Residential Demolition
We tear down houses, mobile homes, and double wides across the Midlands. Full size excavators and dozers do the work, and the lot is left graded and clean. Free estimates from our West Columbia shop.
Dirt Cheap is a demolition contractor working in Swansea, South Carolina. Swansea is a railroad town in the southern part of Lexington County. The Southbound Railroad came through in 1891, and the town was incorporated in December 1892. The town itself covers about 2 square miles, and the 2020 census counted 722 people there. Greater Swansea is the 29160 ZIP code, which reaches over into Calhoun County. By Census Bureau survey estimates, nearly 4 in 10 homes in that ZIP code are mobile homes. About 3 in 10 were built before 1980. Many houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s still stand in town. When an older home is past repair, we take it down and clear the lot for whatever comes next.
Dirt Cheap is family and woman owned. Our shop sits on Edmund Highway in West Columbia, about 11 miles north of Swansea in a straight line. We work in and around Swansea regularly. The company runs full size CASE excavators and dozers, plus a tri axle Kenworth dump truck with trailers. That equipment is built for real teardowns and site work. The same machines clear and grade the lot once the building is gone. For an old house or barn, see our house teardowns down to the block piers. We also handle mobile home removal for old single and double wides. For a lot gone to woods, see our land clearing for pine woods and overgrown ground. Estimates are free, so call (803) 796-4727 and tell us what needs to come down.
Tell us about the structure, lot or job and we will get right back to you.
Housing runs older inside Swansea town limits than across the wider ZIP code. By Census Bureau survey estimates, the median home in town dates to about 1976, and across the 29160 ZIP code to 1993. When an old house or mobile home is past repair, it comes down where it sits. A full size excavator takes the structure apart and loads it as it goes. The slab, the concrete steps and the block piers come out with the house. Debris is loaded out on our own trucks and goes to the landfill as part of the job. Lexington County's landfill lists $38 a ton for mixed debris from construction and teardowns.
Contractor loads must go to that landfill, and they are charged by the ton. So disposal is part of the cost of any teardown. Asbestos is the other early question. A private residence of 4 units or fewer is exempt from the SCDES asbestos notification. That changes if it is part of a larger project or a group of homes under one owner. It also changes for an installation, a fire-training burn, or a home ever used for business. If any of those apply, the SCDES rules come into play before the house comes down. For published price ranges, see our guide to what tearing down a house costs in South Carolina.
Swansea Town Hall is at 300 West Third Street. The Town adopted the International Building Code for the construction, alteration, removal and demolition of buildings, permits and fees included. So a teardown inside town limits starts with a call to Town Hall. Under the Town code, a building that is a hazard through dilapidation, obsolescence or abandonment counts as unsafe. The property owner gets written notice to make it safe in the time the notice gives. That means repairs, or demolishing and removing it. If nothing is done, the Town can have it demolished and bill the property owner for the cost. Breaking the building chapter can bring a fine up to $500 or up to 30 days in jail. Each day counts as a separate violation.
Every business that works inside town limits needs a Town of Swansea business license. Outside town limits, most of the 29160 area is unincorporated Lexington County. There, Lexington County Community Development handles building permits. Its fee schedule lists a $21 demolition permit. The ZIP code also reaches over into Calhoun County, which holds more than a third of its land. That side has its own county office, the Calhoun County Building and Planning Office. Ask that office what your project needs before any work starts. On any side of the line, the permit question comes first, and the machines come after it.
Inside town limits, the Town's tree article exists to prevent clear cutting of building sites. It covers every parcel, no matter the size. A tree counts if its trunk is 15 inches or more around, measured 1 foot above the ground. A historic tree is over 75 inches around. On a property being developed, every historic tree and at least half of all other trees are protected. No building or grading permit that removes trees is issued until the town administrator approves a site plan. Protected trees get flagged before site work starts. Grading and equipment stay at least 5 feet from the trunk, or 15 feet from a historic tree. Protected trees that come down are replaced with trees at least 6 inches around and 8 feet tall.
Each tree removed in violation can be a separate offense, so the site plan comes first. Longleaf pine once made this sawmill country. Fourth Creek and Bull Swamp Creek run through town. The Upper Bull Swamp Creek watershed drains south into the Edisto River basin. In this part of the county, most Sandhills soil is very well drained. Our site prep and grading for a new house pad then sets the slope so rain runs off. A new drive off a county road usually needs a pipe where it crosses the ditch. Our guide to what a driveway culvert costs in South Carolina covers pipe sizes and who pays.
Communities & areas we serve around Swansea: Woodford, Gaston, North, Pelion, Edmund, Pine Ridge, South Congaree.
Swansea ZIP codes served: 29160.
We tear down houses, mobile homes, and double wides across the Midlands. Full size excavators and dozers do the work, and the lot is left graded and clean. Free estimates from our West Columbia shop.
Dirt Cheap tears down commercial buildings across the South Carolina Midlands. Strip malls, churches, warehouses and condemned structures come down with full-size excavators and dozers. We work out of a shop in West Columbia.
We clear wooded and overgrown lots across the Midlands, half acre house sites and multi acre tracts alike. Full size excavators and dozers take out the trees, the brush, and the stumps. Our shop is in West Columbia and estimates are free.
Grading and site prep out of our West Columbia shop. We cut building pads, level low yards, and reshape wet ground so water runs off. Estimates are free anywhere in the Midlands.
Dirt Cheap digs site excavation, utility and drainage trenches, and storm drain repairs across the Midlands. Our shop sits in West Columbia, and we run full size excavators and dozers. Estimates are free.
We repair rutted, washed out and potholed driveways across the Midlands, from short residential drives to quarter mile farm lanes. Our crew cuts the ruts out, reshapes the crown and packs the surface so water leaves the drive instead of cutting into it. We also grade new lanes and replace broken concrete drives.
Real reviews from real demolition, excavation and site work jobs on Google.
Storm drain repair for apartment complex fixed twice, both required a large excavation. Did both jobs quickly and for a great price. Would highly recommend.
Awesome Company. Contracted them to demolish a double wide on my property. They did it quickly and cleaned up great. Even brought in fill to level the area out. Marked the septic system as required.
Stop looking. Awesome folks to deal with through and through.
I have had them complete two jobs and they were here right away, completed and cleaned up immediately. Great people to deal with and very pleased with the jobs. Highly recommend.
I had an emergency involving my mobile home, not only was it after hours when they made the decision to come help me. The next morning they showed up and went above and beyond their call of duty as far as the job I hired them to do. Great people, fantastic work!
Great company to work with, very responsive and will make sure the job is done right!!
A few of the questions we hear most around Swansea. Don't see yours? Call the office and ask.
A structure that needs to come down, a lot that needs clearing, a driveway that needs help, a septic system going in? Call or send the form and we will come look at the property and price the job. The estimate is free.
Tell us about the structure, lot or job and we will get right back to you.