Hurricanes threaten the Lowcountry every year from May through December. Formal “Hurricane Season” is from June 1st through November 30th, but storms have been known to form in early May and late December. This leaves only four safe months- January, February, March and April. So why do people continue to build on the waterfront?
The answer is simple; the water is an irresistible force. The reward outweighs the risk.
The cactus pictured is rare on the salt water river banks. This picture was taken on Hunting Island near the bridge to Fripp Island.
“You’ll love a garage.” My Dad told me and my wife that 25 years ago. He tried to persuade us to build a garage for our home. We never did, but we’ve always joked about him saying, “You’ll love a garage.” We’ve repeated that phrase a hundred times. A few years after he told gave us his advise, we build a new home and it has a two car garage. And we love it. Like most Americans, our garage space is usually full of junk and we park in the driveway. But we still love it.
The Lowcountry is still considered rural for the most part. Homes often have plenty of parking, but there are a few poorly designed areas/ home sites that lack sufficient parking. When a home is under construction, it is affordable to have a garage constructed. Having the workers come back and add a garage later can cost nearly twice as much for the labor. When deciding if you want a one or two car garage, go for two. Two car garages increase the value of a home much more than what an appraisal will show. That extra garage space could be a major factor should the home ever go up for sale.
Pictured here is a home we built in 2016 on Dustin Loop, Old Town Bluffton, SC. Ashley Ingram, General Contractor 843 986 1000
The sights, the sounds, and the smells from the back porch should be pleasant. No matter how nice the home is, if the location is bad, it’s hard to overcome. When choosing a homesite, spend time at the homesite. Listen, look around, and get a good feel for what the homesite is like. Homes can always get upgrades by way of flooring, countertops, and hardware. After the home is built, it’s too late to upgrade the lot. If an oceanfront lot or a riverfront lot is not in the budget, pay a visit to that rich granny. Pictured here is a 20 year old home in Palmetto Dunes. Ashley Ingram, General Contractor 843 986 1000
The pit pictured here was constructed in December 2017 in Oldfield on the Okatie River. Any good contractor can build a good oyster pit; it takes an experienced southerner to know what to do with it once it is built. Here are some basic rules of roasting oysters:
Fat lighter might be good to get the fire started, but don’t through fat lighter on the fire once the shuckers are gathered around. The smoke burns the eyes. Use oak or some other hardwood at that stage.
Use local oysters. The smaller the taisier. The best are from the Chechessee River- the water is still pristine.
Don’t overheat or burn the oysters. A wet croker sack layed over the oyster will steam them open.
Fresh local oysters are best with nothing on them.
Tabasco is an exception to rule number 4.
Josie, six year old, Bertha, six years old, Sophie, 10 years old, all shuck regularly. Maggioni Canning Co. Location: Port Royal, South Carolina. Photo and caption by Lewis Hine, February 1911 February 1913. Bluffton, South Carolina. “Varn & Platt Canning Co. 10-year-old Jimmie. Been shucking 3 years. 6 pots a day, and a 11-year-old boy who shucks 7 pots. Also several members of an interesting family named Sherrica. Seven of them are in this factory. The father, mother, four girls shuck and pack. Older brother steams. 10 year old boy goes to school. Been in the oyster business 5 years. Father worked for 25 years in the Pennsylvania Coal Mine, and the oldest brother there. They said they liked the oysters business better because the family makes more.” Photograph and caption by Lewis Wickes Hine
My grandmother had a cousin who moved from Jasper County area to Bluffton at the turn of the century. He husband, Richard Aquilla Bailey, was listed in the census as “farmer- oysters”. They lost 3 small children – all died before they turned 3 years old. The family is buried downtown off Hwy 46.Locals don’t use pits to cook oysters; they use scrap metal and concrete blocks.
The most important component of a house or a building is the foundation. The foundation starts with good material under the foundation. If the foundation is a concrete slab, the first step is to prepare the material (the soil) that will be under the slab. Dark organic material must be removed and replaced with sands and clays; the material must be properly compacted, tested, and must have the correct moisture content. After the concrete slab is finished, the next step is the framing. The frame is the second most important part of the structure. Everything is attached to the frame. If the frame is done right, construction savvy people will recognize decades later that the building might need this or that, but the bones are good. The bones are the materials used to frame the house and they would not be considered good unless they were quality material and they were properly constructed or pieced together. A critical element of piecing framing together is making sure the walls are true or straight. Framers use long (14 foot) 2×4 lumber to “true” the walls. These 2x4s are secured to the walls, the framers then use levels to check the walls and set them perpendicular (straight up and down) to the slab. Once the wall is determined to be straight/ level, the framer will then use cut nails or concrete nails to secure the 2×4 to the floor. Some framing crews will use an entire bundle of 2x4s to set the walls. These 2x4s are removed only after the roof is set and the walls are all tied together. During this period of construction, the inside of the house looks like a box full of pixie sticks. Pictured here is a home built in 2016 on Dustin Loop, Bluffton, SC.
This old home was built at the turn of the century in the southern portion of Jasper County, SC near the Savannah River. The beams under the house rest on brick pillars. The brick pillars rest on compacted soil. Although some areas (roof and chimney) of the home are in need of repair, the bones are good. The support beams making up the floor system were hand hewn. Some of the beams are over 30 feet long and straight as an arrow. The material on the frame of this home are cypress and heart pine. The craftsmen who built this home recognized the most import and second most important components to a house are the foundation and the framing- they did it right.
We employed local artist, Jackson Sterling, to create an oyster chandelier to complement this custom Bluffton kitchen. The upper cabinets house a lit display area for fine kitchen ware. Amiri Geuka Farris jazzed up the walls with his lowcountry paintings.
The Lowcountry air that blows off the ocean and rivers can be brutal on wood and paint jobs. The salt in the air eats away at almost everything on a house. Pictured here is a walkway leading from a house to the beach on Hilton Head. For the past 8 years, I’ve cared for the walkway by sanding, scraping, and repainting it. No matter how careful I am, the paint continues to flake as the water finds a way through cracks and gets under the paint and causes the paint to come loose. Last year I decided to strip the paint away and go with a high quality deck stain. The difference is the stain does not flake. The stain wears over time, but in this application, stain is superior to paint. Ashley Ingram, General Contractor 843 986 1000
When I’m away from home, I long for my tempurpedic bed and my BainUltra bathtub overlooking the Chechessee River. Being home makes me feel good inside. Long days at work or after a long campout, I’m cold and tired, I can rest in front of the fireplace and warm my bones with a bowl of spicy shrimp gumbo. Whether it’s a well placed bathtub, a cozy den, or well designed kitchen, not every house has that happy spot where you can relax in some hot water while enjoying a Lowcountry view, but every home should. Ashley Ingram, General Contractor 843 986 1000
Barbara Wiggins would slap me if I called her Mrs Ed Wiggins. She was the wife of Ed, but she was a very independent lady. Ed roomed with my Dad at Clemson when my Dad was the Tiger mascot back in the 50’s, and our families have been friends since. Ed helped me design my home 20 years ago. He was the father of Hilton Head style architecture. Barbara and I became close friends in 2014 when I started building her home in Bluffton. We had a lot in common (both born and educated in Georgia and we both love design/ building). Like me, she loved to buy junk at the auction house in Hardeeville. She bought an old dresser and had me customize it for a wet bar. Above the bar we made a wine rack from wood that Hurricane Matthew washed-up at my house on the Chechessee River. She then supervised us mixing motor to match pluff mud, and told us how to stick oyster shells in it. I had a Jamaican friend, Mr. Lacy, helping me do it. When I got back from lunch Lacy was finished and he hadn’t done it exactly the way Barbara wanted. When she saw it she smiled and said, “It’ll do.” I miss her. Ashley Ingram, General Contractor 843 986 1000
My family was fortunate enough to be able to afford a brand new home two years ago. We were so excited to start our family there and own something of our very own. Ashley Ingram was our builder and not only did he provide us a house, he took great strides to provide us our home. Ashley and his team were right there with us every step of the way as we chose options and made changes along the way. The quality of our home and the quality of his service made the process exciting and enjoyable. Not one time did we have a question or challenge that he couldn’t answer or rise to. I feel fortunate and grateful that Ashley was the one God put in our lives during what could have been a stressful time. We will in part owe our happiness here to his dedication and thoughtfulness to our dream. Thank you Ashley for our home. Mollie and Jason Baile
