Photo: Cbaile19, via Wikimedia Commons (cc0).Seawall inspection in Port Charlotte
An inspection tells you whether you are looking at maintenance, a repair, or a replacement. Worth knowing before storm season, and essential before you buy.
What gets checked
- Cap: cracks, spalling, exposed or rusting steel.
- Panels: whether they are plumb, rotating, cracked, or separating at the joints.
- Tiebacks and anchors: signs of corrosion or movement where they can be seen.
- Behind the wall: settlement, holes, sinking pavers, and soft ground.
- Toe and canal bottom: scour at the base of the wall.
- Drainage: weep holes and how water leaves the yard.
When to get one
- Before you buy a canal home. Use the findings to negotiate. A failing wall is a five or six figure problem. More in the buyer's guide.
- After a named storm or strong surge. Damage behind the wall can be worse than what you see on the face.
- When something changes. New cracks, a lean, or a hole in the yard.
- Before you sell. Buyers and their inspectors will look.
Inspection fees and report format are set by the contractor. Ask what you will get in writing before they come out.
Get your wall looked at
Send a request and we will pass it to an independent licensed marine contractor who works Charlotte County canals. Have your address ready and, if you can, a few photos of the wall.
Free referral service, not a contractor. Calls to this site are recorded to confirm referrals and for quality. How this works.