Landscaping & Outdoor Living on Folly Beach, SC
Local & Family-Run
Folly Beach Landscaping and Outdoor Living, Built for the Beach
Cramers Landscaping is a family company. Doug Cramer has worked in landscaping his whole life, with more than 30 years of experience, and his son Zach is our licensed residential builder. Doug and Zach design every project themselves, and our own crew builds it.
Folly is its own kind of place, from old beach cottages to newer houses up on pilings, mostly on small lots. What suits it is relaxed and built to take the salt: wood, shade, somewhere to rinse off and somewhere to cook.
Recent Projects
A rustic kitchen built for barbecue
The brief here was an outdoor kitchen built around barbecuing and grilling, with a counter for the whole family to gather at. The counter and bar are black leathered granite, one of our most popular options. It is the kind of relaxed space that suits a beach house.
An outdoor shower in sapele
This outdoor shower is sapele and composite boards, plumbed hot and cold. Sapele holds up better than anything else we use near the coast. Showers run $6,000 to $15,000, and the material is the main thing that sets the price.
Building on Folly Beach
Most Folly houses are raised, and most lots are small, so the ground level does a lot of work. It is where an outdoor shower belongs. We plumb them hot and cold, because a hot shower gets used after the beach in October. A small patio, a fire pit kept out from under the house, and planting that can take the salt finish it.
Salt air corrodes cheap fixtures and fasteners, so for landscape lighting we use solid brass, copper or marine-grade stainless steel. Folly is also a sea turtle nesting beach. From May 1 to October 31 the city prohibits lighting that illuminates the beach at night, so a beachfront lighting plan has to be designed around that. The city has the final say.
Sandy soil drains fast, which is why irrigation decides whether new planting lives. Artificial turf earns its money where grass keeps failing.
What Folly Beach Allows
There is no design review for single-family homes on Folly, but the zoning code still shapes every yard:
- Lot coverage is capped at 35 percent of high ground, and decks, patios, pools and paving all count. Up to two gravel driveways without a compacted base are exempt, which makes gravel a smart driveway choice here.
- Fences can be 6 feet and sit on the property line. Chain link isn’t allowed in residential front yards, and a fence over 2.5 feet within 20 feet of the street needs an evergreen shrub every 5 feet along it.
- Structures like a pergola or cabana go in the side or rear yard, 5 feet from the lot lines and 15 feet tall at most. Pools sit 5 feet from the lines behind a fence at least 4 feet tall.
- Trees: live oaks are protected from 6 inches, and magnolias and palmettos from 12, and nothing can be paved inside a protected tree’s drip line.
- Lighting stays 10 feet from side and rear lines, and on the beachfront the light source can’t be visible from the beach.
Rules as published when we checked in 2026. Guidelines change, and the board or town always has the final say, so we confirm the current rules for your property before a design is final.
Every Service We Offer, Available On Folly Beach
The projects on this page are only part of what we do. We offer all of our services on Folly Beach, designed by Doug and Zach and built by our own crew. From the first site visit to the final walkthrough, here’s how a project works.
- Landscaping: landscape design and installation, plants and trees, sod, artificial turf, irrigation, drainage and grading, landscape lighting, mulch and bed edging, fountains and water features
- Hardscaping: patios and pavers, concrete and driveways, retaining walls, fire pits, pool decks
- Outdoor Structures: pergolas, pavilions, outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplaces, outdoor showers
Worth knowing before you start
- Outdoor showers: The structures are usually very similar, so the material sets the price: pressure-treated at the lower end, sapele at the top.
- Pool decks: Coping wants to be at least an inch and a half thick, and two inches is better. Pavers set in a diamond pattern with artificial turf between them make a usable, low-maintenance surround that isn’t all stone or concrete.
- Artificial turf: It can help dogs with grass allergies, and it is what keeps a putting green or games area playable in August.
- Fire pits: Gas or wood both work. With gas, where the tank goes has to be planned.
- Fountains and water features: A fountain covers traffic noise and gives a small courtyard a center.
Small jobs are welcome too. There’s no minimum job size.
What Projects Typically Cost
| Outdoor shower | $6,000 – $15,000 |
|---|---|
| Plant beds | $1,000 – $2,000 |
| Paver patio | around $18 per sq ft |
| Artificial turf | from $13 per sq ft |
| Landscape lighting | about $200 a light, plus a transformer |
Ranges are typical, not quotes. Size, materials, site conditions and finishes move the number. You’ll get an exact price after the consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you work with an elevated beach house?
Yes. Most Folly houses are raised, and the ground level is where an outdoor shower, a patio and the planting go. Zach is a licensed residential builder, and our own team handles the plumbing, electrical and permits.
Are there rules about outdoor lighting on Folly Beach?
Yes. During sea turtle nesting season, May 1 to October 31, the city prohibits lighting that illuminates the beach at night. A lighting plan for a beachfront lot has to be designed around that, and the city has the final say.
What holds up to salt air?
Salt air corrodes cheap fixtures and fasteners. For lighting near the coast we use solid brass, copper or marine-grade stainless steel.
Do you work on rental and second homes?
Yes. We design and build for owners who aren’t there full-time. We are not a maintenance company, but we do come back to prune and shape what we planted for clients whose projects we built.
Talk to Doug or Zach About Your Yard
Tell us what you have in mind for your Folly Beach property, and we’ll set up a consultation at your home.