On a Murrysville hillside the lower level often has a door to the backyard and a wall buried in the slope. Our carpenters dry that uphill wall, then finish the space into the room the house was always missing: guests, a bar, a gym.
Murrysville Lower Levels
Houses here are big, owned for decades and built into the hills. The lower level is often the one space still unclaimed, and owners ask us for the same handful of rooms.
Many Murrysville houses step down their hillside lots, so the lower level gets daylight and a door on the low side. Owners want that door to open from a family room, not from a storage room beside the furnace.
We put the living space along the daylight side, with the biggest windows and the door to the patio, and tuck the furnace, water heater and storage against the hill. The room reads as a main floor, not a basement.
Lower-level living roomsMost Murrysville owners are past 55, and close to half the houses here hold four or more bedrooms. When family visits for a week, owners want guests on their own floor, with a bath and a door that closes.
A bedroom, a full bath and a sitting area downstairs, with the bedroom on the side that has an escape window or a door to the yard. A pump lets the bath sit below the sewer line.
Basement bedrooms and bathsCounty searches for basement bars hit their highest in November, January and February. Owners with room downstairs want a counter, a sink and a fridge there, so the party stops crowding the kitchen every holiday.
We run the sink drain and supply before framing, give the fridge and ice maker their own circuit, and build the counter with a rail and stools. Lights on dimmers set the room for the game or a quiet night.
Bars and media roomsA third of Murrysville's houses went up in the sixties and seventies, and a basement finished back then often means wood paneling, a drop ceiling and carpet laid right on the slab. Owners want it stripped and redone.
We strip it back to the block and look at what the paneling hid: damp walls, mold behind the carpet pad, spliced wiring overhead. Then new framing off the wall, foam insulation, drywall and a floor made for concrete.
What old basements hideOn a hillside lot, rain and snowmelt soak toward the wall buried in the slope, not the one that opens to the yard. Owners notice it as a damp line or a musty corner, always on the same side.
We start outside: gutters and downspouts carried well past the house, and the grade above the wall turned to send water around it. Inside, an interior drain and sump where needed, with the discharge piped outdoors, never to the sewer.
Hillside water in MurrysvilleBy the municipality's own plan, owners here often stay put the better part of four decades. A home gym downstairs keeps the treadmill out of the guest room, the weights off the den floor and the routine going through a western Pennsylvania winter.
We level the slab and lay rubber flooring that takes a dropped weight, add outlets for the treadmill, mirrors on one wall and a fan or a dehumidifier so the air stays fresh after a hard workout.
Gyms and flex roomsHomes and owners: Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, Murrysville. Length of stay: the municipality's 2015 comprehensive plan. Searches: Keyword Planner, county level, the year to September 2026.
The rest of the job
How it runs, what it costs and who builds it are on our main basement finishing page.
A Basement in Murrysville
Murrysville's own building office handles the permit, and the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority polices what drains into its sewers. Both matter downstairs, and the second one checks again when the house sells.
Sardis Rd.Permits and septic
Finishing a basement with new walls, wiring and plumbing needs a municipal building permit, and the weekday-daytime limit on construction noise applies. On septic, a new bedroom can affect the system's permit too. Our Murrysville attic page spells it out. We handle the paperwork.
Permits and septic, explained§193-17No foundation drain water in the sewer
Murrysville's code lets no foundation drainage, spring water or stormwater reach the public sewer line, and the sanitary authority may run smoke or dye tests to find it. A sump pump has to discharge outside; a hose into the laundry tub breaks the rule.
Murrysville Code §193-17 (opens in a new tab)60 mo.How long a sewer certificate can carry over
Selling or refinancing a sewered Murrysville house brings a sanitary authority inspection inside, before a certificate issues. One from the last 60 months can carry over with the owner's sworn statement that nothing since adds a discharge. We keep the sump and cleanout where an inspector can reach them.
Murrysville Code §193-22.8 (opens in a new tab)Basement Questions
What Murrysville owners ask before their lower level gets finished. Our basement finishing page has the full process.
Ask a QuestionIt depends on what's there now. A dry walkout with good height and an easy drain costs less than a seventies basement stripped of its paneling, or one that needs the uphill wall dried and a pump for the bath. You'll have the figure on paper once we've walked it.
Typical basement pricesIt can, if the door opens from the bedroom itself straight to the yard. The residential code accepts a side-hinged door or a slider as the escape opening. Otherwise the room needs an escape window, which on the hill side means a window well.
IRC R310 escape openings (opens in a new tab)Usually. If the drain can fall to the house sewer line, the sink ties in like any other. If the bar sits lower than that line, a small pump under the counter lifts the water up to it. We work out which before the walls are framed.
Basement barsYes. In the 15668, close to half of logged basement readings landed at 4 picocuries or higher, and the Murrysville page has the details. Test before framing; if it reads high, the mitigation pipe is installed first and the framing goes around it.
Radon in Murrysville basementsGas heats four of every five Murrysville homes, so the furnace usually gets a utility room of its own, walled off with a door. We keep the makers' clearances, leave room to service it, and make sure it still gets the combustion air it needs.
Mechanical roomsOther Services
The same crew that finishes Murrysville lower levels handles kitchens, baths, attics and decks that hang off the hill. Pick one 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
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 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.
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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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529 Forest Ave
Trafford, PA 15085
