Tree Service in Forestbrook and Socastee, SC

Tall loblolly pine with red-brown dying needles being felled in sections beside a Carolina Forest home

Forestbrook, Socastee and Burgess are the unincorporated neighborhoods west and south of the Waterway — Forestbrook along the 501 corridor, Socastee around the old swing bridge and down SC 707, Burgess toward Surfside. They were pine flatwoods and Carolina bays before the subdivisions of the 1980s through 2000s went in, and the builders left the pines: 80-foot loblollies over houses on half-acre lots, longleafs along the roads, and along the Waterway itself the big live oaks that were there before any of it. Because this is unincorporated Horry County, the rules are the county's: every live oak 24 inches and up is a specimen, on house lots too since 2023, with a survey required and a two-year building-permit block for an illegal removal.

So the work is pines first: the beetle-hit and lightning-struck loblollies identified before they fall, the gray dead ones over the pool taken by crane, and an honest ranking of which tall pines are a reasonable risk and which aren't. Then the Waterway oaks — measured, because 24 inches is the line — deadwooded and reduced over the docks and the houses. Then the ground: the Carolina bays are peat, the flats are Leon sand with the water table a foot down for months, and a hurricane here puts healthy trees over whole. Florence's rain and Ian's winds both hit Socastee hard, and the 2025 Carolina Forest fire burned to the edge of the 501 corridor.

What we do in Forestbrook & Socastee

Pine beetle & lightning work

Red-needled and struck loblollies identified and removed before they fall; the healthy ones protected.

Tall-pine crane removals

80-foot pines over pools lifted out in sections; crane days shared between neighbors.

Waterway live oaks

Measured for the county's 24-inch line, deadwooded and reduced over docks and roofs.

Specimen-oak surveys

Required by the county before clearing; we measure, flag and file.

Wet-ground hurricane prep

Lean and weight ranked for trees standing in saturated sand.

Storm response

Socastee takes the Waterway wind and the Carolina bay flooding first; we answer 24/7.

Neighborhoods and areas we cover

Forestbrook
Socastee
Burgess
SC 707 corridor
Socastee Swing Bridge area
Peachtree / Hwy 501 corridor
Waterway Palms
Plantation Lakes (Forestbrook side)
Coastal Carolina University area (county)
Big Block Road
Dick Pond Road
Enterprise Road

Tree services available in Forestbrook & Socastee

Questions from Forestbrook & Socastee homeowners

My live oak is on the Waterway and about 24 inches. Can I take it down?

Only with a county variance if it's healthy, or with our arborist's documentation and county confirmation if it's diseased or dying. Twenty-four inches is the specimen line, and a 23-inch oak is a different conversation than a 25 — so we measure first, at breast height, with a tape.

Why did my pines die after the new house went in next door?

Root damage. A loblolly's roots spread wide and shallow in our sand, and a trencher for a driveway or utility line cuts a third of them. The stressed pine draws Ips beetles within the season.

What does it cost to take down a 70-foot pine by the pool?

Rigged in sections, $900–$2,000; by crane when there's no drop zone, $2,500–$5,000. Several pines on the same visit share the setup.

Can I burn the brush from clearing my lot?

With the Forestry Commission's notification, 50 feet from structures and property lines for yard debris, and never during a ban — but after the 2009 Highway 31 fire and the 2025 Carolina Forest fire, we'd rather mulch it.

Nearby: Carolina Forest · Surfside & Garden City · Market Common · Conway · full service area

Tree service for Forestbrook and Socastee — pine country on the Waterway