Demolition Contractor in Plum, PA

Who issues a demolition permit in Plum?

Plum runs its own building code office. Since 2004 the borough has enforced the state's Uniform Construction Code through its Building Inspection Department, part of Community Development. On a home property, demolitions are on the borough's list of work that needs a Residential Building Permit.

The demolition application asks for a copy of the demolition contract and utility service disconnection letters. It also asks for a copy of the asbestos removal permit from Allegheny County. The property owner is the permit holder and the responsible party. When we quote the job, we go over what the borough requires and who handles each step.

Asbestos rules come from the Allegheny County Health Department, and they cover commercial, institutional, public and industrial buildings in Plum. A private owner of a residential building with four or fewer units is exempt. Where the rule applies, a licensed building inspector surveys for asbestos and the county and EPA get 10 days' notice. A licensed abatement contractor removes any asbestos before we start.

Garage demolition and gut-outs in Plum's detached houses

On a detached lot, the teardown can be a garage, a deck, a shed or an above-ground pool. Garage demolition starts with the excavator on the walls and roof, then the slab if you want it gone. Shed removal covers decks, porches, old exterior stairs and above-ground pools too, and we leave the site clean.

Plum's permit rules matter if something new goes up afterward. Decks and porches need a building permit, and so do accessory structures of 200 square feet and over. A new shed or detached garage under 200 square feet needs a Zoning Certificate instead.

Inside, older houses get gutted for a remodel or a resale. We come from a building background, so interior demolition leaves the framing and systems that have to stay. More than half of Plum's houses were built before 1978. That matters for gut-outs, since we are EPA lead-safe certified for renovation work in pre-1978 homes.

Hillside retaining walls and undermined ground in Plum

A U.S. Geological Survey study found about 15 percent of Allegheny County is prone to landslides. The same study named landsliding and subsidence over underground mines as two of the county's three main environmental problems. Plum's own 2025 road program included repairing a slide on one of its roads.

Where a yard steps down a hillside, a retaining wall holds the ground back. We build retaining walls in block, brick, stone, poured concrete and timber, and we tear out failed ones first. In Plum, a wall over 4 feet needs a building permit from the borough. A wall that tall may also need an engineer's design.

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection keeps a map of undermined areas in Plum, drawn from the best historical data it has. The department notes it cannot verify how accurate or complete that data is. If a foundation wall is cracking or leaning, a structural engineer should look at it first. We do the masonry and waterproofing work the repair calls for, which is our side of foundation repair.

Plum's main roads and the drive from Pittsburgh

From Pittsburgh we come out PA 380, which starts downtown and runs through Penn Hills into Plum. In Plum it passes under the Pennsylvania Turnpike and runs near Boyce Park. PA 286 comes up from US 22 in Monroeville, crosses Plum and heads into Westmoreland County.

Roads across Plum include New Texas Road, Old Leechburg Road, Logans Ferry Road and Coxcomb Hill Road. When we look at a job here, we check how the excavator and skid steer get in. That access goes into the price we give you before any work starts.