If you gaze along Florida’s coastline, seawalls of all shapes and sizes taper from the land or rise up along an embankment. Stunning and varied, no two are alike. But they all serve a serious purpose: protecting the shoreline from erosion.
Rip rap as a material used in seawall construction is not erected in a random fashion. Installed along the baseline, they add stability and a natural facing appearance whether standalone or in association with a vertical seawall.
As marine construction specialists, we know that in addition to a buried toe to cradle the rock formation, we always place underlayment first. Once installed, beautiful Florida Fieldstone or lime rock are precisely placed at a 2:1 ratio.
Cost effective solutions, these seawalls work by absorbing and deflecting the energy of waves. The size and mass of the riprap material absorbs the impact energy generated by waves, while the gaps between the rocks trap and slow the flow of water. This retards soil erosion.
Some of our favorite things about rip rap seawalls in Florida include:
- They are an eco-friendly solution
- As a material, rip rap is permitted on private and public bodies of water
- Rip Rap promotes the growth of natural vegetation
- These structures re-establish the natural slope of the land
- They allow animals and organisms to pass through, thereby promoting the local ecosystem
Incline Support
Waterfront properties come in all shapes and sizes, as do their shorelines. We engineer marine solutions for the gamut, but rip rap is a very suitable choice wherever a water erosion situation exists. If your home for example is up on a cliff overlooking the water, a concerted placement strategy will not only keep the body of water from eroding the land, it will actually help maintain its integrity in the face of precipitation that could just as effectively wear the hillside away.
Rip Rap Seawalls Are Beautiful
Tying into their surrounding environment, a rip rap seawall incorporates the natural beauty of the landscape into a powerful ally to prevent damage to property. Each unique, they simply lend natural beauty to a home’s shoreline. They also not only furnish that singular look as each one is completely unique, the addition of rip rap to vinyl seawalls makes for an effectual combination.
Rip Rap Seawalls Are Tried and True
Over the years we have seen so many advances in seawall construction materials available including the vast flexibility afforded today by vinyl, preferred by many because it easily conforms to irregular coastlines, but rip rap was one of the very first forms of erosion control. It was used on the dams in the Panama Canal; the made-made 48-mile waterway the connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Its installation was started in 1881.
In this industry, there are myriad solutions to the individual needs of commercial and residential properties. A site survey and consultation help us determine the best course of action in this pivotal type of construction that allows a peaceful coexistence with nature.
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