FAQ

You can have your home built while living out of state. Carolina Bays Homes is a Myrtle Beach homebuilder and we often have customers that live out of town throughout the entire construction process. With as little as 3 to 5 visits to town, the customers can get their entire home built with no other presence on site.

You can customize any of our floor plans. We can also build your provided building plan if you’ve already purchased or have them drawn. We can also help you design a plan from scratch by working with one of our partnering home designers.

You do not need to own land first to begin talking to us about building with Carolina Bays. We have a real estate wing that can help you to identify lots or land that would fit your needs size wise, geographically and style wise. In the price estimating process we will take the potential lot and community requirements into account for the proposal.

HOA (homeowner’s associations) usually have specific rules for the way that landscaping, home exteriors, home sizes and home styles look. These types of communities also will review the building plans in advance and sometimes may require modifications for acceptance to begin construction. For this reason, HOA communities may have a slower time frame to get their construction started (due to extra approvals required above and beyond regular permitting).

A custom home can typically take 6 to 18 months to build. This includes lot preparation, full home construction and landscape completion. Custom homes take longer than DR Horton style production builders because each lot is individual, plans are typically not repetitive and take longer to build and customized features require more planning and attention.

We take care to provide a full turn key estimate for your home construction. However, there are some items that may add to your original estimate including: HOA review board requested changes that are made after the contract is signed, upgrades chosen during the selections process or potentially builders risk insurance if not included as part of your project. Check your builder to see if this type of insurance is covered.

The foundation chosen for along the coast will factor several things. In non-flood zones some customers prefer a monolithic foundation due to the structural nature of a single pour, less steps required to get in the house and the lower maintenance (compared to a crawl space). If height above grade is needed for a flood zone, you will send crawl spaces, raised stem wall block slabs or piling/pier foundations. In high wave action areas (such as along the ocean front) pilings driven deep into the Earth are required for structure and height.

Upgrades to your home will fall into two categories: Items that are important to you and your family specifically and items that will be great for resale. The best upgrades are ones that fit both categories. The top areas to spend money on tend to be the kitchen, master bathroom and outdoor living. Some upgrades will not ultimately return the dollar amount that was spent on them. This includes items such as swimming pools or high dollar premium selections. However, certain types of upgrades may allow maximum return on investment such as universal design features (due to a larger pool of candidates that would have interest) or landscaping features.

Warranties include the following: workmanship, products and structural items. Workmanship is related to the labor performed on your house. Product warranties are specific to the product installed and are related to the product failure – not improper installation. Product warranties are everything from windows, to appliances to flooring. Structural items typically have a longer type frame and are for items such as significant foundation issues, sagging roof systems or cracking from insufficient beams.

Flood zones at the beach are certainly something to be aware of since they can affect your cost of living due to extra insurance requirements. Also, flood waters can be a jeopardy for your family in the event of major storms. However, a large part of the Myrtle Beach area is not in a flood zone. Further, many modern communities are designed to account for flooding plans with proper drainage programs and elevated grading. Contact Carolina Bays or one of our Realtors for more information on flood zones in your preferred destination.

You can buy remotely through remote signing, video tours of a house/community and proper inspections and guidance through professional service. We do, however, recommend coming to town prior to buying a property to do your own walk-through to get a better idea of things that do not show up as well through pictures such as: lighting details, scents specific to a property, proximity to other relevant structures and services, etc.

The best areas to live in the Myrtle Beach area are specific to a person’s interest. If you like a quiet area, Pawleys Island is on the southern portion of the beach and offers golf, quaint shopping areas and trails. Murrells Inlet is north of Pawleys Island and has many popular housing communities, boating and the popular Marsh Walk restaurants. Myrtle Beach is the original popular tourist destination due to its family friendly things to do and shopping. However, the Myrtle Beach area is not just for tourists, there are many great communities throughout including the Carolina Forest and Market Common areas. If you want more affordable housing options while still being close to the beach areas, Little River and Longs are great options. Conway is west of Myrtle Beach, a perfect historic town with charming features and home to one of the best schools in the county, Coastal Carolina University. For those longing for more land without breaking the bank, some of the outer skirts communities such as Loris and Aynor. Myrtle Beach and its surrounding areas have something for everyone.

Inspections are important in both resale purchases and in new construction. For resales, a home inspector is recommended to do a full analysis of everything from mechanicals, to electric, to siding, to foundation and roof issues. There are also termite inspections which are very important in areas such as Myrtle Beach. For homes under construction, many inspectors offer foundation inspections, pre-drywall (rough-in) inspections and final home completion inspections. These inspections go beyond the building department’s code related inspections and may bring a peace of mind to the buyer.

The Grand Strand is currently the number one destination in the country to move to. Demand to live in the area is very high. Due to this, while house prices are still better than many larger northern cities, the prices are higher than some other less popular southern locations. Property taxes are extremely good compared to many of the northern states. It is important to research job opportunities before moving to the area if you intend to work while in Myrtle Beach. Further, the Grand Strand has two of the most popular and high scoring schools in the country with Coastal Carolina University and Horry Georgetown Technical College. Myrtle Beach is still one of the biggest golf destinations in the country and also has Restaurant Row which is one of the highest density sections of restaurant destinations in the country sporting many different types of cuisines.

You can remain in your home for most remodeling projects. We do ask customers to be aware that there can be some inconveniences during even the best planned projects. Electricity or other utilities may be temporarily disconnected, noise from tools, traffic through your home and other regular workman activities of this nature can be stressful to some people. In those cases, some people choose to be away during construction. However, from our experience, over 90% of people stay home during their remodel project.

Most remodeling projects require a permit including any structural, electrical or plumbing changes. There are some exceptions for smaller items. Check with your local building department to see what is required for your project.

Your remodel can typically take anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months depending on the scope of the job. Carolina Bays will usually specify a time frame on our contracts for expected time frames for projects. A typical room addition is 30 to 45 business days. A typical kitchen is 20 to 30 business days. This allows time for quality work, proper inspections with your building department and gives a buffer time for any weather delays or other needed quality control.

If hidden damage is hidden during your project (such as rotted wood, termites, bad wiring, etc) this could not have been observed during the bidding process. Our standard procedure is to: show the item to the customer, explain the issue, provide an estimate to repair the damage or recommend a qualified professional (for specialty trade work) and then complete the work. We do not repair hidden damages without prior customer approval. In some cases, it may be advisable to get your insurance company involved for higher cost level repairs. We will work with you through the insurance process if appropriate.

Remodeling can certainly increase your home value as long as the project is well planned. We do recommend doing projects that will not dramatically overvalue your home for your neighborhood if your chief concern is home valuation. Also, some projects have a higher return on investment than others.

Carolina Bays has upper tier licensing and focuses on larger remodeling projects such as full kitchen remodels, full bathroom remodels, room additions, full roof replacements and full siding replacement. For smaller projects, such as shelving, repairs and small renovation work we recommend handyman level contractors.

A roof repair may be a good idea when the roof shingles are not significantly aged and damages to the roof are minimal and consolidated to a few small areas. When shingles are older or damages are sprinkled throughout the roof, a full replacement is better due to the proper water proofing and for the better investment since an older roof will not last long even with repairs.

Siding needs to be replaced when chipping, warping or becoming dislodged due to structural deficiencies. In the event of termite intrusion with wood siding it may require replacement. For older vinyl siding that is showing severe fading or damages, a full replacement may be appropriate.

A shingle roof will typically last 18 to 23 years. However it can be longer or shorter due to specific conditions on site such as shading or storms. A metal roof will typically last longer with warranties in the 30 to 40 year ranges. Tile roofs will have a long age span as well.

A Safe Home roof in South Carolina is a roof designed to higher wind resistance standards per the SC Department of Insurance. With pre-approval through the program a homeowner can be given a grant to help offset the cost of these hurricane fortification improvements. To do a Safe Home you need: grant pre-approval, to use a Safe Home contractor such as Carolina Bays Homes and to meet the prescriptive nature of the program for the roof such as roof deck reinforcements, secondary water protection, roof to wall connections, high wind resistance shingles and gable reinforcement. The program is only available for certain home types such as single family residences and standard construction types. Contact Carolina Bays for more info on getting approved.

New roof warranties are called “Limited Lifetime” as a standard, but this ultimately means the protection period is limited to 25 or 30 years and is prorated over that timeframe based on age. Carolina Bays is a Shingle Master for Certainteed Roofing products and offers a 50 year NON-prorated warranty when using Certainteed products. Additionally this warranty includes high wind protection and full material and labor replacement in the event of a product failure.

Near the ocean, it is advised to not use wood siding products due to the high humidity and salt water. A better alternative are high quality vinyl siding products or fiber cement siding such as James Hardie siding. If close to the ocean, stainless steel fasteners make an appropriate selection for installation.

If engineered properly, sunroom additions are designed to hold up to the same wind speed as the rest of your house. In the case of homes built in coastal regions, that means the sunroom structures should be built to resist hurricane force winds. The specific windows chosen for sunroom play a role in the resistance. For example, not all windows in porch enclosures are necessarily hurricane rated. Check with your local building department on what local requirements are needed for your sunroom.

While not all sunrooms are usable at “habitable areas”, it is possible to have a sunroom that meets standards of a living room, office or even a bedroom. To use a sunroom in this manner, the windows must meet code standards including DP rating required for living areas, energy code rating and egress openings (for bedrooms). Other code requirements will include items ranging from smoke detectors to storm protection for windows to minimum headroom (amongst other items). *It is possible in most municipalities, including those around Myrtle Beach to build sunrooms that are only intended to be non-habitable porch enclosures and do not require all of the items listed above.

Your existing screen porch can usually be converted to a sunroom as long as the original structure is built to current building code requirements and the existing porch does not have any rotting or other deficiencies. Some screened porches may require additional structure or partitions to fit a window system.

If doing a full sunroom addition with a roof and enclosure the install can take 3 to 6 weeks. Sunrooms that are just enclosing existing porches can be as quick as 2 days and as long as 4 weeks depending on features chosen.

There are different ranges of sunroom window prices. A 4 track enclosure such as Porch Conversions or Eze Breeze are the best cost points. Single pane glass windows can be about 50% more than the 4 track enclosure and a double pane window with energy efficiency rating and high wind rating can be twice as much as single pane windows.

Traditionally, a 3 season sunroom is not insulated and has no HVAC. The 4 seasons sunroom is built with insulated glass (often including Low E for keeping down solar heat gain) and insulation in the walls and ceiling. While a 3 seasons porch is going to get you through most of the year including the moderate portions of the hotter and colder months – certain times of year may be less enjoyable due to extreme heat or cold. Meanwhile a 4 seasons porch allows year round usability through a heating and cooling system. Usually a mini-split system performs well for a 4 seasons sunroom.

Your sunroom can get hot at certain times of the year due to solar heat gain. In particular room exposures where direct sunlight gets into the porch more easily and can heat up the room more quickly. In those cases, an insulated glass window with Low E will help tremendously. There are also higher rated Low E such as Low E 366 which block out significantly higher levels of solar heat. Other ways to keep your room cooler are with higher rated insulation in your ceiling area.