Barndominium Builders in Myrtle Beach, SC

Barndominium builders serving Myrtle Beach mostly build west of it. The city sits in the middle of the roughly 60-mile Grand Strand, covers about 23.7 square miles at an elevation of 26 feet, and has filled in quickly: 27,109 residents in 2010, 35,682 in 2020, and an estimated 40,937 in 2025. Acreage for a house with a real shop is found on the mainland side of the Intracoastal Waterway, in unincorporated Horry County toward Conway, Aynor and Loris.

The waterway itself explains a lot. Since 1936 it has separated the city from the rest of the continent, which pushed development close to the coast. The wider Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro reached an estimated 479,426 people in 2024 after adding more than 104,000 in eight years. That growth is why rural land inland keeps getting more attention from people who want room for boats, RVs and work trucks.

Horry County Wants Engineering

Horry County is not a place to bring a generic kit drawing. The county's residential permit brochure says a new single-family home requires engineering design under the 2021 International Residential Code with original seals, and copies of plans are not acceptable. A submittal includes:

• Completed application
• Sealed engineering, floor plans and elevations
• A wind design summary sheet
• Two site plans
• A proposed energy sheet

Roof framing, whether trusses or stick-built, must show load and uplift locations on the plans for every foundation type. Plans with a fixed staircase need a floor plan showing the upper-level square footage, which matters for barndos with a loft over the shop. Second-story decks and open decks more than 6 feet above grade must be engineered too. The county asks for 7 to 10 working days for plan review, and building without a permit doubles the fees.

That is why we plan the steel or post-frame package and the engineering together. The wind sheet, uplift anchorage and big shop doors all have to line up before review.

Flood Zones on the Coast

If the structure is in a flood plain, Horry County requires a pre-construction elevation certificate, and flood plain review can take longer than a standard review. In VE zones, owners are told to contact the county's flood plain manager for specific requirements or limitations. On coastal lots that often decides the foundation type and floor height before anything else.

Hurricanes Are Part of the Plan

Hurricane Hazel in 1954 is the worst storm in the city's history, and Hurricane Hugo in 1989 was the last to do major damage here. More recent storms hit Horry County from the rivers rather than the ocean. In 2018 Hurricane Florence brought two EF0 tornadoes to the county, and backwater from the Waccamaw put up to 8 feet of water into homes in the Horry County community of Socastee. A barndominium here is designed for wind uplift at the roof and for water at the slab.

Septic or Sewer

After plans are approved for permitting, Horry County requires either a sewer receipt from the sewer company or a final septic approval from DHEC (or a completed existing-septic form). Inland lots without sewer go through the state septic process first; SCDES says counties cannot issue a building permit on unsewered land without it.

Climate

The main Myrtle Beach station averages 53.56 inches of precipitation a year (1991 to 2020). Records run from 104 degrees F, reached in 1952 and 1954, down to 9 degrees F in February 1958. Heat, humidity and salt air make insulation, ventilation and exterior finishes worth getting right.

Also Worth Knowing

Horry County applications are considered abandoned 180 days after filing unless a permit is issued or the work is pursued in good faith, with possible 90-day extensions. Keep the septic evaluation, engineering and site plans moving together.

Looking at land west of the Waterway? Call (803) 784-7083 or

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