Residential Plan Overview

  • All residential plans including additions and attached garages shall be designed to the current edition of the International Residential Code.
  • Plans are to be drawn in a clear and concise manner to engineers scale. If you are unable to provide this you will have to have your plans drawn by a draftsman or engineer. There are no exceptions to this requirement.
  • Plan design will have to include seismic requirements for the given area as well as wind load.
  • Plans will be reviewed by the Building Inspection Department prior to submittal to determine if they meet the above criteria.

Williamsburg County Plan Submittal Guidelines

The following is a guideline for submittal of plans for review. This is only to be used as a guide. Actual location of property may require additional requirements.

  • 2 copies each of site plans and building plans are required. Site plans shall show location of proposed construction to all property lines giving dimensions from exterior wall of proposed construction to each property line.
  • 2 copies of the following:
    • Foundation detail page-designed for the seismic and wind load for the area that your property resides in.
    • Foundation requirements:
      • Depth and width of foundation
      • Rebar requirements
      • Bond beams and rebar requirements
      • Type of hold-down strapping and placement
      • Pier placement sizing, and foundation requirements

Stem Wall Construction

  • Height and width
  • Reinforcement (including vertical, horizontal, and embedment)
  • Hold-down requirements
  • Crawl space ventilation location
  • Bond beam requirements

Floor System

  • Type of materials: wood, concrete, or steel
  • Anchoring of floor system to the foundation for uplift, as well as lateral movement
  • Specific sizes, brands and fastening requirements of anchoring system
  • Spacing, spans and sizes of framing members
  • Size and type and location of beams, girders

Window Schedule

  • Window schedule denoting size and location

Floor Plan

  • Shows all rooms with dimensions
  • Egress doors and sizes
  • Window location

Elevations

  • Elevation drawings denoting north, south, west, and east elevations of home

Walls

  • If masonry or concrete, location of reinforcement, bond beams, and lintels
  • Type of material
  • Height of wall
  • Gable end wall detail depicting bracing
  • Wall sheathing and siding materials
  • Hold-down requirements, placement, length, type and brand
  • If two-story construction, type of floor-to-floor uplift connections

Roof/Ceiling

  • Type of material
  • Anchoring of roof system for wind uplift
  • Framing details to include size and spacing of:
    • Dimensional lumber
    • Engineered lumber
    • Valley, king, jack rafters
    • Collar ties
    • Ridge beam construction and bracing

Required Guidelines & Inspections

Required guidelines and inspections when performing residential construction work in Williamsburg County:

  • Homeowners obtaining their own permits for construction may utilize family members, not friends, to aid in the construction process. 
    • However, when entering into a contract with an individual, that person will have to be licensed for the full dollar amount of the contract. 
    • An individual licensed as a specialty contractor is only licensed to perform work up to $5,000 no more.
  • Entering into a contract with an unlicensed contractor is not a binding contract by definition of South Carolina Law.