Demolition Contractor in Mt. Lebanon, PA

Who issues a demolition permit in Mt. Lebanon?

We come out from Pittsburgh on West Liberty Avenue and Washington Road. Mt. Lebanon is a home rule municipality, so it runs its own code office rather than the city's. The Mt. Lebanon Inspection Office, on Washington Road, oversees residential and commercial construction across the town.

The municipality says a demolition permit is required for any commercial or residential demolition. That covers a house, a garage and a storage shed. The application asks for the type of structure, its square footage and the number of stories. It also wants the reason for the work, the Allegheny County parcel number and the zoning district.

Mt. Lebanon requires written releases from all utility companies certifying that services have been disconnected. An asbestos exemption or abatement certificate may also be required. A licensed abatement contractor does any removal before we start. When we quote the job we go over what the town wants and who handles each step.

Garage demolition and gut outs in Mt. Lebanon

The Mt. Lebanon Historic District covers about 1,306 acres in the middle of town. It went on the National Register in 2014. The nomination counts 3,341 contributing buildings across 38 residential plans, built between 1874 and about 1945.

Those plans put the garage at the back of the lot. The nomination says Mission Hills deed restrictions kept garages to the rear. In Seminole Terrace the rear garages are reached by an alley. Orchard Hill, platted in 1916, has rear detached garages as well.

Many of those garages are now eighty to a hundred years old. Plenty are leaning, and the roof is going. Tight alleys and narrow rear yards mean hand work before the excavator gets in. Our garage demolition page covers the slab and the footers.

Plaster and lath, old wiring and small closed off kitchens come with houses of this age. Contractors and investors buying here often gut a house to the studs before a remodel. We have been in the demolition business since 2001, and we know how these houses go together. Load bearing walls, joists and stacks stay put, the rest goes out, and we leave the site clean.

Brick pointing and chimney work on Mt. Lebanon houses

The nomination describes two and a half story brick, stone and frame houses. Their roofs are slate, tile or asphalt shingle. In Mission Hills the original deed restrictions called for stone or brick walls and slate or tile roofs. That is a lot of masonry to keep up.

Mortar washes out after eighty or ninety winters. Freeze and thaw is hard on joints, and water gets in behind the brick. Brick pointing rakes out the bad joints and fills them with mortar matched to old soft brick. Hard modern mortar can break the face off the brick instead of giving way.

Chimneys usually go first, since they take weather on every side. We repoint them, rebuild them from the roofline up, and take down stacks that are no longer in use. Our chimney repair and removal page has the detail. Sweeping, liners and flue inspections belong to a certified chimney sweep.

Retaining walls and foundations on Mt. Lebanon's hillsides

The nomination calls this ridge and valley country. The plan names say the same: Mission Hills, Lebanon Hills, Seminole Hills, Beverly Heights. In Mission Hills the ground drops 130 feet from the ridge top to the valley stream in two blocks. Steep front yards with tall staircases are normal in this town.

So many yards here have a wall holding the bank. Mt. Lebanon requires a building permit for a retaining wall over two feet tall. Walls over four feet need engineering drawings. We tear out failed walls and build retaining walls back in block, stone, poured concrete and timber, railroad ties included.

Underground, the state Department of Environmental Protection maps Mt. Lebanon as undermined area. Old coal workings are one of the reasons foundation walls in this part of the county crack and move. When a wall is bowing or a house is settling, a structural engineer should look at it first. We do the masonry and waterproofing the repair calls for.