In Folly Beach, the 2021 IRC is in force and 73% of the 2,221 homes were built before 2000. We replace and repair roofs here and inspect after hail, starting with a free, photographed inspection.
Folly Beach runs to about 12.5 square miles and roughly 1,267 people. It sits about 8 miles south of downtown Charleston. The community dates back to 1973. We cover ZIP code 29439.
No completed roof in Folly Beach is logged in our job records yet.
Beach cottages grew out of early camps, and steady building from the 1940s on reached its peak in the 1960s.
Folly Beach covers most of Folly Island, a barrier island on the Atlantic; about a third of the city's area is water. Temporary beach camps turned into cottages, building peaked in the 1960s, and Hurricane Hugo damaged homes in 1989. The only road on and off the island is S.C. 171, which crosses the Folly River to James Island.
Housing from this stretch in Folly Beach sits on plywood or OSB decking and was largely first roofed with three-tab shingles. Most are on their second covering by now. The things worth checking are the penetrations rather than the field: pipe boots from this era are the single most common leak we trace, because the rubber collar splits long before the shingles wear out. Ridge venting was inconsistent through these years, and OSB that has been damp for a season goes soft in a way plywood does not — you find it with your feet, not from the ground.
By the Census Bureau's estimate there are 2,221 homes in Folly Beach, with a median year built of 1990. 60 of them (3%) went up before 1940 — 11th of 28 places on this site for pre-1940 share — and 610 (27%) in 2000 or later. The 1990s were the busiest decade, adding 518 of today's homes (23%). (Charleston County as a whole: 5% before 1940.)
About 20 years is the usual service life of an asphalt shingle roof, by the figure in HUD's Residential Rehabilitation Inspection Guide. That puts 1,611 homes in Folly Beach, the 73% built before 2000, past at least one full roof life; 616 of them (28%) predate 1970, old enough for two replacements already. The 470 homes from the 2000s are where first replacements come up now, while the 140 built since 2010 are mostly still on the roof they were built with. On houses that old, the question worth asking is how many layers are up there: a roof laid over an old one hides the deck.
Detached single-family houses make up 65% (1,436); attached houses and townhouses 6% (128). 293 homes (13%) sit in two- to nine-unit buildings and 364 (16%) in buildings of ten units or more, where a resident rarely gets to choose the roofer. 586 of 619 occupied homes (95%) are lived in by their owners. With houses like these, the jobs we expect most are first replacements on 2000s builder-grade shingles and flat and low-slope sections, which turn up more on attached and multi-unit buildings.
| Built | Homes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1940 | 60 | 3% | |
| 1940s | 227 | 10% | |
| 1950s | 185 | 8% | |
| 1960s | 144 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 50 | 2% | |
| 1980s | 427 | 19% | |
| 1990s | 518 | 23% | |
| 2000s | 470 | 21% | |
| 2010s | 86 | 4% | |
| 2020 or later | 54 | 2% |
Census ACS 2020–2024, tables B25034, B25035, B25024 and B25003: 2,221 homes, 619 occupied. Survey estimates.
NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center logged one report of hail 1 inch or larger within 5 miles of Folly Beach’s center from 2016 through 2025. The stone was 1 inch, on June 15, 2021, about 4.2 miles northeast of the center. Counts follow people as much as storms, since every report is a spotter’s or a resident’s.
If that storm crossed your street and nobody has been on the roof since, a storm inspection photographs what it did.
The city requires permits for all construction work, including remodeling and repairs, and its 2026 permit packet has a roofing permit. A roofing permit needs a signed application, a signed customer contract, roofing and underlayment specifications showing the material meets the city's wind requirements, and a business license application if the contractor has none for the current year. Permits must be pulled by a South Carolina-licensed contractor, or by an owner who lives in the home and does the work personally (the home cannot be rented).
Folly Beach enforces the 2021 IRC. The city posts the state notice that the 2021 South Carolina codes, including the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications, took effect January 1, 2023. Its building page also notes the South Carolina Building Codes Council adopted newer editions on August 26, 2025, with a local start date of January 1, 2027.
The published number is 843-588-2447. The Building & Permits page lists Eric Lutz as Director of Building, Public Works & Facilities. City forms carry a Building Official sign-off but name no one. The department page is here.
Design wind here is set by location, not one figure for the whole area: across greater Charleston the published ultimate design wind speeds run 133–150 mph, depending on where a house stands. The building department for Folly Beach can tell you which figure applies. What it does to a roof is in the roofing code guide.
Folly Beach borders James Island, Folly River and Atlantic Ocean. Our pages for them:
Also in Charleston County:
| City | Re-roof permit | Code | Median built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folly Beach | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1990 |
| James Island | Not published | Not published | 1970 |
| Adams Run | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1984 |
| Awendaw | Yes | 2021 IRC | 2001 |
| Charleston | Yes | 2021 IRC | 1995 |
| Unincorporated Charleston County | Yes | 2021 IRC | — |
| Edisto Island | Yes | 2021 IRC | — |
All 22 Charleston County cities side by side →
The city requires permits for all construction work, including remodeling and repairs, and its 2026 permit packet has a roofing permit. A roofing permit needs a signed application, a signed customer contract, roofing and underlayment specifications showing the material meets the city's wind requirements, and a business license application if the contractor has none for the current year. Permits must be pulled by a South Carolina-licensed contractor, or by an owner who lives in the home and does the work personally (the home cannot be rented).
Folly Beach enforces the 2021 IRC. The city posts the state notice that the 2021 South Carolina codes, including the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications, took effect January 1, 2023. Its building page also notes the South Carolina Building Codes Council adopted newer editions on August 26, 2025, with a local start date of January 1, 2027.
Older than most people guess: the Census puts 73% of Folly Beach's homes before 2000 and 28% before 1970, with a median year built of 1990 (2020–2024 estimates). A roof usually lasts about 20 years, so the deck and the layers get checked before any quote.
One report of 1-inch-plus hail fell within 5 miles of Folly Beach between 2016 and 2025: 1 inch on June 15, 2021 (NOAA Storm Prediction Center).
Not yet: no completed roof in Folly Beach is in our job records, so this page shows no job count.
Researched 2026-10-24; housing, Census ACS 2020–2024; hail, NOAA SPC. Sources: cityoffollybeach.com · cityoffollybeach.com · cityoffollybeach.com · cityoffollybeach.com · cityoffollybeach.com · cityoffollybeach.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · www.cityoffollybeach.com · www.cityoffollybeach.com · en.wikipedia.org · visitfolly.com · charlestoncitypaper.com · www.scstatehouse.gov · en.wikipedia.org · data.census.gov · www.spc.noaa.gov. Rules and staff change; check with the jurisdiction.
