Two of every five homes in North Huntingdon went up in the fifties and sixties, and nine in ten are lived in by their owners. We redo the kitchens and baths those houses started with, finish their basements and build the decks out back.
Mid-Century North Huntingdon
Half the homes in the township have three bedrooms, and nine in ten are detached houses on their own lots. The township's own plan counts more than half of them as over fifty years old. These four spots are where that age shows first.
Kitchens of that era were often narrow, with one way in. We widen the doorway or open the wall once we know what it holds up, and plan room for two cooks.
When the house has only one bathroom, redoing it takes planning. We stage the work to keep you without a toilet for as few days as possible, then gut, waterproof and tile it.
If the basement has old paneling and a drop ceiling, we take it out, test the walls for moisture, then frame, insulate and drywall a room that feels like the rest of the house.
A deck off the kitchen on a sloping lot can sit high above the yard. We dig footings past frost depth, size the posts for the height and cross-brace them so it feels solid.
Census figures for North Huntingdon Township, American Community Survey 2020–2024. The drawing illustrates the type, not a particular house. North Huntingdon on Census Reporter (opens in a new tab)
What We Build Here
Forty percent of the township was built in the fifties and sixties, and most of the rest came later. Here is what we run into on each kind of job in a house sixty years old or more.
01Kitchen RemodelingKitchens built in the sixties were sized for one cook. We open them to the dining or family room where the framing allows, then hang new cabinets and set the counters and floor.View Service
02Bathroom RemodelingA bath from the sixties may still have its first tub and wall tile. We gut it, fix any rotted subfloor, waterproof the walls and retile it the way it should have been done.View Service
03Attic FinishingA shallow roof pitch often leaves too little headroom for a room upstairs. When the attic will not work, we say so on the walkthrough and price the basement or a small addition instead.View Service
04Basement FinishingA basement under a 1960s house is often the simplest way to add a family room, guest room or office. We deal with any water, frame and insulate the walls, and finish it out.View Service
05Additions & ADUsWhen three bedrooms stop being enough, an addition off the back or over an attached garage can add a room. We check the township's setbacks, set footings, frame it and match the siding.View Service
06Windows & Exterior DoorsReplacing a window with one the same size needs no township permit, which keeps most window jobs simple. We pull the old units, fix rot in the frames, and set and flash the new ones.View Service
07Exterior Restoration & Structural RepairsSix decades of rain shows up at the bottom of the siding, the window sills and the rim joist. We find where the water got in, replace the rotted wood and fix the cause.View Service
08Decks & Covered PatiosA deck 30 inches or less off the ground needs no township permit; a higher one does, and so does any deck with a roof. We build both and file the paperwork when needed.View ServiceVillages of the Township
North Huntingdon has no single Main Street; Route 30 does that job. Around it sits a cluster of villages, some built around coal mines. Here are five, with what we watch for in each.
Robbins Station Road · Braddock's road
Circleville's fire station sits on Robbins Station Road just south of Route 30, near a marker for Braddock's 1755 military road. Coal was mined under this part of the township, so we check the state's mine map before an addition.
The Larimer coke ovens
Ardara is home to the Larimer coke ovens, built in 1871 as a Carnegie Steel experiment. In 2024 part of Pine Hollow Road Extension slid into a Brush Creek tributary here, so on a hillside lot we study the slope first.
Route 993 · a post office since 1852
Larimer, on Route 993 northwest of Irwin, got its post office in 1852. The sewer authority's pump station there serves about 150 homes on Scotch Hill, Frog Road and Rice Lane, which matters when a job adds a bathroom.
Route 993 · near the Irwin line
In July 2019 Brush Creek broke its banks near the Irwin border along Route 993, and one neighbor counted six floods since moving in in 2004. On lots near the creek, we keep new finished space up out of the water's reach.
Kerber's Dairy · since 1961
Kerber's Dairy has sold milk and ice cream on Guffey Road since 1961. A 2019 landslide closed part of the road, and the township's own plan names steep slopes as a limit in many areas, so we read the hill before digging.
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Who Does the Work
Nine in ten homes here are lived in by the people who own them, and those owners want to know who will be in the house each morning. Here, it is the carpenters who walked through it with you first, every day.
The usual way
The AllTrades way
Seasons in the Township
The township sits on hills above Brush Creek and Long Run, so every season ends up as water moving downhill: freezing nights all winter, snowmelt in spring, storms in summer.
Winter freeze
44.1 inAverage snowfall, Pittsburgh airport
Snow sits on roofs and against deck stairs, and the ground freezes on about 114 nights in a typical year. We frame new roofs and porch covers for the snow load and set deck stairs on footings frost will not lift.
Wet springs
$661KHaywood Road slide repair, 2018
Wet springs are when hillsides let go: a slide carried off part of Haywood Road in late February and March 2018. On a sloped lot we check how water drains above any new footing before we build.
Summer storms
$9MStormwater projects proposed, 2023
Summer storms push the creeks hardest. In 2023 the township weighed a $7 monthly fee to fund about $9 million in stormwater work, including $1.5 million for Long Run. We route roof water away from the house on every job.
Snow and freezing nights: Pittsburgh International Airport normals, 1991–2020 (NOAA). Slide and stormwater figures: Tribune-Review reporting, 2018 and 2023. Tribune-Review: the stormwater fee proposal (opens in a new tab)
Building in North Huntingdon
The township, the sewer authority and the hillsides each have a say in a project here. We sort out all three before a contract, so the schedule you see is the real one.
31 in+Decks that need a permit
North Huntingdon's own inspectors handle building permits from the township building on Center Highway, and the township has 15 business days to review a residential application. Raised decks of 31 inches or more, roofed decks, additions and larger sheds need one; same-size windows and new shingles do not.
North Huntingdon permit questions (opens in a new tab)$260Dye test and lateral inspection
If you sell or refinance, the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority requires a dye test and an inspection of the sewer line from your house. Request it at least 14 days before closing. A passing test stays good for five years, so a remodel and a sale close together can share one.
NHTMA: selling your home (opens in a new tab)South halfMostly mined, state map
Coal was mined under much of the township, most heavily in its southern half, and landslides have taken out parts of Haywood, Guffey and Pine Hollow roads. Before an addition or a tall deck, check the state's subsidence map and let us look at the slope.
Check your address on the state's mine subsidence map (opens in a new tab)Where Else We Build
Our shop in Trafford is a short drive from anywhere in the township, and the same crew works Irwin, Murrysville, Plum, Greensburg and the rest of our list.
Common Township Questions
Permits, the sewer test and what lies under the yard come up most. Five questions, answered for the township specifically.
Ask a QuestionOnly if it is 31 inches or more above grade, or if it has a roof. A ground-level deck of 30 inches or less needs no permit. The township's own inspectors review residential permits within 15 business days, and we draw the plans, file them and meet the inspector on site.
North Huntingdon permit questions (opens in a new tab)A dye test and a lateral line inspection from the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority. Send the request and the $260 fee at least 14 days before closing. The results are good for five years, so if you are remodeling before a sale, schedule it after the plumbing work.
NHTMA: selling your home (opens in a new tab)Fairly common. About a third of the 2,600-plus tests in Pennsylvania's registry with a North Huntingdon address read 4 picocuries per liter or more, the state's action level. We ask for a test before framing a basement room; a high result means a mitigation system goes in first.
PA DEP: Radon in the Home (opens in a new tab)Not for same-size window replacement or new shingles; the township lists both as exempt, along with siding, patio slabs and driveway repaving. Changing a window's size, adding a door or building an addition is a different matter. Before we cut a new opening, we check with the township and pull any permit it needs.
North Huntingdon permit questions (opens in a new tab)Possibly. The state's subsidence map shows confirmed coal mining under much of North Huntingdon, most heavily in the south. Homeowner's insurance usually excludes subsidence, and Pennsylvania runs its own insurance program for it. Search the map for your address before you plan an addition, and ask us to look at the slope while we are there.
PA DEP Mine Subsidence Insurance (opens in a new tab)Verified 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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412-730-8805
hello@alltradeshq.com
Hours
Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Closed Sat & Sun
Shop
529 Forest Ave
Trafford, PA 15085
