The sliding door opens onto a deck that was new when the house was, and the steps down to the lawn feel a little steeper every year. Hempfield's median home turned 50 a few years back, set on the rolling ground its plan describes. We build its replacement wider, lower to step off and roofed if you'd like.
Hempfield Decks
The 1970s were Hempfield's biggest building years, three-bedroom layouts account for half of all homes, and 41% of owners are 65-plus. Those two facts shape most of the deck and patio requests we hear here.
A deck built with a 1970s house has seen a half century of rain, about 42.7 inches of it a year at New Stanton. The boards have cupped, the rail has loosened and the posts may be sitting in damp soil.
First come the ledger, the band behind it and each post, checked one by one. Sound framing can take new decking and rails; tired framing is replaced with a new frame on frost-depth footings, through-bolted and flashed along the wall.
What holds decks upWith so many owners past 65, people ask for a deck that's simply easier: a roomy landing at the door, a shallower stair, and rails on each side sized for a grip.
We set the deck height to the door, break a long stair with a landing, keep every riser even and under 7-3/4 inches, and run handrails the full length. Where the yard allows, a broad step-down replaces a steep flight.
Railings and stairsTownship zoning lists patios right alongside porches and balconies as attachments barred from the required yards. Owners planning a big patio off the back are often surprised the rule covers a slab too.
We find your setback lines before sketching, then fit the patio or deck inside them. If the yard is tight, a deck stepping down in levels or a patio that wraps a corner of the house can add room without crossing the line.
Hempfield zoningA covered patio keeps dinner outside in a summer storm. Roofing a porch or deck is permit work in Hempfield, and a full code review can run 30 business days, so timing matters.
We draw the roof with posts, beam and rafters sized for snow, tie it into the house roofline, and file early enough that approval lands before the build date. Footings for the new posts are dug to frost depth.
Hempfield permitsA new roof over the patio adds a lot of runoff in one spot. Hempfield's stormwater rules want roof drains emptied to grass or beds where practical, and must not be aimed at a lower neighbor.
The gutter on the new roof runs to a downspout that discharges onto a planted area or lawn away from the footings and the property line. On a sloping yard, the water's route is mapped before the roof is framed.
Hempfield stormwater rulesFamilies want the room outside the slider to be usable on buggy summer nights, and some want glass panels so it works from April into October. Either way, the frame below has to carry walls and a roof.
We inspect and stiffen the framing underneath, then the roof goes up with screen panels and a matching door, or glass for spring-through-fall use. The roof gets the township permit before construction starts.
Screened roomsHousing: Census ACS 2020–2024, Hempfield Township without its boroughs. Rainfall: the New Stanton weather station. Permits: Hempfield's building permit page. Setbacks and stormwater: township code Chapters 87 and 72.
The rest of the job
How it runs, what it costs and who builds it are on our main decks & covered patios page.
Decks in Hempfield
Three Hempfield rules shape a deck or patio: which projects take a permit and how long review runs, where attached structures may sit, and where the water off a new roof has to go.
30 daysBusiness days for a full code review
Any porch or deck roof is permit work; a full code review can run 30 business days and an exempt one 15. Crews may work sunup to sundown through the year. For an open deck, we confirm the requirement first. The Hempfield kitchen page lists the office.
Hempfield permitsPatiosNamed among attached structures
Whatever attaches to the house, a porch or a patio alike, stays clear of the required yards; small details such as cornices are allowed 24 inches. Lot lines come first, then the layout. The Hempfield additions page has more.
Hempfield zoning42.7 inYearly rainfall at New Stanton
Chapter 72 prefers roof water released onto vegetation where practical and forbids funneling it onto lower land next door. A covered patio's gutter is planned with that rule from the start. The Hempfield basement page has the details.
Hempfield stormwater rulesDeck Questions
Hempfield homeowners ask these as we step out through the slider onto the old deck. Each stage is explained on our decks page.
Ask a QuestionFootprint, height, board choice, any roof and whether the old frame survives all move the price. A covered patio with a permitted roof is a bigger job than new boards on sound joists. We price after walking the lot.
What decks costThe township's permit page clearly covers porch and deck roofs. For an open deck with no roof, we confirm the requirement with the township before starting, since size and height can change the answer.
Hempfield permitsNot one attached to the house. Township zoning groups attached patios with porches and balconies, and none may sit in a required yard. We measure your lot so the patio fits the first time.
Hempfield zoningOften, yes. The township permits work from sunrise to nightfall in every month, and footings can be dug between hard freezes. Short days mean shorter shifts, so a winter deck takes a little longer on the calendar.
How a deck job runsConfirmed mining underlies about 32% of Hempfield on DEP's map, chiefly out by Wendel and Grapeville on the west and up near Carbon. Before tying a roof or a room to the house in those areas, look the lot up on DEP's map.
Coal under HempfieldOther Services
Inside and out, our other Hempfield pages take in kitchen work, bathrooms, attic space, the basement, additions, windows and exterior repair.
Kitchen RemodelingNew layouts, new cabinets, new counters: framed, built, and installed by the same crew.View Service
Bathroom RemodelingFull gut renovations with proper waterproofing, new framing, and tile set by hand.View Service
Attic FinishingUnused attics framed into bedrooms and offices: subfloor, insulation, drywall, and a proper stair.View Service
Basement FinishingUnfinished basements turned into real rooms: framed, insulated, drywalled, and finished by our crew.View Service
Additions & ADUsAdditions and accessory dwelling units (ADUs), framed from the ground up and tied in clean.View Service
Windows & Exterior DoorsWindows and exterior doors set, flashed, and trimmed so water stays out of the wall.View Service
Exterior Restoration & Structural RepairsRotted trim and siding, sagging joists, failed sills: opened up and repaired to solid wood.View ServiceVerified Google Reviews
5.0 out of 5 · 17 reviews
Written by the homeowners we've worked for across Westmoreland County. Every one verified on Google, every one pulled from the real feed.
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Tell us about the project in the form or give us a call. Either way, estimates are free and the number is the number — priced to the actual work, written down before anyone swings a hammer.
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Trafford, PA 15085
