Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties · Florida
Flood barriers in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
Rubicon Flood Control measures and installs removable aluminum flood barriers for garage, door, slider and lanai openings in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg, Florida. St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay shoreline took heavy storm surge from Hurricane Helene in 2024. Rubicon serves the area for measured garage, door and slider barriers.
What Rubicon does in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
- Visits your home in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg to measure each opening (about 93 miles from our Cape Coral base).
- Checks thresholds, slider tracks and the stucco, block or wood the posts mount to.
- Fabricates and installs Rubicon Flood Panels sized to each opening, then shows you how to deploy them.
Openings we protect in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
Helene set records at the St. Petersburg and Clearwater gauges
The National Hurricane Center reports 5 to 7 feet of water above ground around Tampa Bay and along the Pinellas coast during Hurricane Helene (2024). The St. Petersburg tide gauge reached 6.31 feet above the normal high-tide line, a station record (the previous record was 3.97 feet in Elena, 1985), and the Clearwater gauge reached a record 6.67 feet.
- Helene: 5 to 7 ft above ground around Tampa Bay
- St. Petersburg gauge: 6.31 ft above high tide (record)
- Clearwater gauge: 6.67 ft above high tide (record); Madeira Beach sensor 7.26 ft
Source: NHC Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Helene
The BarrierX® system Rubicon installs in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
Rubicon installs the BarrierX® removable aluminum plank system, sold as Rubicon Flood Panels. Side posts are anchored beside each opening once, and the planks drop into them when a storm is forecast. Height is chosen per opening in 8-inch steps.
- Heights from 25 in (3 planks) to 73 in (9 planks)
- 6063-T6 aluminum. Independent tensile test of a production plank: 31.0 ksi yield against the 25.0 ksi ASTM B221 T6 minimum; the post sample tested at 28.7 ksi
- Closed-cell EPDM seals at the floor and between planks; stainless steel sleeve anchors into masonry, bedded in silicone
- Planks weigh 2.15 lb per linear foot, so a 10-ft plank is about 21.5 lb and one person can carry it
- Material testing covers sampled production product. It is not a system certification, and every quote still needs on-site measurement
Source: BarrierX® specification and tensile test results
Full specifications and components: how the system fits together.
Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg homes: what we measure
Pinellas and Tampa Bay homes range from older ground-level houses near the bays and beaches to newer homes with wide garages and slider walls. Rubicon measures each garage, door and slider and checks the threshold and the wall behind each post before recommending a height.
Getting Rubicon out to Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
Rubicon replies within an hour during business hours and can schedule an emergency appointment within 24 hours. Every system is measured on site first, then quoted per opening. Rubicon is based at 3729 Chiquita Blvd S, Cape Coral, FL 33914 and serves St. Petersburg, Clearwater, the Pinellas beaches and Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg is about 93 miles from the Cape Coral base. Call (239) 330-8888.
- On-site measurement before any quote
- Install, labeled storage and a deployment walkthrough
- Quoted per opening, not from a web price list
What Rubicon customers say
Rubicon Flood Control is rated 5.0 on Google from 8 reviews (as of October 2026). Excerpts from Rubicon's Google reviews across Southwest Florida, checked October 2026; they are not necessarily from this city.
EXCELLENT service and employees from beginning to end. Product and installation looks great. 10 out of 10.
Very responsive, informative, and professional throughout the entire process.
Super easy process from start to finish. You can tell they know what they're doing.
Every review, with its date and any owner reply: Rubicon Flood Control on Google.
Official local flood information
Pinellas County publishes floodplain information and says to get required permits before home improvement work. The City of St. Petersburg has its own flooding page.
Source: Pinellas County, Floodplain protection
What a flood barrier can and cannot do
A barrier closes a measured opening, a garage, door or slider, up to its rated height. It does not stop water coming up through floor drains, through walls or over the top, and it does not replace evacuation orders or elevation requirements in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg. In Helene, surge on parts of the Pinellas beaches was higher than many openings can be closed. A barrier is one layer of protection, not a substitute for evacuating.
More on where water gets past a barrier: do flood barriers leak?
Flood barriers in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg: common questions
Does Rubicon install flood barriers in St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay?
Yes. Rubicon Flood Control measures and installs BarrierX® removable aluminum flood barriers in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, the Pinellas beaches and around Tampa Bay. Call (239) 330-8888 or book an on-site assessment online.
How much do flood barriers cost in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg?
Installed planning ranges as of May 2026 run about $2,200 to $4,800 for a front door, $2,800 to $6,500 for a single-car garage and $4,500 to $12,000 for a two-car or wide garage opening. There is no fixed web price, because cost depends on each opening's width, the height you need (25 to 73 inches), the threshold and mounting surface, and how many openings are protected. Rubicon measures on site in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg and then sends a written quote. The flood barrier cost guide explains the drivers.
What height flood barrier do I need in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg?
BarrierX® stacks in 8-inch steps from 25 to 73 inches. The right height for an opening in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg comes from the ground elevation at that opening, where water has reached before and the flood zone the property sits in, which Rubicon reviews with you during measurement. Your county floodplain office can tell you the base flood elevation for the parcel.
How fast can Rubicon get to Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg?
Rubicon replies within an hour during business hours and can schedule an emergency appointment within 24 hours. Measurement visits in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg are booked online or by calling (239) 330-8888. Every system is measured on site first and quoted per opening.
Will flood barriers lower flood insurance on a Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg home?
Not automatically. NFIP premiums for homes are driven mainly by elevation and building characteristics, and some private carriers consider documented mitigation while others do not. Ask your carrier before you buy, and keep Rubicon's measurement and installation paperwork in case they want it.
Book a measurement visit in Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
Book a free on-site assessment. Rubicon measures every opening and gives you a written quote after the visit.