Three in ten Jeannette homes predate 1940, from the decades when the glass works set the pace of the city. Plenty still suit their families, minus one room. We drive over from the Trafford shop, read the lot against the flood map and the sewer's history, and build that room to match.
Jeannette Additions
Jeannette's housing skews old and modest. A third of homes have two bedrooms, six rooms is the commonest size, and owners who'd rather stay than move ask what can be added.
Homeowners 65 and older hold 41% of Jeannette's owner-occupied houses. Where the bedrooms and bath sit up a steep old staircase, many want a room on the first floor they can reach any day of the year.
The bedroom and an accessible bath go on at the rear, with a low-entry shower, lever handles and backing for rails. Its floor is set to the old one's height, and the hall leading there stays short and lit.
Primary suite additionsAbout 35% of the city's houses have exactly two bedrooms. Couples who bought one to start out, then had kids, ask whether a third bedroom can go on before they start thinking about selling.
Usually at the rear, as a ground-floor room or one framed over a new back room, depending on the lot. Plaster upstairs meets new drywall at a clean seam, and the windows line up with the originals.
Room additionsOlder kitchens here can be small, with room for one cook. Owners who now cook for a crowd ask about a few extra feet off the rear wall for counter space, a pantry and somewhere to sit.
A small rear extension on new footings, with a header carrying the load where the old wall comes out. A moved sink's plumbing goes in under the city permit, and the siding outside is laced into the old.
Bump-outsAbout 33% of households in the city rent, and about 15% of homes are in small multi-unit buildings. Landlords ask whether one more bedroom in a unit pays off,
The room gets a closet and an egress window, smoke alarms tied to the unit's others, and finishes ready for the Fire Department's walk-through at the next change of tenants. Our kitchen page covers that visit.
Jeannette rental rulesJeannette's permit form has separate lines for a porch with a roof, a porch roof alone and a porch enclosure. Owners ask for any of the three, often to turn an open porch into a room they can use in winter.
Old porch posts and footings get inspected before any new weight goes on, the roof is framed for heavy wet snow, and an enclosure meant for living gets insulation and heat. Each version goes on its own permit line.
Sunrooms and porchesWest Jeannette, from 12th Street to 15th, has taken the worst of the combined sewer's backups. Owners there want space but worry that a new bathroom becomes the next place sewage comes up.
The new plumbing ties in behind protection on the line, and every downspout from the new roof goes to the yard, never the lateral. Our Jeannette bathroom page explains the valve and the county's project.
Backup protectionCensus Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, rounded. Permit categories: the city's residential building permit form.
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 Jeannette
Jeannette reviews an addition at one office, asks on its form whether the lot sits in a flood area, and shares sewers that can't take more rainwater. Each changes how we plan.
110 S. 2ndCity Hall, Building and Code
One city office, Building and Code, applies both the construction code and zoning, and its form gives additions, porch roofs and enclosures their own lines. Our Jeannette kitchen page covers how it works. We file the plans and meet each inspector.
Jeannette permits, explainedR322Code section for flood hazard areas
Jeannette's form wants to know if any part of your lot falls in a mapped flood area and if you'll build there. When it does, code section R322 governs: flood-resistant construction, with the lowest floor at or higher than the design flood elevation. FEMA's map gets checked before any drawing.
What we check firstMAWCBars rain from the sanitary sewer
The county sewer authority prohibits sending stormwater into the sanitary sewer, and in a city whose combined pipes already back up, an addition's downspouts belong on the lawn. Our Jeannette basement page shows how we trace and disconnect the old ones too.
Downspouts off the sewerAddition Questions
Jeannette owners usually raise these at the first walk-through. A build from footing to trim is traced on the additions and ADUs page.
Ask a QuestionSize, foundation and what goes inside. A plain room on dry, level ground costs least; a raised floor in a flood zone, a bath protected against backups or a second story over an old wing cost more. A site visit comes before any written number.
Addition price rangesYes, once the deck surface rises past 30 inches; the city's form lists those decks separately. Lower ones aren't on it. We draw the deck with the addition, so both permits go in together.
Jeannette permit forms (opens in a new tab)It's unlikely. The state's records put only a sliver of the city over confirmed workings. A quick search of DEP's subsidence map, done before footings are designed, shows whether your lot is in that sliver.
DEP mine subsidence lookup (opens in a new tab)It can. Roughly 41% of Jeannette radon results in the state registry came back high. Under a new slab we lay gravel and a sealed vapor barrier and run a passive pipe up through the roof, as the residential code's radon appendix describes, so a fan can be added later.
Radon in JeannetteIn nearly every case. The new room is framed, roofed and closed in before we open the old wall, so the house stays sealed for most of the job. The day the wall comes down, we hang dust barriers and keep the mess to one room.
The order of the workOther Services
Older kitchens and baths, attic bedrooms with proper stairs and basements made safe from backups round out what we do in Jeannette. Choose 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
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.
Get in Touch
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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hello@alltradeshq.com
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529 Forest Ave
Trafford, PA 15085
