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Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is the kind of beach town people picture when they think of old Florida. Low buildings, a fishing pier at the end of Commercial Boulevard, and the ocean on one side with the Intracoastal on the other. It is a great place to live. It is also about the hardest place in Broward County to be a piece of concrete.
Concrete repair in a beach town
Salt is in the air here every day. It settles on driveways, steps, walkways and garage floors, and each rain or sprinkler cycle carries a little of it down into the concrete. Once salt and moisture reach the steel bars inside, the steel rusts and swells, and the concrete on top cracks and breaks away. Homes in neighborhoods such as Silver Shores and Bel-Air, and the small buildings along El Mar Drive, all deal with it sooner or later.
What are the signs of salt damage in concrete?
* A surface that flakes or scales off in thin layers * Rust-colored stains with no metal object nearby * Cracks that run in straight lines over the steel * Edges and corners that crumble, especially at garage doors and steps * Chunks that have come loose with rusty steel behind them
If you see these, it is spalling. Our spalling concrete repair page explains how we remove the weak concrete, treat the steel and rebuild the area.
How do you protect concrete near the ocean?
You cannot keep salt away from a house two blocks from the beach, but you can slow it down a lot.
- Fix cracks while they are small so salt water has fewer ways in.
- Keep the surface sealed. A sealer cuts down how much water and salt the concrete absorbs.
- Rinse driveways, walks and steps with fresh water now and then.
- Make sure water drains off the slab and does not sit at thresholds.
For most homes here, concrete sealing on a regular schedule is the cheapest protection there is.
Services we do most in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Spalling repair leads the list. After that come concrete crack repair, resurfacing of worn driveways and walks, and step repair. Entry steps here get plenty of use and plenty of weather. See sidewalk, patio and step repair for how we rebuild edges and add grip.
Garages near the beach often have damp, dusty slabs. A garage floor coating seals the floor and makes it far easier to keep clean.
What about condos and larger buildings?
Balconies, parking decks and other structural parts of multi-story buildings are a different kind of work. They need an engineer and a restoration contractor, and they fall under the state’s building inspection rules. We repair concrete at houses, townhomes and small properties. If what you have is beyond that, we will say so.
Timing work in a beach town
Work in town takes a little extra planning. Streets are narrow, parking is limited, and the winter season brings more people and cars. We schedule deliveries and noisy work for reasonable hours, keep equipment on your property where possible, and plan around the weather coming off the ocean. Sea breezes dry fresh material fast, so we adjust how we work on windy days.
Getting an estimate in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Call or text photos of the damage. We reply within one business day. Because salt damage usually goes further than what shows on the surface, we look in person before we price a repair. Estimates are free and in writing.
