Concrete for Carolina Forest — 23,000 people, fifty HOAs and a plat with every application
Carolina Forest grew from 3,400 people to 23,000 in twenty years on International Paper's old timberland. Its first driveways are twenty years old, its HOAs want a survey with the drawing, and its soils hide Carolina bays.
Carolina Forest is the Grand Strand's biggest suburb and its fastest-built: a 30,000-acre International Paper tract between US-501 and the Waterway that went from 3,400 people in 2000 to 21,000 in 2010 and 23,342 in 2020 under a county master plan, in communities like the Farm, Waterford Plantation, Plantation Lakes, Berkshire Forest, Walkers Woods, Covington Lake, Avalon, Clear Pond and the newer Forestbrook-side and International Drive neighborhoods. It's unincorporated Horry County, so the county's building rules apply — driveways and at-grade slabs are exempt from building permits, aprons in a county right-of-way need the free encroachment permit, and SCDOT owns 501 and the Carolina Forest Boulevard connections — but in practice the HOAs are the regulators. The Farm requires a surveyor's plat with every architectural application; most of the others want a drawing on a site plan and a finish that matches the street.
The ground is the other story. Carolina Forest is "spotted with Carolina Bays," the elliptical depressions with peat bottoms that Horry County has more of than any county in the state, and the developers graded around and over them. A slab poured on a filled bay edge settles; a slab poured on the sandy ridges between them doesn't. The first-generation builder driveways from the 1990s–2000s are now showing exactly that — settled sections, cracked aprons, lipped walks — and replacing them on a properly compacted base is most of our Carolina Forest work, with patios, pool decks, golf cart pads and shed and generator pads behind the newer homes making up the rest.
What we do in Carolina Forest
HOA applications
Site plan and, where required, a surveyor's plat; finishes matched to the community standard.
Builder-driveway replacement
1990s–2000s drives replaced on a compacted base, jointed properly, aprons to the county spec.
Bay-soil awareness
Filled Carolina bay edges compacted and tested before a slab goes on them.
Patios, pool decks, pads
The newer homes' back yards: patios, pool decks and resurfacing, shed and generator pads.
Golf cart pads
Pads and paths for the cart-friendly communities.
County and SCDOT aprons
Free encroachment permits on county streets; SCDOT on 501 and the boulevard connections.
Neighborhoods and areas we cover
- The Farm at Carolina Forest
- Waterford Plantation
- Plantation Lakes
- Berkshire Forest
- Walkers Woods
- Covington Lake
- Avalon
- Clear Pond
- Carolina Forest Boulevard
- International Drive
- River Oaks
- Waterbridge
Concrete services available in Carolina Forest
- Driveways, aprons, culverts & encroachment permits, walkways
- Patios, pool decks, resurfacing, stamped concrete
- Golf cart pads, shed, boat, RV & generator pads, foundations & additions
- Repair & leveling, removal
Questions from Carolina Forest homeowners
What does my HOA need to approve a driveway?
It varies: the Farm wants a surveyor's plat with every application; most others want a site plan with the new concrete drawn in, the finish, and sometimes a photo of a matching driveway. We prepare the package and it usually clears in two to four weeks.
Why did my driveway settle in a straight line across the middle?
That's usually the edge of a filled area — a bay edge or a utility trench — that was never compacted. The slab bridged it until the sand washed out. Foam lifting fixes the grade if the slab is sound; a new driveway on a compacted base fixes it for good.
Do I need a county permit for a patio?
No — unincorporated Horry County exempts at-grade slabs like driveways, sidewalks and patios from a building permit. A covered patio or a shed over 200 square feet does need one, and the HOA reviews everything.
Can carts be driven on Carolina Forest Boulevard?
The boulevard is posted above 35 mph in stretches, so carts stay to the neighborhood streets and paths. A pad by the drive and a path to the community's cart route is the usual package.
Nearby: Forestbrook · Conway · Red Hill · Grande Dunes · full service area