Old City Builders

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Old City Builders We specialize in historic preservation of residential and commercial buildings in Charleston, South Carolina.

A local team with an appreciation for the history, buildings, and relationships we work to build every day.

09/10/2026

An historic beach cottage on Sullivan’s Island. Nearly every original window has been rehabilitated and is going back in. The siding is original. Historic material that could be saved was saved, down to pieces most crews would have thrown in the dumpster. That’s the slow part of this work, and it’s invisible the day it’s finished… which is the whole reason to see it now.

On October 1, Preservation Society of Charleston brings their Insider’s Tour: Sullivan’s Island Hard Hat Tour through here, and we’ll be on site to walk you through the work. It’s the opening day of the Fall Tours’ 50th year.

Tickets are online only, no walk-ins, and the Insider’s Tours sell out. preservationsociety.org

⸻

Sandwich Credit: “The Driller” from Mozzo Deli — hot roast beef, muenster, frizzled onions, dijonnaise. Changes the game when it comes to roastin’ beef. Rec from Griffin. You know, Griffin. From the video. The only words I can muenster are “very sensational.” Please go to at any of their three (soon to be four) locations and drill one for yourself. 10/10.

From where I stand, historic preservation should not be understood as an effort to make old things look new or perfect. ...
01/09/2026

From where I stand, historic preservation should not be understood as an effort to make old things look new or perfect. Rather, I like the idea that historic preservation can be the recognition that what has endured is worthy of care. If a thing was once beautiful and important, and durable enough to last a long time, it is surely deserving of maintenance, repair, and, where possible, being made beautiful again.

Also, there’s Cisco in pic 3. I’ll leave that in there.

- El Patrón, ca. 2026





We’re beginning a renovation right now that’s a little different than most. Not because of how it looks when it’s done.....
09/26/2025

We’re beginning a renovation right now that’s a little different than most. Not because of how it looks when it’s done... well, partly. But a lot because of what had to happen first.

In order to build this one the right way, we had to lift the house up off its original foundation. We mean that literally. Steel I-beams were slid under the structure, and cribbing stacked like big Jenga towers with a web of pneumatic jacks carefully staged around the perimeter. Inch by inch the entire home was raised about three feet into the air. Not so much by brute force as by precision. And not for show or even utility, but for survival.

Only after this step can we begin to retrofit a new foundation underneath it. One that belongs to this century. And that protects the structure from water and time. One that can carry the investment, the labor, and the memory of a place forward; maybe for another hundred years or more.

We disconnected the utilities, every mechanical fastening between the home and original foundation. We cut it loose from the past.

This is what historic preservation looks like in Charleston in the 21st century. The foundation itself, though once poured with the idea that it might be the only thing still standing come Hell or high water, has proven to be a sacrificial element.

All homes have sacrificial elements though. Paint, roofs, even siding. These things need maintenance as long as they can last. And eventually need replacement to save the greater historical record. Toady, it was the foundation.

Preservation is full of contradictions. We debate them and evolve our understanding of them daily in Charleston. Grappling with these contradictions is where the Lord’s work gets done. Historic preservation is not always as clean as textbook instruction. It’s often about making judgment calls that maintain the fidelity of the historical record.










Starting to catch the views on Folly 🤙. We’ll be just a few feet height when the pedestal rooftop deck goes on. 📐 🏊‍♂️ ...
07/12/2025

Starting to catch the views on Folly 🤙. We’ll be just a few feet height when the pedestal rooftop deck goes on.

📐
🏊‍♂️





















Address

199 Jackson Street
Charleston, SC
29403

Telephone

+18432738460

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Old City Builders posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Old City Builders:

Shortcuts

Share

Category