Concrete for Conway — river clay, a record flood and the county seat's own permits
West of the Waterway the sand runs out. Conway's soils are clay that swells and shrinks, its river crested at a record 21.16 feet in 2018, and the city issues its own permits from Laurel Street.
Conway is the Horry County seat, 24,849 people on the Waccamaw River fifteen miles inland from the beach, with a historic downtown of live oaks and 1900s storefronts, Coastal Carolina University and its record 11,881 students, and neighborhoods that run from the riverfront streets to the 1970s–2000s subdivisions along Highway 544, 905 and 701 and out toward the Lake Busbee and Elm Street sides. The ground here is nothing like the beach. The river terraces are the clayey Bladen, Meggett, Yauhannah and Wahee soils of the county's inland units — poorly drained, slow to dry, and prone to swelling in the wet season and shrinking in the dry one — and the floodplain is the Waccamaw's, which crested at 17.87 feet in Matthew in 2016 and a record 21.16 feet in Florence in 2018, staying over its banks for weeks and again at 14.9 feet after Debby in 2024.
Clay changes how we build. A slab poured on wet clay with no prepared base heaves in the winter and cracks in the summer, so we cut deeper, bring in a compacted granular base, and on foundations we follow the engineer's call on footing width and depth. The river changes the rest: large parts of the city near the Waccamaw and Crabtree Swamp are in mapped flood zones where fill and lowest-floor elevation are regulated, and the city's Construction Services on Laurel Street (843-488-9888) issues the permits — its own apron permit on city streets, with Horry County and SCDOT on the roads outside the line. Driveways, patios, pool decks and foundations are the work; the clay and the river are the reasons we do them differently here than in Myrtle Beach.
What we do in Conway
Clay-soil base prep
Deeper cut, compacted granular base, moisture-controlled subgrade so slabs don't heave.
Flood-zone foundations
Stem walls and footings to the Waccamaw floodplain's elevation rules per the engineer.
City permits
Conway Construction Services permits for aprons and structures inside the city; county and SCDOT outside.
Driveways and aprons
Replacement drives on the 1970s–2000s subdivisions; aprons with pipes on the county roads.
Patios, pool decks and pads
Back-yard work for the CCU-area and 544-corridor neighborhoods.
Historic district care
Walks and drives around the downtown live oaks without cutting their roots.
Neighborhoods and areas we cover
- Historic downtown
- Waccamaw riverfront
- Coastal Carolina University area
- Hwy 544 corridor
- Hwy 905 corridor
- Hwy 701 north
- Lake Busbee
- Elm Street / 16th Avenue
- Crabtree Swamp side
- Wild Wing Plantation
- Hillsborough
- Red Hill border
Concrete services available in Conway
- Driveways, aprons, culverts & encroachment permits, walkways
- Patios, pool decks, resurfacing, stamped concrete
- Golf cart pads, shed, boat, RV & generator pads, foundations & additions
- Repair & leveling, removal
Questions from Conway homeowners
Why does concrete crack more in Conway than at the beach?
Clay. The inland soils swell when wet and shrink when dry, lifting and dropping a slab that's sitting on them unprepared. A compacted granular base between the clay and the concrete, plus proper joints, is the fix — and it's the first line on every Conway estimate.
Is my lot in the floodplain?
If you're near the Waccamaw, Crabtree Swamp or Kingston Lake, probably. The 2021 FEMA maps added thousands of Horry parcels, and Florence's record crest went well beyond the old lines. Flatwork is fine; foundations and fill follow the zone's rules.
Who permits a driveway apron in Conway?
On a city street, the City of Conway's Construction Services on Laurel Street. On a county road, Horry County Engineering's free encroachment permit. On 501, 544, 905 or 701, SCDOT. We check the road.
Can you pour near the downtown live oaks?
Carefully — we avoid cutting roots inside the drip line, use a permeable base where the walk crosses the root zone, and keep the city's tree rules in mind. The oaks are the point of downtown Conway.
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