Landscaping & Outdoor Living in North Charleston, SC
Local & Family-Run
North Charleston Landscaping and Outdoor Living, Built for Family Backyards
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.
The North Charleston projects on this page are all backyards: patios, kitchens, pergolas and fire pits. In the yard pictured here we built a bluestone patio, laid artificial turf and added a plant bed.
Two Stone Outdoor Kitchens
A porch addition with a stone kitchen
Here the porch is part of the project. We built it, set a stone kitchen under it with a bar top in black leathered granite, and laid a paver patio alongside. Black leathered granite is one of our most popular countertops, and granite holds up best outdoors.
A covered kitchen with a sink and burner
A different North Charleston job: a kitchen with a grill, sink, burner and fridge, with cabinets, a stone facade, a tile backsplash and a bar top. We added the structure overhead to protect the kitchen from rain. Behind a grill we use tile as a fireproof backsplash, and we leave at least two to three feet of counter beside the grill as working space.
Backyards Built Around the Fire Pit
A swing set around the fire
This backyard was designed around one idea: kids and family hanging out around the fire pit. A large swing set stands on a paver patio with a kit fire pit in the middle. We allow about six feet of clearance around a fire pit so chairs can pull back, and we keep fire pits out from under covered structures.
A pergola, a privacy wall and a fire pit
This North Charleston backyard does three jobs. The paver patio is the floor, a kit fire pit with a seating wall is the gathering spot, and a pergola with a metal roof and a back privacy wall is the shade. A fire pit kit is about $1,000, and a pergola like this one sits in the $6,000 to $30,000 range depending on the roof, trim and electrical.
Building in North Charleston
Most of the North Charleston backyards on this page start with a patio. Ten by ten is the smallest patio we would recommend, and a fire pit needs more, because you need room to pull chairs back. From there people add a pergola for shade, an outdoor kitchen, or lighting so the yard works after dark.
Soil around Charleston runs from fast-draining sand to heavy clay depending on the area, which is one reason every yard needs a look before we price it. If water sits after a storm, we fix the drainage before building anything where it collects. If the lawn is the problem, the choice is usually between new sod on a corrected grade and artificial turf where grass keeps failing.
Roofed structures, taller retaining walls and most gas, electrical or plumbing work usually need a permit, though an outdoor shower does not. We pull the permit ourselves as part of the build.
North Charleston Rules and Neighborhoods
The City of North Charleston allows fences up to 4 feet in a front yard and 8 feet in a side or rear yard, in materials from brick and wood to wrought iron and approved vinyl. If your home is in an HOA, the city asks for proof of HOA approval before it issues a permit. Trees of 10 inches or more are protected, grand trees of 24 inches or more are removed only when there is no alternative, and the city charges $217.50 an inch when a grand tree isn’t replaced.
- Park Circle (Olde North Charleston): the historic district is Craftsman bungalows, Charleston singles and cottages with deep front porches and picket fences under mature street trees. Fences and retaining walls there must be stone, brick, stucco or wood pickets, front fences stop at 4 feet, and a driveway stays unpaved or is brick or gravel laid as two tire strips. Landscaping and sprinkler work don’t need review.
- Wescott Plantation: fences are metal or wood, 4 to 6 feet, with no chain link or white vinyl. On golf lots they are black and 4 feet at most. Pergolas, fire pits and outdoor kitchens are allowed with approval, and up to ten small low-voltage lights need no request at all.
- Indigo Fields: no chain link, front yards must be sodded, and retaining walls are brick or stucco.
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.
Drainage in North Charleston
Most drainage problems we see in North Charleston start with the grade. On older houses it is often off, and years of tree and grass build-up can tip the ground so water runs back toward the house instead of away from it. Newer houses are not immune when the grading was not planned properly. Regrading fixes the slope, and piping the downspouts off the gutters, as we did on our Under the Live Oaks project in Charleston, takes the roof water out of the problem.
Every Service We Offer, Available In North Charleston
The projects on this page are only part of what we do. We offer all of our services in North Charleston, 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
- Sod: A new lawn is only as good as the grade underneath it, and we never lay sod over old grass. Sod beats seed here: downpours wash seed away and humidity breeds fungus.
- Artificial turf: It earns its money where grass keeps failing: deep shade, a dog run, a narrow side yard, or under a structure. It runs hotter than grass in full sun, and it lasts 15 to 25 years.
- Pool decks: A new concrete pool deck is about $12 per square foot. Pavers, porcelain, travertine and stone start about $18. Resurfacing is quoted on condition. We resurface with cool deck or microcement, or lay tile over the existing slab. Cool deck is the most affordable. A coating over a deck that is still moving will fail, because the problem is underneath it.
- Plants and trees: Hedges are a better answer for screening than a taller fence. They read as landscape and don’t need a variance.
Small jobs are welcome too. There’s no minimum job size.
What Projects Typically Cost
| Paver patio | around $18 per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Fire pit | about $1,000 for a kit, $2,500+ custom |
| Outdoor kitchen | $8,000 – $20,000+ |
| Pergola | $6,000 – $30,000 |
| Artificial turf | from $13 per sq ft |
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
What have you built in North Charleston?
Four of our North Charleston projects are on this page: a bluestone patio with artificial turf, a porch addition with a stone kitchen, a covered stone kitchen, and two family backyards built around kit fire pits.
How much does a fire pit cost?
A fire pit kit is about $1,000, and custom masonry starts from $2,500. Both North Charleston fire pits on this page are kits, set into paver patios.
Can you cover an outdoor kitchen that is already planned or built?
Yes. On one North Charleston kitchen we added the structure overhead specifically to protect the kitchen from rain.
Do you handle permits, gas and electrical?
Yes, all in-house. Roofed structures usually need a permit, which we pull ourselves, and our own team runs the gas, electrical and plumbing.
Talk to Doug or Zach About Your Yard
Tell us what you have in mind for your North Charleston property, and we’ll set up a consultation at your home.