Single into tri-plex in greenville, SC area

[Hung Nguyen]

Hi. I am currently i the Greenville, SC area. I have found a property that has an unfinished basement and a separate garage/workshed that looks like it could be converted into a studio. I was wondering if anyone knows about the zoning in the Greenville, SC area. Do I have to do any type of re-zoning or anything like that to turn a single into a tri? Or if you have any way of finding out this info, that would help a lot. 

[Lore Postman]

 I'd suggest contacting the county code enforcement office (they issue building permits) and ask about the rules. In Mecklenburg County (home to Charlotte) a duplex/triplex/etc. is required to have fire separation that fully separate the units from one another.

When I turned a 2-story single family into a duplex a few years ago, we ended up having to pour a cement floor between the spaces. In that case, the floor separated the top unit from the lower unit and was pretty easy to adhere to fire wall requirements. 

That said, I recently switched direction on another duplex conversion because the units would be side-by-side. Some of the rafters and floor joists were perpendicular to the walls and crossed into both spaces. 

Long story short, contact the permitting department before you get too far into your plans. They can save you a lot of headaches and help you see what extra costs you're likely to incur.