A clear plan, from the first inspection to the final walkthrough.
You should know exactly what your dock, lift, or seawall needs before anyone starts the work. Here is how a job goes with us - a free on-site inspection, one written estimate, the permits pulled for you, and a crew that leaves your waterfront solid, tested, and safe to use.
Six steps, and we handle all of them.
A free, on-site inspection
We start at the water. One of us comes out to your waterfront - Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key, Osprey, Nokomis, Venice, wherever your dock is - and looks at the whole structure: the pilings, the decking and stringers, the hardware, the boat lift's cables and motor, the seawall cap and its tie-backs. We tell you honestly what needs to be fixed now, what can wait a season, and what is still fine. There is no cost and no obligation to any of it. You come away knowing exactly what shape your waterfront is in.
One clear written estimate
We turn the inspection into a single written estimate: the exact scope, the materials - pressure-treated or composite decking, the piling type, the lift parts - the price, and a realistic timeline. You see the number up front, and the price we put in writing is the price. If the job needs a permit, we tell you that here, not halfway through. And if storm damage and an insurance claim are involved, we build the estimate and the photo documentation so your adjuster has exactly what they need.
Permits and approvals
Most dock, lift, and seawall work in Sarasota needs a permit through Sarasota County, and often the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers too, especially near seagrass or in a manatee zone. We pull the permits, set turbidity barriers when the county requires them, and schedule the inspections. This is the part that stalls out-of-town contractors and do-it-yourselfers, and it is exactly the part we handle for you.
Scheduling around the water
A waterfront job runs on tides, weather, and access, not just the calendar. Once the permit is in hand we schedule the crew and any equipment - a barge or a piling driver if the job calls for one - around the conditions that let us work safely and do it right. We give you the window at the estimate and keep you posted if a storm or a low tide pushes it, so you are never left wondering when the crew is coming back.
The repair or rebuild, done right
On the day, our insured marine crew does the work: swapping snapped or rotten pilings, re-decking in wood or composite, resetting stringers and hardware, rebuilding a seawall cap and its tie-backs, or servicing the lift's cables, bunks, motor, and gearbox. We build for salt air, sun, and Sarasota Bay tides, using marine-grade fasteners and materials that hold up out here - because a dock put back together with the wrong hardware fails again in a single season.
A final walkthrough and warranty
When the work is finished we walk the structure with you and test everything: we run the lift up and down under load, check the decking is solid underfoot, and confirm the seawall drains and holds. We haul off the old pilings, lumber, and debris and leave the site clean. Our workmanship is warrantied, and because we are local, if anything ever needs a second look you get a short drive from a real crew, not a phone tree in another state.
No surprises, no pressure, no vanishing crew.
We know that hiring a contractor to work on the most exposed, most expensive structure on your property is an act of trust, and we treat it that way. The inspection is genuinely free and genuinely no-obligation. The written scope and price come before any work begins, so you always know what you are paying for. And you deal with the same local people throughout - not a salesman who hands you off to a crew you have never met.
How long the whole thing takes depends on the damage and whether a permit is involved, and we are honest about that from the start. A few boards and some fresh hardware can be a day; a full re-deck, new pilings, or a seawall project runs longer and can wait on the county. Whatever the pace, our job is to keep you informed and get your waterfront usable again. If you want the full list of what we handle, see our services page, and browse the FAQ for the questions boat owners ask most.
An honest answer about timing.
The most common question we get is how long the work takes, and the honest answer is that it depends on the structure and whether a permit is in play. A handful of replacement boards and some new hardware can be done in a day or two once we are scheduled. New pilings, a full re-deck, or a seawall cap with tie-backs runs longer, and permits - which depend on Sarasota County, the FDEP, and sometimes the Army Corps - are outside our control and can add weeks to a larger job. We tell you the realistic timeline at the estimate, we start the permit clock early, and we hold to the window we give you.
Who does the workThe same local crew, start to finish.
You are not handed off from a salesperson to a stranger with a truck. The people who inspect your dock are the people who plan the job and stand behind the work, and our marine crew is licensed and insured. That continuity matters on the water: one accountable point of contact, a crew that already knows your structure, and nothing lost in the gaps between vendors. When we say we do the whole job, we mean the same team is with you from the first inspection to the final walkthrough.
Permits and approvalsWe know the Sarasota permitting playbook.
Dock, lift, and seawall work along the coast comes with its own rulebook - Sarasota County marine-construction standards, FDEP and Army Corps review near seagrass and in manatee zones, turbidity-barrier requirements, and HOA or waterfront-association approvals in communities like Bird Key and Bay Isles. We handle all of it. We know which agency each job needs, we file the paperwork, and we schedule the inspections so the permitting is our problem and not yours. You can see the coastal Sarasota areas we serve, and everything we handle on the services page.
Your part is smallWhat we ask of you.
Almost nothing, by design. We need access to the dock and a few decisions only you can make - wood or composite, repair or replace a tired lift, how far to take a seawall that is starting to lean - and we handle everything around those decisions. You do not chase permits, coordinate a barge, or manage a crew. If your job is a storm-insurance claim, we hand you the documentation your adjuster needs. When you are ready, the first step is a free on-site estimate, and you can always reach us with a question first.
The first time you use it again.
There is a moment at the end of every job that owners remember. The crew is gone, the turbidity barrier is out of the water, and you step onto a dock that an hour ago you did not quite trust - and it is solid underfoot, the lift lowers your boat down to the water smooth and quiet, and the seawall behind you is holding the yard the way it should. For a waterfront that has been sagging, corroding, or storm-battered for a season or two, that first easy use is not a small thing; it is the difference between a structure you avoid and one you actually enjoy.
Our work does not end when the last board is set, either. We haul off the old pilings, decking, and debris and leave the site as clean as we found it, so you are not left with a pile of salt-soaked lumber to deal with. And because everything we build is meant for salt air, relentless sun, and Sarasota Bay tides, the repair is built to last out here - not to look good for a photo and give way in the next storm season.
If this is the kind of thorough, local, start-to-finish work you want on your waterfront, the first step is a free, no-obligation on-site estimate. You can also read about who we are, see everything we handle on the services page, or find your community among the areas we serve across coastal Sarasota.
Questions about how it works
How much does dock or seawall repair cost?
Do you handle the permits?
How long will the repair take?
Should I use wood or composite decking?
Can you help after storm damage and with my insurance?
Do you service my brand of boat lift?
How do I know what size lift I need?
Are you licensed and insured, and do you offer a warranty?
Ready to fix your waterfront?
Book a free, no-obligation on-site inspection. We will look at your dock, lift, or seawall, tell you honestly what it needs, and put one clear price in writing.
Get your free estimate