Dock Builders & Dock Construction in Miami & South Florida.
New concrete, composite, and timber docks — engineered, permitted, and built by one licensed marine contractor
New dock construction, engineered before it is built
A dock is a structure that carries live load over open water on piles driven into soil you cannot see. Most dock failures in South Florida are not decking failures — they are pile capacity, connection, and corrosion failures that were decided the day the dock was designed. Souffront builds docks from engineered drawings, with a licensed structural engineer sizing the piles and connections for the loads the dock will actually carry.
We are a Florida-licensed general contractor with structural engineers on staff, so the design, the permit package, and the crew are one firm. If you have been searching for dock builders near me and getting quotes with no drawings behind them, that is the difference.
Docks we build
- Concrete docks — cast-in-place or precast decks on concrete piles; the longest service life in salt water and the standard for commercial and estate properties
- Composite docks — composite decking on engineered framing; low maintenance, no splintering, stable color in Florida sun
- Timber docks — pressure-treated framing and decking where budget or permitting favors it, detailed to resist the connections that usually fail first
- Floating docks and marina systems — floating platforms, gangways, and anchoring for tidal range and commercial marinas
- Mooring and fender piles, pile caps, and walkways — the load-carrying elements behind every dock type
What dock builders should check before quoting
A dock quote produced from a photo and a tape measure is a guess. Before we price new dock construction we look at water depth and tidal range, soil and expected pile capacity, the condition of the adjacent seawall, existing pile condition where any structure is being reused, the loads the owner actually intends — boat lift or davits, vessel size, dock furniture — and the permitting path. If a builder never asked about your seawall before quoting a dock, the two structures are going to fight each other.
Dock construction permits in South Florida
New dock construction generally requires a building permit plus environmental review — Miami-Dade DERM or the county environmental division in Broward and Palm Beach, and typically a Florida DEP Environmental Resource Permit for work waterward of the mean high water line. Submerged land leases, seagrass surveys, and Army Corps review apply on some sites. Because our engineers draw the structure in-house, our permit packages go in complete instead of cycling through comments for months.
Repair, replace, or build new
Not every dock needs replacing. If the piles are sound, dock repair — pile jackets, framing, and decking — is usually a fraction of replacement cost. When the piles themselves are spalled through, undersized for the intended load, or the layout no longer fits the vessel, new construction is the cheaper decision over ten years. We tell owners which one they are looking at, in writing, with the engineering behind it. Dock work is often best scheduled alongside seawall repair, since the two structures share access, mobilization, and permits.
Service area
Souffront Contractors Inc. builds docks throughout Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County — Miami, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Aventura, North Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and Boca Raton — as part of our marine construction practice. Call (877) 420-7220.
Service areas
We deliver this service across South Florida — from Key Largo north to Palm Beach.
- Palm Beach
- Boca Raton
- Pompano Beach
- Fort Lauderdale
- Hollywood
- Hallandale Beach
- Sunny Isles Beach
- Aventura
- North Miami Beach
- North Miami
- Golden Beach
- Bal Harbour
- Bay Harbor Islands
- Surfside
- Indian Creek Village
- North Bay Village
- Normandy Shores
- Miami Beach
- Miami
- Coconut Grove
- Coral Gables
- Key Biscayne
- Key Largo
Frequently asked questions
Dock construction is quoted per project. The cost drivers are dock size, water depth and pile length, pile material, decking material, access for a barge or crane, and the permitting path — not a flat per-square-foot rate. Concrete docks cost more up front and last longest in salt water; timber is the lowest first cost with the shortest service life. You receive a fixed price after the structural design is set.
Yes. New dock construction generally requires a building permit and environmental review — DERM in Miami-Dade, the county environmental division in Broward and Palm Beach, and typically a Florida DEP Environmental Resource Permit for work waterward of the mean high water line. Some sites also require a submerged land lease, a seagrass survey, or Army Corps review.
Concrete on concrete piles has the longest service life in salt water and is the standard for commercial docks and estate properties. Composite decking on engineered framing is the low-maintenance middle: no splintering, stable color, higher material cost. Pressure-treated timber is the lowest first cost and the shortest life, and its connections are usually what fail first. The right answer depends on exposure, budget horizon, and what the piles can carry.
Construction is typically a few weeks once the piles are driven. The schedule is usually set by permitting, not building — environmental review can run months depending on jurisdiction and scope. Complete, engineer-sealed permit packages are the single biggest factor in how fast a dock project moves.
Yes, and it usually costs less than doing them separately — the two structures share access, mobilization, and often the same permit review. It also prevents the common mistake of building a new dock against a seawall that is going to be rebuilt within a few years.
Yes. Lifts and davits are designed as part of the dock and seawall structure, not bolted on afterward. Our structural engineer verifies that the piles and the seawall can carry the lift load and the vessel weight before anything is installed.
Request an estimate.
Five fields. Same business day from a Florida-licensed engineer. Routed into our dispatch CRM in real time.
- Same business dayAcknowledgment from a Florida licensed engineer — Mon–Fri 8 AM–5:30 PM.
- Engineer-sealed reportAccepted by carriers, building departments, and real-estate transactions.
- Fixed-fee proposalNo hourly billing. Repair scope priced line-by-line.