Riprap shoreline installation in South and Central Florida

Riprap is stone laid on a slope. We shape the bank, lay a filter fabric over it, and place the stone on top, from the toe of the slope up to the lawn. The fabric lets water through and keeps the soil from washing out between the stones.

We recommend it ourselves on a canal with boat wake, at an outfall, at the toe of a seawall, and on a large lake with wind-driven waves. People also ask for it because it looks natural.

Riprap gives you a stone edge at the water, not a lawn. It needs a slope between 2:1 and 4:1, two to four feet across for every foot down, and that slope comes out of the lawn. On a stormwater lake the permit sets the slope before the stone does.

We would not recommend it where you want lawn down to the water, where there is no way to get an excavator and a skid steer to the bank, or where the water is about six feet deep at the toe: without a toe the stone slides down, and a toe is hard to build under water.

We do not promise a number of years. With riprap the question is upkeep: stone moves downslope over time, and riprap is not maintenance-free. Inspect yearly, top up as needed. Look for stone that has slid down the slope and for fabric that shows. Weeds grow through the stone, and someone has to keep them down.

What we put in writing: a five-year workmanship warranty on what we build.

Three things. The stone slides: rounded stone, undersized stone and a slope that is too steep go first. The toe is not keyed in: without a trench at the toe, the stone at the bottom has nothing to sit in. The fabric is cut or exposed: where it shows through the stone, soil starts leaving.

What prevents them: angular, well-graded stone on a slope that is not too steep for it, the largest stones in a trench at the toe, and a bed of smaller stone under the big rock, with the fabric trenched in at the top and at the toe.

With good access, about 100 feet of riprap takes about two working days to build. Site conditions can change that. The schedule for your bank is in the proposal.

Which rules apply depends on where the bank is. We prepare and file the paperwork, and the proposal says which permit your bank needs and how long it should take. In the South Florida Water Management District, stormwater lakes are designed with side slopes no steeper than 4:1, so a 2:1 stone slope is not available on every lake. The permit also sets the sediment controls.

Most jobs fall between $50,000 and $500,000. The realistic minimum is about $10,000. Four things move the price: equipment access, permits, the depth and condition of the lake bottom, and the length of shoreline. The online estimate gives you a range, not a quote, within 24 hours.

No. Photos help us prepare, but the site visit decides the method. We do not recommend a method from a photo or from a calculator. The site visit for one lake is free, and we come within 7 days (usually sooner).

ShoreWorks LLC, Florida Certified General Contractor CGC1513865. We work in 21 counties of South and Central Florida, and we give a five-year workmanship warranty in writing.