An Irwin house of five rooms and two bedrooms can feel just right until another child arrives or a parent can't manage the stairs. We figure out what the lot and the borough allow, then build the extra room so it meets the old house cleanly, inside and out.
Irwin Additions
In Irwin, two-bedroom houses outnumber every other size, the median house counts five rooms, and almost 30% were standing by 1940. Owners who love the borough but need space ask us what can be added on.
More than four Irwin homes in ten have two bedrooms. When the kids start doubling up or a teenager needs a door of their own, owners would rather add a room than leave a borough they like.
A one-story bedroom behind the house, or a bedroom stacked on a new ground-floor room, framed to the old floor heights so nobody trips at the doorway. The roof gets matched to the existing pitch, and the siding laced in.
Room additionsRoughly 38% of Irwin's owner-occupied homes belong to someone 65 or older. In an older house the bedrooms and the full bath can all sit up a stair, and owners ask for a bedroom and bath they can reach without climbing.
A ground-level suite with a zero-threshold shower, grab-bar backing at the toilet, and 36-inch doors. We tie its plumbing into the house lines and keep the floor level with the rooms it joins.
Primary suite additionsRoughly 24% of Irwin households include children, and in a house of five rooms the living room doubles as playroom, office and TV room. Parents ask for one more room where the toys and the noise can go.
A new room beside the kitchen, with a wide cased opening so you can see in while you cook. Heat runs from the furnace or a ductless unit, and outlets go where the couch and TV will actually sit.
Room additionsAn old Irwin kitchen is usually a small room at the rear. Owners who have run out of counter ask whether a short bump-out can buy room for a pantry, a table or a second person at the stove.
We push the kitchen wall out a few feet on new footings, carry the floor through level, and frame a new header where the old wall stood. Cabinets and counters then run the full new length.
Bump-outsWith snow on the walk much of the winter and kids coming in from school, the back door often opens straight into the kitchen. Owners ask for a small room to catch boots, coats and backpacks first.
A small enclosed entry with a bench, hooks and cubbies, a tile floor that shrugs off salt, and a door that seals. It sits on its own footings below frost, so it doesn't heave away from the house in February.
Bump-outsSome Irwin lots have room behind the house but no garage. Owners ask for a one- or two-car garage, and some hope for a room above it, without learning too late what the borough permits.
A detached garage stays 10 feet off the side and rear lines and under the borough's height cap: 18 feet in the low-density district, only 10 in the medium-density one, which rules out a room on top there.
Garage buildsHomes and households: Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, Borough of Irwin (rounded). Garage limits: Irwin zoning, Chapter 260.
The rest of the job
How it runs, what it costs and who builds it are on our main additions & adus page.
Adding On in Irwin
Three Irwin rules shape an addition: the borough's outside plan reviewer, the frost depth its code sets for footings, and the zoning limits on how far a building can reach toward the line.
CEAThe borough's plan reviewer
Applications go in at 424 Main, then the borough's code firm, CEA, can hold the plans up to three working weeks. Irwin's kitchen remodeling page walks through each step. We submit early so the review is done before the dig date.
Irwin permits, explained36 in.Frost depth in Irwin's code
Irwin's code sets the frost line at 36 inches, so every footing for an addition goes at least that deep. A shallower one can heave when the ground freezes and crack the joint with the old house. The new roof is framed for the borough's 40-pound snow load too.
Irwin Code §110-1 (opens in a new tab)3 ftEaves, from the property line
Eaves and sills can push 4 feet into a required yard, though never within 3 feet of the line, and a front porch only 8 feet into the front yard. On a corner, both street sides count as fronts. Exact yards by district sit in the ordinance's table, so we confirm yours with the borough.
Irwin Code (opens in a new tab)Addition Questions
Irwin owners ask these before any ground is broken. The main additions and ADUs page has the whole process.
Ask a QuestionSize, foundation and how the roof ties in drive the number. A small bump-out is the light end; a two-story addition, a ground-floor suite with a private bathroom, or footings on a mined or sloping site add to it. We write it up after measuring the house and lot.
Addition price rangesAs a separate unit, likely not without more approvals. Irwin defines a single-family house as one living unit with one kitchen, and a low-density lot gets one principal use. A suite that shares the family's kitchen is the simpler route. We check with the borough first.
In-law suitesOften, on your own side of the line and with the yard rules met. The wall between the units has to keep its fire separation where the addition meets it, which our Irwin attic page explains. We look at both halves before drawing.
Two-family separationIt's worth a look. DEP's subsidence map shades most of Irwin as mined, and home insurance as usually written leaves subsidence out. Look the address up, price a state subsidence policy, and we'll size the footings for what the soil shows when we dig.
Coal under IrwinRarely. The footings, framing and roof all go up outside, and the house stays closed until the addition is weathertight. Only the last stretch, when we cut through the old wall, touches daily life, and we seal it off with dust walls while it lasts.
The order of the workOther Services
We also rebuild Irwin kitchens and baths, turn attics into bedrooms and finish basements under the borough's older houses. Pick a service below.
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
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 Service
Decks & Covered PatiosDecks, covered patios and three-season rooms, flashed to the house and built for Westmoreland winters.View ServiceVerified Google Reviews
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Trafford, PA 15085
