Residential general contractor in Columbia, SC.

On a house, "general contractor" describes a role. One company holds the contract, writes the scope, sets the schedule, pulls the permits, runs the trades and is responsible for the finished result. You make decisions. You do not referee carpenters, plumbers, electricians and tile setters who were each hired separately and each blame the trade before them.

That is how we run every job. Some trades are our own crews and some are subcontractors, depending on the trade. Either way, the work is supervised by us and warrantied by us, and you never chase a trade yourself.

The value of a general contractor is sequence. Rough-in has to be finished before insulation, inspections have to pass before walls are closed, and cabinet and tile lead times have to be ordered against the framing schedule. On a single room you can improvise. On an addition or a whole floor, one trade out of order costs weeks. Holding the whole sequence is the job.

Most of our year is spent rebuilding houses to an insurance-grade scope. Every line is itemized, every quantity is measured and every change is written down before it is built. When you hire us for a remodel, you get the same discipline applied to a project you chose. You can compare our estimate line by line against anyone else's, because it says what is included and what is not.

We also spend our week opening up Midlands houses built in the fifties, sixties and seventies. We know what tends to be behind the drywall before we price the job: old wiring, failed cast iron, rot at the band board and asbestos flooring under two later floors. We price that possibility honestly, and when we find something, you get photos, options and a written change order before anyone builds it.

And because we do restoration, a remodel that turns up an old leak or a storm-damaged section does not stall while you find a second company. Roofing and gutters go through our sister company, Beaver Roofing & Gutters, out of the same shop on Leaphart Road.

Which office permits your project depends on the parcel, not the mailing address. We confirm it before the schedule is set, pull the permit, and book every inspection.

• City of Columbia issues permits inside city limits. In a local historic district, visible exterior work also needs a Certificate of Design Approval before the permit. Staff handle most in-kind work, and larger changes go to the Design/Development Review Commission.
• Richland County covers addresses outside Columbia city limits on the Richland side, with its own process and timeline.
• Town of Lexington: the Department of Planning, Building & Technology on Maiden Lane issues building permits inside town limits.
• Town of Irmo: a zoning permit from Town Hall comes first, then building permits and inspections through CC&I Services, on either side of the county line.
• City of West Columbia issues residential building permits, with online permitting.
• Lexington County covers unincorporated addresses on the Lexington side.

Structural work such as additions, removed walls and second-story work is engineered and permitted, not improvised. Permit offices in the Midlands generally want stamped plans for anything structural.