Seawall & Bulkhead Services in Flagler Beach, FL

Oceanfront Revetment Versus Intracoastal Seawall

In Flagler Beach the word “seawall” covers two very different structures. On the Atlantic side, the shoreline along A1A is protected in places by boulder revetments and, north of the pier, by an FDOT secant wall built of auger-cast concrete. These face breaking storm waves and are regulated as coastal armoring. On the Intracoastal side, residential seawalls and bulkheads hold back yards along a waterway with very small tides.

What Ian and Nicole Did to the Flagler Beach Shoreline

Flagler County's beaches took two hits six weeks apart in 2022. FDEP's post-storm report puts Ian's storm tides in Flagler County generally between seven and nine feet above sea level, with a USGS-measured peak of +8.3 ft NAVD in Flagler Beach. Erosion exposed armoring along Beverly Beach and Flagler Beach, uncovered the FDOT secant wall between R65 and R68, and substantially removed dune projects built after Hurricanes Matthew and Irma. The seaward 165 ft of the Flagler Beach Fishing Pier was lost.

Nicole arrived on beaches that had not recovered. FDEP describes offshore wave heights measured in excess of 30 feet. In Flagler County, it counted about 9,826 ft of seawall and revetment damage, 7,790 ft of it major. Most of that was in the City: between 7th Street South and 23rd Street South, about 9,100 ft of boulder revetment was damaged, 7,500 ft of it major, along with sections of road south of the pier.

These counts cover armoring that fronts the Atlantic. FDEP's methodology excludes armoring on interior tidal waters, so they say nothing about Intracoastal seawalls. Earlier, the National Hurricane Center reported that Hurricane Matthew (2016) cut dune lines back 30 to 40 ft from Flagler Beach to Micklers Landing, leaving cliffs 12 to 16 ft high. Large rocks uncovered on the beach were pushed back 150 ft to A1A, the highway washed out in numerous places along the Flagler County coast, and the surf knocked down the end of the pier.

The Rules for Oceanfront Armoring

Construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line needs a DEP permit unless exempt, and armoring is governed by Rule 62B-33.0051, F.A.C., most recently amended effective July 7, 2026. The rule starts by asking applicants to consider other protection methods, such as foundation modification, relocation and dune restoration. Where armoring is the choice, the main tests are below.

• Eligibility and vulnerability. New armoring generally must protect an eligible structure that a dune erosion model shows to be vulnerable, or close a gap of 250 ft or less between continuous armoring on both sides.
• Reconstruction and replacement. Minor and major reconstruction, armoring replacement and upgrades are exempt from those eligibility conditions if they would not cause a significant adverse impact.
• Design. Walls and revetments are designed for wave runup, overtopping, erosion, scour and loads of the design storm, with a minimum 30-year design life and at least a 15-year return interval storm.
• Siting. Armoring is sited as far landward as practicable, with returns and excavation limited to protect neighbors and the dune.
• Nourishment timing. No armoring permit is issued if a protective nourishment or restoration project is scheduled within nine months with permits and funding available.
• Emergencies. After a storm, local governments can authorize temporary protection under strict time limits, and temporary structures must be removed or permitted.

Seawalls on the Intracoastal Side

West of A1A, the conditions change completely. NOAA's Smith Creek, Flagler Beach station has a mean tide range of 0.88 ft, and the ocean waves that drive the armoring rules do not reach these walls. The loads here come from retained soil, boat wakes and high water during storms.

Storm water still matters here. In Ian, the National Hurricane Center attributed flooding of intracoastal communities in Flagler County largely to heavy rainfall rather than surge. Water standing behind a wall, overtopping and saturated backfill can all show up later as soil loss, cracked caps or lean.

• Section 403.813(1)(e), F.S. exempts restoring a seawall at, upland of, or within 18 inches waterward of its previous location; it does not replace local permits or any state-lands authorization the site needs.
• Other work may need a DEP environmental resource permit or a different exemption; confirm the path with DEP's Northeast District.
• Flagler County's FWC-approved Manatee Protection Plan is used when agencies review new or expanding boat facilities.
• Inside city limits, building permits and plan review go through the City of Flagler Beach Planning, Building & Engineering office at 800 S. Daytona Avenue, whose Engineering Division handles floodplain and elevation certificate questions.

Working With Barefoot in Flagler Beach

Flagler County is one of the six counties Barefoot Marine Construction serves directly from Jacksonville. On the Intracoastal side, seawall and bulkhead repair, replacement and new construction are the main work. Oceanfront armoring seaward of the CCCL is a different permit program with its own engineering, and Barefoot confirms at the estimate whether it takes on that specific scope itself. When you call (904) 821-5744 or send photos and project details, say which side of A1A the property is on and include photos of the wall, revetment or bank and any storm damage.