The Short Answer
A new or replacement bulkhead costs about $330 to $830 per linear foot installed, based on Jordan Marine Construction estimates issued in 2026. Simple residential walls with open access came in around $330–$360 per foot. Walls with difficult access or added scope, such as running under an existing boathouse or cutting in a new boat slip, landed between about $630 and $830 per foot.
Most bulkhead cost guides quote national averages. The numbers on this page are ours: real estimates Jordan Marine Construction issued to homeowners around Lake Conroe between April and July 2026, with the per-foot price calculated straight from the quoted total. Names and addresses are left out; scope and price are exactly as quoted.
Use them as a realistic starting range for Greater Houston, Lake Conroe, and Lake Livingston, then get a number for your own shoreline. Every wall we price starts with a free site visit, because access, bank height, and the condition of the old wall move the price more than anything else.
Get Your Free EstimateWhat Our Recent Bulkhead Projects Cost
Four residential bulkhead estimates from 2026, all on the Lake Conroe side of Greater Houston. Per-foot figures are the quoted total divided by linear feet, rounded.
| Project | Length | Scope | Quoted price | Per linear foot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulkhead replacement, Montgomery | ±67 ft | Remove the existing bulkhead and install a new wall | $22,000 | ≈ $328 |
| New wood bulkhead | 70 ft | New wood wall with backfill and new grass; walkway to the pier raised to meet it | $25,000 | ≈ $357 |
| Replacement + new boat slip, Willis | ±82 ft | Replace 45 ft of wall, add 32 ft of new wall for a boat slip plus a 5 ft wing wall. Slip excavation (~400 cu yd) quoted separately at $20,000 | $52,000 | ≈ $634 |
| Wood bulkhead with tie-backs, Montgomery | 86 ft | New wall and tie-backs driven in front of the old one; 31 ft runs under an existing boathouse; old 8×10 dock demolished | $61,000 | ≈ $709 |
Source: Jordan Marine Construction estimates, April–July 2026. Larger engineered walls with full demolition and imported backfill have run up to about $830 per foot. Figures are for reference; your wall is priced after a free site visit.
Why Two Wood Bulkheads Came In at $357 and $709 per Foot
Look at the two wood walls in the table. Same material, same part of Texas, and one cost roughly twice as much per foot as the other. The difference was the site, not the wood.
The 70-foot wall had an open bank and a straight run. The 86-foot wall was driven in front of an existing bulkhead with new tie-backs, 31 feet of it ran underneath a boathouse where the crew and equipment work with limited overhead clearance, and an old dock had to be demolished first. Each of those adds labor, time, and equipment setup that a clear bank doesn't need.
That pattern holds across our work: access and scope move the per-foot price more than the choice between timber and vinyl. When you compare bids, compare them on the same scope, not just the same material.
What Drives Bulkhead Cost per Foot
| Factor | Keeps cost down | Pushes cost up |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Open bank; equipment reaches from land or barge | Work under boathouses or docks, tight lots, limited barge access |
| The old wall | New wall driven in front of the old one, where approved | Full demolition and excavation of the bank |
| Wall height and embedment | Low bank, shallow retained height | Tall retained height needing deeper embedment and heavier sections |
| Material | Treated timber or vinyl on a protected bank | Steel sheet piling for tall walls or high wave energy |
| Added scope | Straight run, wall only | Boat slip cuts, wing walls, excavation, walkway or dock work |
| Backfill and restoration | Minor regrading | Imported fill, new sod, landscape and irrigation repair |
| Engineering and permits | Standard residential wall | Engineered drawings; coastal USACE and Texas GLO permitting |
Build-in-front deserves a closer look. Where the controlling authority approves the new wall line, driving the new wall directly in front of the failing one avoids tearing out the bank, lawn, and landscaping behind it. It costs a few inches of waterfront and is usually the less expensive path. We check whether it's possible at every site visit. See bulkhead replacement for how it works.
Bulkhead Cost by Material: Wood vs. Vinyl vs. Steel
| Material | Up-front cost | Best fit | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treated timber | Lowest of the three | Protected residential shorelines with moderate bank height | Weathers over time; hardware and whalers need attention over the decades |
| Vinyl sheet piling | Between timber and steel | Low-to-moderate retained heights; most residential lake walls | Strength suited to residential heights, not the tallest walls |
| Steel sheet piling | Highest per foot | Tall walls, high-energy shorelines, commercial and HOA walls | More wall than a low, protected bank needs |
Vinyl can't rust or rot and isn't eaten by marine borers, which is why most new residential bulkheads on Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston are vinyl. For reference, a full vinyl remove-and-replace we quoted on a single Montgomery waterfront lot in 2026 came to $77,000.
Timber has to carry the right treatment for the water it sits in: 2.5 CCA for saltwater and .60 CCA for freshwater. A cheaper bid that uses the wrong treatment isn't a cheaper wall.
How Much Does Bulkhead Repair Cost?
Repair pricing depends on what failed, so no honest contractor quotes it per foot sight unseen. Sealing washouts, replacing caps and whalers, and restoring tie-backs each cost a fraction of replacing the wall. Finding the cause comes first, because a repair aimed at the wrong problem fails again.
| What you see | Likely cause | Typical fix | Cost vs. replacement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinkholes or low spots behind the wall | Soil washing out through gaps or failed filter fabric | Seal the gaps, restore fabric, refill voids | A fraction |
| Wall leaning toward the water | Failed, corroded, or undersized tie-backs | Restore tie-backs and anchors | Moderate |
| Soft or split cap and whalers | Weathered timber members | Replace cap and whalers | A fraction |
| Widespread rot, split sheets, badly rotated wall | End of service life | Replacement, often driven in front of the old wall | Full replacement pricing |
Use the replacement numbers above as a ceiling. If a repair quote for a section of wall is approaching $330 per foot or more, ask for a replacement quote too. A new wall resets the service life; a patched one doesn't. See bulkhead repair for how we diagnose failing walls.
Seawall vs. Bulkhead: Is There a Price Difference?
Around Houston the two words are used interchangeably for the wall at the water's edge. Strictly, a bulkhead's main job is holding soil in place, while a seawall is built primarily to take wave energy on open water. Most lake walls are bulkheads; walls facing open bay water work more like seawalls.
The price difference comes from exposure, not the name. Walls on Galveston Bay, Clear Lake, and the coast face saltwater, bigger waves, and storm surge, so they are engineered heavier, use timber treated to 2.5 CCA, and are permitted through the USACE Galveston District and the Texas GLO. Expect coastal walls to price toward the upper end of the range above. All four walls in our table are freshwater walls in the Lake Conroe area. See seawall repair and seawall construction.
What's in a Jordan Marine Bulkhead Estimate
Our estimates are itemized. Demolition or build-in-front, sheeting material and footage, anchoring, backfill, and restoration are separate lines, and where your site allows a choice, vinyl, timber, and steel are priced side by side. That makes bids comparable line by line.
Questions to ask any bulkhead contractor
- How many linear feet, and is the price per foot or a lump sum?
- Is the old wall removed, or is the new one driven in front of it?
- What tie-back and anchor system is included?
- Are backfill, new grass, and landscape repair included?
- What treatment is the timber rated for: 2.5 CCA for saltwater or .60 CCA for freshwater?
- Who handles permits: SJRA on Lake Conroe, the City of Houston on Lake Houston, or USACE and the Texas GLO on the coast?
- Do they drive their own piles, or subcontract it?
Where We Build
We price and build across Greater Houston, Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston, and the Texas Gulf Coast. A few of the areas we serve:
Don't see your area? View all service areas.
Bulkhead Cost FAQs
How much does a bulkhead cost per foot in Texas?
Based on Jordan Marine Construction's 2026 estimates in the Lake Conroe area, a new or replacement bulkhead costs about $330 to $830 per linear foot installed. Simple walls with open access ran about $330 to $360 per foot; walls with difficult access or added scope, such as work under a boathouse or a new boat slip, ran about $630 to $830 per foot.
How much does it cost to replace a bulkhead?
Recent examples: a 67-foot bulkhead replacement in Montgomery, Texas was quoted at $22,000 (about $328 per foot), and an 86-foot wood bulkhead with new tie-backs, partly under a boathouse, was $61,000 (about $709 per foot). Driving the new wall in front of the old one, where allowed, is usually the less expensive way to replace.
How much does bulkhead repair cost?
It depends on what failed. Sealing washouts, replacing caps and whalers, and restoring tie-backs each cost a fraction of replacement, which runs about $330 to $830 per foot on our recent projects. If a repair quote approaches replacement pricing, get a replacement quote to compare. We diagnose the cause before quoting, and estimates are free.
Is a wood bulkhead cheaper than vinyl?
Treated timber usually has the lowest up-front cost, vinyl sits between timber and steel, and steel costs the most per foot. On our projects, site conditions moved the price more than material did: two wood walls came in at about $357 and $709 per foot because of differences in access and scope.
Is a seawall more expensive than a bulkhead?
Around Houston the terms are used interchangeably. The price difference comes from exposure: walls on Galveston Bay and the coast face saltwater, larger waves, and USACE and Texas GLO permitting, so they are engineered heavier and tend to price toward the high end of the range.
Do I need a permit to build or replace a bulkhead?
Most bulkhead work needs approval from the authority that controls the water: the San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) on Lake Conroe, the City of Houston on Lake Houston, and the USACE Galveston District and Texas General Land Office on Galveston Bay and the coast. Jordan Marine Construction coordinates permitting for the projects it builds.
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