Every spring the front step seems a little farther from the door, and the crack beside it opens a bit more. From the war years through 1959, Level Green gained close to half its present houses, on clay that swells when it's wet. We rebuild what's moved and soft, and give the water a better place to go.
Level Green Repairs
The 1950s were Level Green's busiest building years, 94% of homes stand alone on their lots, and roughly half of today's owners moved in before 2000. Long ownership and heavy clay shape the repairs they ask about.
Level Green sits largely on Upshur clay, which soil scientists grade high for shrink-swell. A stoop or set of wood steps sitting on it can rise in a wet season and drop in a dry one, until there's a gap at the threshold and a tilt underfoot.
We take the steps out and set new footings below the active clay, then build it back with matching risers, none above 7-3/4 inches. The landing is tied to its own footings, not the soil, so it stays put as the ground moves.
Porch and stair structureA downspout that empties at the corner keeps the clay beside the foundation wet, and wet clay swells. Owners see rot at the corner boards, a sill going soft, and sometimes cracks that open more each spring.
We replace the rotted trim, sill and sheathing using treated wood held off the dirt, then run downspouts out to a planted area or a drain the township accepts. Keeping that corner drier helps the wood and the ground both.
Level Green roof-drain rulesUnder each window of a postwar house, a wood sill has caught the rain for some seventy years. Owners find paint that won't stick, a sill that dents under a fingernail, and stains running down the siding below it.
The soft sill comes out along with any rotted framing beneath, fit a replacement pitched to drain, and tuck flashing behind the siding. If the window itself is failing too, our Level Green windows page covers replacing it in the same opening.
Level Green windowsWhere a postwar house has a small front porch roof on a couple of posts and a light beam, decades of weather show. The roofline sags, post bottoms rot, and the ceiling boards stain where water got in.
With temporary supports in place, the old beam and posts come out and stronger ones go in, standing on footings dug past the clay. Rotten rafter tips and porch ceiling boards are renewed, and the edge is reflashed.
Beams, posts and headersDEP has mapped no confirmed coal workings inside Level Green. When a living room floor dips after seventy-odd years, the framing is the prime suspect: a tired girder, a settled post or a joist cut for old plumbing.
Working from below, we examine the girder, the columns holding it and every joist, and level the floor to see how far it's dropped. The fix may be doubled joists, columns on fresh footings or a new beam, with a township permit when the work changes the structure.
Sagging floors and joistsClose to 45% of owners here have turned 65, and plenty have lived on the same street for decades. A wobbly railing or one that stops short of the bottom step is what they mention first when we're out front.
We fasten new posts into the framing, add a rail you can wrap a hand around along every stair four risers high or more, and replace soft treads. The finished steps match the house and hold a full grip in any weather.
Porch and stair structureHousing ages: Census ACS 2020–2024 for the Level Green CDP, rounded for its small sample. Clay rating: the USDA's Upshur soil series. Downspout rules: township stormwater code.
The rest of the job
How it runs, what it costs and who builds it are on our main exterior restoration & structural repairs page.
Repairs in Level Green
Township rules come from Penn Township, which Level Green belongs to. What sets it apart is underfoot: heavy clay that rises and falls with moisture, and no confirmed coal workings on the state map.
9 p.m.–7 a.m.No construction in the township
Penn Township inspects its own permits. Board and trim swaps are ordinary repair, while beams and load-bearing walls need a permit, and construction has to respect the overnight quiet hours above. Our Harrison City repair page, in the same township, covers it all.
Penn Township repair rulesHighUpshur soil's shrink-swell rating
Gilpin–Upshur soils cover most of Level Green, and Upshur rates high for shrink-swell. Footings set below the active layer and dry ground beside the house keep steps and porches from riding up and down. Our additions page has the code side.
Level Green soilsNoneConfirmed mining inside Level Green
Harrison City sits over mapped mining; Level Green, in the same township, has no confirmed workings on DEP's map. Cracks and sags here are more likely to trace to clay, water or aging framing. The Level Green hub page has more.
About Level GreenRepair Questions
Level Green owners ask these while we're kneeling by the front step. Each stage of a job is described on the repair service page.
Ask a QuestionWe price it after opening the damage and finding where solid wood begins. A window sill or a few trim boards is a small job; rebuilt steps on deep footings, or a porch roof needing its beam and posts replaced, is a larger one. You see the written number first.
Repair price rangesOften it's the clay. Upshur clay gets bigger in wet weather and smaller in dry spells, and steps resting on it move with it. Footings that reach below the active layer, plus downspouts carried away from the steps, help break the cycle.
Level Green soilsNo. Penn Township bars storm water from any sanitary sewer, and its code wants roof drains sent to an approved system or a planted area wherever feasible. If an old downspout ties into the lateral, we reroute it.
Level Green roof-drain rulesWith nothing confirmed on DEP's map within the Level Green boundary, the usual reason to buy it is weaker here than in Harrison City. It's still your call; DEP's address lookup is the place to check your own lot.
About Level GreenRight next door. Level Green uses Trafford's 15085 ZIP, and we work from 529 Forest Avenue in Trafford, so a look at your sill or steps takes us only minutes to reach.
Schedule a repair inspectionOther Services
Inside the house, our Level Green pages cover kitchen and bath remodels, finished attics and lower levels, additions and new windows.
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
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
