South Carolina's soils range across five distinct zones-from the rocky, sloped loams of the Upstate and the expansive red clays of the Piedmont, to the rapid-draining sands of the Sandhills, the flat, high-water tables of the Coastal Plain, and the shifting sands and marsh muds along the coast. Each environment poses unique structural risks to homes, such as foundation cracking and shifting from shrinking and swelling clay, washout and settling in loose sands, and persistent crawl space moisture, mold, and wood rot in low-lying coastal and flatland areas. To protect residential properties across the state, homeowners must manage water movement proactively by extending gutter downspouts away from foundations, maintaining consistent soil moisture around footings to prevent settling during droughts, and encapsulating crawl spaces with heavy-duty vapor barriers and dehumidifiers to combat South Carolina's intense ground and atmospheric humidity.
Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
