Featured Project

Hermitage St Full House Renovation

An abandoned 5-bedroom home on Hermitage St in Pittsburgh — completely gutted down to the studs, reframed, and rebuilt from the ground up. Today it's a fully occupied Section 8 rental, giving a family a quality home and giving the neighborhood a restored property.

Pittsburgh, PAFull Gut Renovation5 BedroomsHermitage StSection 8 RentalBefore & After

Bedrooms

Bathroom

100%

Gutted to Studs

Section 8

Rental Ready

Exterior — Before & After

Hermitage St exterior after — fully renovated brick home with new porch

Before

After

The Story

From Abandoned to Occupied

This Hermitage St property sat abandoned — deteriorating from the inside out. Rotted lath ceilings, stripped walls, graffiti, no functioning systems. Most contractors would have walked away.

Keith and the M.I.B. team gutted the entire structure down to the studs. Every wall, every ceiling, every floor — stripped completely. Then they reframed it, rebuilt it, and finished it to a standard that earned Section 8 certification.

Today the 5-bedroom home has tenants living in it. A family has a quality place to call home, and Hermitage St has one less abandoned property. That's what M.I.B. is about.

Watch the Renovation

Hermitage St Full House Renovation — Part 1

Watch on YouTube →

Hermitage St Full House Renovation — Part 1

Hermitage St Full House Renovation — Part 2

Watch on YouTube →

Hermitage St Full House Renovation — Part 2

Demo & Gut Phase

Hermitage St — rotted ceiling lath exposed during demo

Hermitage St — upstairs room stripped to lath with graffiti

Hermitage St — kitchen back door area during demo, generator outside

Hermitage St — kitchen to dining room stripped to studs

Hermitage St — living room demo with exposed brick and ceiling

Hermitage St — bay window area stripped to lath

Hermitage St — downstairs hallway through lath walls toward front door

Hermitage St — deteriorated basement stairs before renovation

Rebuild — Framing

With the house stripped to bare studs, Keith reframed every wall, doorway, and partition from scratch — rebuilding the entire structure before any drywall went up.

Hermitage St — framing phase, open stud walls with ladders and work lights

Hermitage St — framing phase, hallway with new stud walls and staircase

Hermitage St — framing phase, open floor plan with tools and equipment

Hermitage St — framing phase, exposed studs with electrical rough-in and tools

Hermitage St — framing phase, new stud walls spanning full room width

Hermitage St — framing phase, new stud wall close-up with work light

Hermitage St — framing phase, floor-level view of new stud wall base plates

Hermitage St — framing phase, room with new framing and front door visible

Hermitage St — framing phase, new stud walls with insulation and work lights

Hermitage St — framing phase, entryway framing with original front door

Rebuild — Drywall

After framing, every room was drywalled from scratch — walls, ceilings, and all new door openings throughout the house.

Hermitage St — 3rd bedroom 2nd floor drywall

Hermitage St — bathroom drywall second angle

Hermitage St — downstairs entryway drywall

Hermitage St — living room to entryway drywall

Hermitage St — kitchen drywall with back door

Hermitage St — upstairs bedroom drywall second angle

Finished Interior

Every room finished and move-in ready — new flooring throughout, fully equipped kitchen, carpeted stairs, and bedrooms on all three floors. Click any photo to view full size.