The short version: sometimes you need a permit and sometimes you do not, it depends on the size of the building and on exactly which jurisdiction your address falls in, and it is the property owner's responsibility to find out. We are shed dealers, not your county's code office, and we would rather tell you that plainly than guess and be wrong.
Three separate things can apply to the same backyard, and they are independent of each other:
1. County or city building codes. Several local jurisdictions treat accessory buildings differently above and below certain square footages. Where that line falls is not the same everywhere, and being inside or outside city limits can change which office you are even talking to. Spartanburg is the classic trap — the City of Spartanburg and Spartanburg County are different authorities with different rules, and people mix them up constantly.
2. Setbacks. Most places require a building to sit some distance off your property lines. This one catches people more often than permits do, because a spot that looks fine can be three feet inside a setback.
3. Your HOA or your deed covenants. Completely separate from the county. An HOA can restrict shed size, siding, roof color, and where on the lot it can sit — and it can do that even where the county does not require a thing. Read your covenants before you pick a roof color, not after.
| If you are in | Call |
|---|---|
| Forest City, NC | Rutherford County Inspections — North Carolina rules, not South Carolina, and the thresholds are not the same |
| Shelby, NC | Cleveland County Building Inspections, or the City of Shelby inside city limits — North Carolina code, which differs from South Carolina |
| Blacksburg, SC | Cherokee County Building & Codes, or the Town of Blacksburg inside town limits |
| Boiling Springs, SC | Spartanburg County Building Codes — Boiling Springs is unincorporated, so the county handles it |
| Campobello, SC | Spartanburg County Building Codes, or the Town of Campobello inside town limits |
| Chesnee, SC | Spartanburg County Building Codes handles permits for Chesnee addresses outside city limits; City of Chesnee handles the ones inside |
| Cowpens, SC | Spartanburg County Building Codes, or the Town of Cowpens inside town limits |
| Gaffney, SC | Cherokee County Building & Codes, or the City of Gaffney if you are inside city limits — note this is a different county office than Spartanburg, with its own rules |
| Greer, SC | Greenville County or Spartanburg County depending on which side of the line your address falls on, or the City of Greer inside city limits — Greer is genuinely split, so confirm rather than assume |
| Inman, SC | Spartanburg County Building Codes, or the City of Inman if you are inside the city limits |
| Landrum, SC | Spartanburg County Building Codes, or the City of Landrum inside city limits |
| Spartanburg, SC | City of Spartanburg codes office if you are inside city limits; Spartanburg County Building Codes if you are not. The two have different rules and people get this wrong constantly |
North Carolina addresses follow North Carolina code, which is not the same as South Carolina's. If you are in Rutherford or Cleveland County, do not go by what somebody in Boiling Springs told you.
We do: haul the building to your property, place it where you want it, and level it up to 3 feet using blocks you supply. That is included free within 30 miles.
You do: clear the spot, handle any grading, pour a pad if you want one, take down limbs, move the fence section if the gate is too narrow, and make sure the ground is dry enough to drive on. If the mule cannot get there, the building cannot get there — and that is the single most common reason a delivery has to be rescheduled.
Our delivery checklist is the actual form, point by point. Work through it a few days before delivery rather than the morning of.
Upstate ground rolls more than people expect, and it gets worse the further west you go. Around Gaffney and Blacksburg you are on flatter piedmont and most setups are simple. Out toward Campobello and Landrum you are in the foothills and the fall across a spot can eat the whole 3-foot leveling allowance. Measure corner to corner across where the building is going — not by eye — and tell us the number when you call.