Listen "Seawall Survival & Foundation Fixes in Tampa Bay | FEMA 50% Rule, Costs, & Real Fixes"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome home—this is Tampa Home Talk with host Katrina Madewell. Today’s deep-dive is for every Florida waterfront and coastal homeowner worried about cracking caps, sinking pavers, or a seawall that’s starting to lean. Our guest is Ken Bronlick of Groundworks—a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and patent holder for an innovative seawall stabilization system that restores the backfill zone with single-component polyurethane resin, adds dewatering channels, and uses jet filters to balance hydrostatic pressure without washing out soil. We also hit the FEMA 50% rule, foundation settlement, helical tiebacks, corrosion inhibitors approved in U.S. Army Corps guide specs, realistic cost ranges, and the early warning signs your seawall is in trouble. What you’ll learn Why traditional “pump it full of concrete” often makes failures worse How resin injections + jet filters re-establish shear strength and relieve pressure The simple homeowner checks: barnacles on weep holes, soil piles at joints, cap cracks that line up with panels, yellowing sod/depressions, sinking pavers When repair buys time vs. when replacement is unavoidable Realistic costs: repair vs. full replacement—and how fast emergency shoring can happen Foundation fixes beyond seawalls: helical/piers, carbon fiber wraps, corrosion inhibitors FEMA 50% basics for flooded homes (what’s realistic and who actually raises structures) Need help or an intro? Call or text our studio concierge: 813-377-2775. We’ll connect you with Ken/Groundworks. Chapters Welcome & why seawalls are failing faster today Groundworks overview & engineering bench The problem with heavy slurry & why resin works Jet filters & dewatering channels (plain-English) What seawalls should last vs. what we see now Early warning signs homeowners miss Post-storm failures: what those big holes really mean Cost ranges: repair vs. replacement (+ emergency triage) Helical tiebacks, anchors & when we say “replace” Concrete corrosion inhibitors (Army Corps spec) FEMA 50% rule realities in Tampa Bay Foundation settlement & “Swiss cheese” soils How to get help + wrap