St. Augustine's private seawalls mostly line the Matanzas River and the creeks around Anastasia Island. When they leak or settle, the cause is usually soil washing out behind the wall, and that can be fixed without a rebuild.
866-398-9323Licensed seawall specialists — FL · GA · SC
Seawall Repairs by Solid Foundations provides seawall repair in St. Augustine, FL for Matanzas River homeowners, Anastasia Island owners, and waterfront businesses near the historic district. Typical projects include filling voids behind river-facing walls, sealing seams that leaked after downtown flooding, and anchoring walls that have begun to lean toward the channel. Call 866-398-9323 or use the quote form to book a free on-site inspection.
St. Augustine has had seawalls since the 1690s. The Spanish began the first one in 1696, south of the Castillo de San Marcos. The section along Avenida Menendez went up between 1833 and 1844. A hurricane partly knocked it down in 1846, and Tropical Storm Fay damaged it again in 2008. The city then spent $6.7 million, with FEMA help, building a new wall 12 feet out in front of the old one to protect it. St. Augustine is the St. Johns County seat, about 36 miles south of Jacksonville. Our Jacksonville seawall repair team handles permits and scheduling here.
The Matanzas River runs past downtown and reaches the Atlantic through the St. Augustine Inlet. Anastasia Island lies across the Bridge of Lions. NOAA's city dock station shows a mean tide range of 4.47 feet and a daily high-to-low range of about 5 feet. North of the inlet, the Vilano Beach station on the Tolomato River averages about 4.2 feet.
That tide doesn't just move water in and out of the river. It moves water in and out of the backfill behind every private wall on it.
St. Augustine floods from the river side. When Hurricane Matthew passed offshore in October 2016, it caused extensive flooding downtown. When the river rises over or against a wall and then falls, the drain-down pulls soil through open joints. That's the start of the hollows and sinkholes owners find behind their caps weeks later.
The city's own seawall shows the pattern over three centuries: storms knock walls down, and stronger walls go up in front of them. Private walls face the same water on a smaller scale.
Void fill and seam sealing. NCFI polyurethane injected through small ports fills the cavities behind the wall and seals joints from behind. It's useful on historic-district lots where digging up yards, walks or old brick isn't welcome. See how polyurethane void repair works.
Caps, cracks and weep systems. Covered on our page for bulkhead repair in Northeast Florida.
Leaning walls. When the wall's top has moved, helical tieback reinforcement anchors it before replacement becomes the only option.
It depends on which side of the city limit you're on. Addresses inside St. Augustine go through the City of St. Augustine. Addresses on Anastasia Island may instead fall under the City of St. Augustine Beach or unincorporated St. Johns County.
For oceanfront property, St. Johns County has its own criteria for bulkheads built across county oceanfront rights-of-way. They require an engineered design, vinyl sheeting at minimum (no wood), a concrete cap and tie-backs, and approval at the Board of County Commissioners' discretion.
At the state level, Fla. Stat. 403.813(1)(e) exempts restoring a seawall at its previous location, upland, or within 18 inches waterward from a Chapter 403 permit. Larger changes can need FDEP or Army Corps review.
St. Augustine is the southern end of our Jacksonville coverage. Farther down the Intracoastal in Flagler County, Palm Coast seawall repair covers the next stretch of waterfront. North along the Tolomato, seawall repair in Ponte Vedra Beach shares St. Johns County's permit rules. Past the county line, Jacksonville Beach seawalls follow city permits again.
We repair what can be saved and say so plainly when it can't. Seawall Repairs by Solid Foundations holds Florida license CBC1267322, is an NCFI-certified polyurethane installer, and has served Florida, Georgia and South Carolina since 1996. Ask for your free inspection or call 866-398-9323.
Yes. Floodwater draining back to the river can pull soil out behind a wall without cracking its face. Check for soft ground or dips near the cap.
It depends on your parcel. Island addresses can fall under any of the three, and we confirm which office applies before we file anything.
Usually. Injection goes through small ports, so walks, gardens and older paving can stay where they are.
The city placed it 12 feet waterward to protect the historic wall behind it. Private walls can't usually move that far out, but repair in place often avoids the question.
In addition to St. Augustine, our licensed seawall repair team serves these nearby Florida communities:
Service Area: Matanzas Bay and the San Sebastian River
We serve all waterfront properties on Matanzas Bay and the San Sebastian River and surrounding canals, lakes, and waterways.
Seawall Repairs by Solid Foundations also serves these waterfront communities near St. Augustine:
Licensed, insured, NCFI-certified. Serving Florida, Georgia & South Carolina since 1996.
866-398-9323