists — FL · GA · SC
Seawall Repairs by Solid Foundations provides revetment maintenance in Miami, FL for bayfront homeowners, condo associations, and commercial owners. Typical projects include resetting armor stone on Biscayne Bay slopes after storms, patching torn filter fabric along Miami River banks, and rebuilding scoured toes where revetments meet neighboring Miami seawalls. Call 866-398-9323 or use the quote form to book a free on-site inspection.
A revetment is a rock-armored slope. Large stones sit over smaller rock and a filter fabric, and the whole thing absorbs waves instead of reflecting them. It's durable, but every storm, high tide, and passing wake nudges stones a little. Over years, those small moves open gaps that let the soil underneath escape.
The ends are almost always the first place to fail, because water curls around them. A single missing armor stone can look harmless, but it leaves the smaller rock beneath exposed to every wave. Once that under-layer shifts, the fabric follows, and then the bank itself. Catching it at the one-stone stage is the whole point of maintenance. More background is on our general revetment maintenance page.
| When | Focus |
|---|---|
| Late spring, before hurricane season | Full walk; reset loose stone; repair fabric |
| After any tropical storm | Displaced armor, toe scour, washed-out ends |
| During seasonal high tides | Gaps at the high-water line |
| Once a year | Slope profile, plant growth, transitions |
They can. Miami-Dade requires a Class I permit for most mangrove trimming, alteration, or removal, and applies the same permit to work in tidal waters and coastal wetlands (Miami-Dade County). Mangroves that have rooted among your stones help hold the slope together, so we plan repairs around them rather than clearing them. If trimming is truly needed, we tell you up front so it can be permitted.
Water is simply getting higher. Miami-Dade cites regional projections of 10 to 17 inches of rise by 2040 compared with 2000. Each added inch pushes daily tides farther up the slope, onto stone and fabric that used to stay dry most of the time. The high-water band is where we find most of the washouts now. That's why our inspections look closely at the upper part of the slope, not just the toe.
Routine revetment maintenance in Miami typically runs $1,500–$5,000 per year for a standard 100-foot residential revetment. Major rehabilitation runs $150–$400 per linear foot. Steady upkeep costs far less than rebuilding a neglected slope.
Protecting a vertical wall instead? See riprap installation in Miami. For a full-property plan, see shoreline maintenance in Miami. Our hurricane season seawall prep guide covers pre-storm steps.
We also maintain revetments in Fort Lauderdale.
At least yearly, ideally before hurricane season, and again after any tropical storm.
Most mangrove trimming in Miami-Dade needs a Class I permit. We usually work around them, and we'll flag it early if trimming is required.
Water wraps around the last stones and digs behind them. A proper tie-in to the neighboring wall fixes it better than piling on more rock.
Keeping the revetment in its existing footprint is typically simpler to approve than expanding it. We confirm the permit path before we start.
Licensed, insured, NCFI-certified. Serving Florida, Georgia & South Carolina since 1996.
866-398-9323