Dock & Coastal
Seawall and Bulkhead Repair in Charleston, SC
Bulkheads, tie-backs and the soil disappearing behind them.
Bulkheads, tie-backs and the soil disappearing behind them.
Quick answer: A failing bulkhead usually shows on the land side first: a dip or sinkhole in the lawn where soil is washing out through the wall. A wall leaning out at the top usually has failed tie-backs, and face repairs alone will not hold it. Blocked weep holes or failed filter fabric turn the wall into a dam. Work in tidal water needs state permitting. Southeastern Renovation repairs seawalls and bulkheads as a licensed SC general contractor (CLG.127339). Call (843) 718-8177.
Related: Dock repair.
That soil loss is the thing to act on. Water moving through or under a bulkhead carries fine material with it, and the void it leaves grows quietly until something on the surface subsides into it. By the time the wall visibly leans, considerably more has moved than the lean suggests.
Tie-backs are the usual failure. A bulkhead is held by anchors buried in the bank behind it, and when those corrode or pull, the wall starts rotating outward at the top. Face repairs to a wall with failed tie-backs treat the symptom.
Weep holes and filter fabric are what let water out without letting soil out. When they block or the fabric fails, the wall becomes a dam, and the pressure behind it is what pushes it over.
We take this work across greater Charleston, from Summerville and Goose Creek to Mount Pleasant, West Ashley and the sea islands, and on the York County side around Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay and Lake Wylie. More on our dock and coastal services.
Look at the land, not the wall. A dip, a sinkhole or a soft patch in the lawn behind a bulkhead means soil is washing out through it, and that void is larger than what shows on the surface.
A visible lean means it has been happening for a while.
Usually failed tie-backs — the anchors buried in the bank that hold the top of the wall. When they corrode or pull, the wall rotates at the top, and repairing the face of a wall with failed anchors does not address what is moving it.
Letting water out without letting soil out. Blocked weeps or failed filter fabric turn the wall into a dam, and the water pressure that builds behind it is what pushes bulkheads over.