Barndominium Builders in Piedmont, SC

Barndominium builders in Piedmont have to answer one question before anything else: which county is the land in? Piedmont is a census-designated place on the Saluda River that sits in northern Anderson County and southwestern Greenville County, about 12 miles south of the center of Greenville. It is not an incorporated town, so there is no city permit office. The county on your side of the river runs the show.

Why the river matters

The Saluda River flows south over a dam right through the middle of the community. That old mill dam is one of a string of dams on the Saluda. Because Piedmont spreads across the Anderson-Greenville county line, two neighbors with the same community name can deal with two different permit offices and two sets of forms.

Anderson County side

Anderson County Building & Codes, at 401 East River Street in Anderson, takes all building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits through an online OpenGov portal. A new single-family home is started as a project in that portal so the trades tie together. The county enforces the 2021 International Residential Code with South Carolina modifications and the 2009 energy code. Anderson County also adopted a Piedmont Area Plan by resolution. It is nonbinding, but County Council, the Planning Commission and the boards use it as a guide for decisions in Piedmont, so it is worth reading if you plan a large shop building near the community.

Greenville County side

The Greenville County Permit Center needs the tax map number on every application, and a permit technician reviews each one for floodplain, road frontage and setbacks. Greenville County leaves deed restrictions, covenants and subdivision rules to the owner. If your lot is in an older subdivision, read the covenants for metal siding or outbuilding limits before you pick a plan.

Building near the Saluda

River land is attractive, and some of it is in a mapped flood zone. On the Anderson side, the county flood ordinance requires the lowest floor of a new home in a special flood hazard area to sit at least two feet above base flood elevation, bans basements, and requires a surveyor or engineer to certify the lowest floor before vertical construction goes on. Enclosed space below that floor cannot be finished living space. For a barndominium, that usually means a raised slab or a stem wall with flood vents, or moving the house to higher ground on the same tract and keeping the low ground for a pole barn or garden.

History you will see on the ground

Native Americans and early settlers called this spot the Big Shoals of the Saluda. Henry Pinckney Hammett's Piedmont Manufacturing Company began operating in 1876, ran on river water power, and manufacturing continued until 1977. Most of the old mill complex burned in 1983. Mill villages mean small lots close in, so larger tracts out along the county roads suit a barndominium better.

Getting there

Interstate 85 Exit 35 is about 2 miles west of the center of Piedmont, and SC 86 runs through the community to that exit. Easy interstate access is why the population climbed from 4,684 in 2000 to 5,103 in 2010 and 5,411 in 2020. It also means steel deliveries and concrete trucks reach most sites without trouble.

Design notes for this ground

• Set the finished floor high and grade away from the slab on clay ground.
• Plan the drain field location before the house footprint.
• Separate the shop and living HVAC zones so dust and fumes stay in the shop.
• Use spray foam or a well-detailed vapor barrier under the metal roof to stop condensation in humid summers.

Call (864) 326-0632 or

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