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Belgard Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
A full Belgard home addition or ADU in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $45,000 to $130,000 when built as a permitted, code-compliant structure with matching Belgard hardscape and exterior finishes. We stock Belgard-compatible block, pavers, and retaining wall units, and we install complete additions and detached ADUs from slab to roof. Most owners call us after they notice the existing Belgard product failing around the perimeter; a retaining wall leaning out, pavers sinking near a downspout, or a patio slab cracking at the control joint. That’s usually the first sign the original build didn’t account for Fort Lauderdale’s water table and sandy sub-base, and it’s exactly the kind of problem that turns a simple repair into a full addition conversation.
If you’re reading this because you already own a Belgard installation and a section has shifted, cracked, or started pulling away from the house, we can tell you whether it’s a $400 repair or a $60,000 rebuild after one site visit. Call (754) 354-7423 and we’ll put a written price in your hands before any work starts.
Which Belgard Models This Applies To
Belgard doesn’t make “home addition kits” in the way people sometimes assume. What Belgard makes is a system: Dublin Cobble, Mega-Lafitt, Catalina, Urbana, and the BelAir wall series, plus their permeable paver lines designed specifically for coastal drainage requirements. The compatibility question for a Fort Lauderdale addition or ADU isn’t “which model is this” in the way it is for a water heater. It’s whether the pavers, wall block, and coping you’re matching were made in the same manufacturing batch window, because color drift between Belgard runs is real and visible by year three.
For walls, you want the outside dimension of the block measured, not just the face. A BelAir 6″ face block and a Dublin 6° setback block aren’t interchangeable even though they look close on a pallet. We document label codes and batch numbers on any matched addition, and when we can’t get an exact match, we tell you before you spend a dollar, not after the pallets arrive. We’re an independent installer, not a Belgard dealer or affiliate, so we’re free to recommend the replacement that actually matches rather than the pallet someone’s trying to clear.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Belgard Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Pavers sinking at the edge of the new slab. This almost always means the sub-base wasn’t compacted past the slab line, and Fort Lauderdale’s sandy soil settles within two rainy seasons. We saw it on a Victoria Park addition last year where the original pour stopped at the property corner and the pavers went in on loose fill.
- Retaining wall leaning or bowing outward. Water pressure behind a wall that wasn’t built with drainage aggregate or a proper weep system will push even a quality Belgard block wall. If the wall is over three feet, it should’ve had engineering. Most didn’t.
- Cracks at the transition where pavers meet slab. The two materials move differently in Florida heat. Without an expansion joint at that seam, the slab wins and the pavers crack first.
- Matching block that’s already a different color than the rest. That means the add-on used a different batch, and the mismatch only gets more obvious as UV fades everything at different rates.
- Standing water against the addition’s foundation edge. Belgard’s permeable lines solve this if installed correctly, but if the perimeter wasn’t graded away from the structure, every afternoon thunderstorm is working against your slab.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a full Belgard addition or ADU build in Fort Lauderdale, plan on $45,000 to $130,000 depending on square footage, utilities, and whether the structure needs pile driving or engineered fill. A detached ADU with kitchen and bath runs higher, typically $90,000 to $220,000, because it’s a standalone permit with its own electric and plumbing rough-in.
| Scope | Fort Lauderdale Price Range |
|---|---|
| Full home addition with Belgard exterior/hardscape | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| Detached ADU (permitted, with kitchen/bath) | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Garage conversion to living space | $30,000 – $80,000 |
| Belgard paver patio or walkway repair | $3,500 – $11,000 |
| Retaining wall rebuild | Quoted on site after inspection |
Every quote includes the written line-item breakdown, the permit coordination, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the work isn’t done right, we make it right, in writing, on every project. No change orders unless you approve them first. The price on the quote is the price you pay.
DIY or Call Us?
If a single paver has popped loose or you want to re-sand a joint, that’s a Saturday job you can handle. But if the wall is leaning, the slab is sinking, or you’re matching Belgard product on an addition that requires a permit, this is not a DIY project. A failed retaining wall over four feet can collapse without warning, and an unpermitted addition in Fort Lauderdale gets flagged on resale, sometimes costing more to unwind than the original build. We’ve fixed enough brick-and-mortar shortcuts near Las Olas to know what those surprises cost.
We pull permits, coordinate inspections, and schedule the crew so you’re not stuck in a six-month limbo. Call (754) 354-7423 and we’ll send someone out to tell you what’s actually wrong and what it’ll take to fix it. The estimate is free.
FAQs
A properly built Belgard system lasts 25 to 40 years, but the original sub-base and drainage matter more than the block itself. Most early failures we see in Fort Lauderdale happen in years two through five, and it’s always water-related. Call (754) 354-7423 if you’re seeing movement, and we’ll tell you if it’s a repair or rebuild.
Sometimes yes, if the block is sound and the problem is drainage or a small settled section. If the wall has rotated more than a few degrees or the block is cracking, rebuild is the only honest fix. We’d rather tell you that flat than patch it and send you a second bill.
Smaller Belgard hardscape repairs take one to three days. A full addition runs eight to sixteen weeks depending on permitting and weather. A detached ADU usually lands between three and five months. We give you a schedule before we start, and we tell you if it slips, in real time, not after the fact.
We stock common Dublin Cobble and BelAir wall units in Fort Lauderdale and order specialty colors and permeable lines per job. Matching existing product means checking batch and color before we place the order, and we always show you the sample against your current install before pallets arrive.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale at Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
