Concrete in Nexton — Berkeley County rules in a Summerville address
Nexton is 5,000 acres of former WestRock timberland on the Berkeley County side of Summerville, building toward 7,500 homes by the early 2030s. The permits are Berkeley's, the design rules are Nexton's, and the ground is five years old.
Nexton is the biggest thing built in the Summerville area since the town itself: 5,000 acres bought from WestRock in 2015, Nexton Square and the Midtown and Brighton Park villages, 12,000-plus residents by 2025 and up to 7,500 homes at buildout around 2032. It has a Summerville address and a Berkeley County permit office — Nexton Parkway connects to US 176 and I-26 on the Berkeley side — and that matters: Berkeley County doesn't charge for its encroachment permit, installs some driveway pipes off its own roads, requires the pipe set at the ditch invert on swale streets before any construction, doubles the fees on work started without a permit, requires two feet of freeboard in flood zones, and answers questions about flatwork exemptions with 'call the permit office,' which we do. Nexton's own design guidelines and ARB govern what the driveway extension, the patio and the pool deck look like.
The houses are new, so the work is the owner's additions and the first round of builder-slab problems: patios off the porches, pool decks, extended parking strips, golf-cart pads for the trail system, generator pads, and the garage approaches that start to drop as the backfill settles. The ground is timberland fill over the Lynchburg and Goldsboro soils — water a foot or two down in winter, still consolidating under the newest streets — so every slab goes on a compacted base with steel, and every patio is checked against the coverage rules on lots that are often narrow. We draw it for the ARB, permit it with Berkeley, and pour it to last past the next phase.
What we do in Nexton
Berkeley County permits
The free county encroachment permit, the swale-pipe-at-invert rule and the county's flatwork guidance handled for your address.
Nexton ARB packages
Driveway extensions, patios, pool decks and pads drawn to the design guidelines and submitted.
Base on settling fill
Compacted stone and reinforcement so the patio doesn't follow the fill as the new streets consolidate.
Pool decks and cart pads
Reinforced decks with coping joints; pervious cart pads that stay off the coverage count.
Garage-approach leveling
Foam lifting for the builder slabs dropping at the garage in the earliest phases.
Flood-zone freeboard
Two feet above base flood for any structure where Berkeley's 2018 maps require it.
Neighborhoods and areas we cover
- Nexton (Midtown)
- Brighton Park Village
- Nexton Square area
- North Creek
- Del Webb Nexton
- Nexton Parkway corridor
- US 176 corridor
- Sheep Island Road area
- Cane Bay border
- Sangaree border
- Jedburg Road area
- I-26 / Nexton exit
Concrete services available in Nexton
- Driveways, aprons, culverts & encroachment permits, builder driveway replacement
- Patios, pool decks, stamped concrete, pervious concrete
- Walkways, shed, RV & generator pads, foundations & additions
- Repair & leveling, removal
Questions from Nexton homeowners
Is Nexton in the Town of Summerville or Berkeley County?
Berkeley County, with a Summerville mailing address. Building and encroachment permits are the county's; the Town's rules don't apply. The ARB's do.
Does Berkeley County charge for the driveway permit?
No — the county's encroachment permit for a driveway or pipe in its right-of-way carries no fee and is valid 12 months. On a swale street the pipe has to be set at the ditch invert before construction, and contractors need the county's permit authorization card. We have one.
Can I extend my driveway for a third car?
Within Nexton's design guidelines and the ARB's approval, yes. A pervious strip is often the easiest way to get it approved and keep it off the impervious count.
Why does the garage approach already dip?
The backfill against the foundation is still settling under a house that's a few years old. Foam lifting fixes a sound slab in a morning.
Nearby: Cane Bay · Carnes Crossroads · Sangaree · Moncks Corner · full service area