General Contractor in Butler, PA
Building Contractors United is a general contractor serving Butler, PA and Butler Township with commercial construction, excavation and site work, and residential remodels.
Building Contractors United is a general contractor in Butler, PA, serving both the City of Butler and Butler Township with commercial construction, renovation of older downtown buildings, excavation and site work, and residential remodeling. We are based in Zelienople, about 25 minutes west on Route 68, and we work in Butler regularly. BCU is woman-owned, fully insured, and registered with the state under HIC #PA193140. JT Minarik, our Construction Manager, has been in the field since 2009, and every project we finish carries a 2-year workmanship warranty.
Construction in Butler
Butler is the county seat and the largest employment center in Butler County, with roughly 13,000 residents in the city and another 17,000 in the surrounding township. The city is built on hills above the Connoquenessing Creek, with a dense grid of Main Street commercial buildings, many of them brick and over a century old. That building stock creates steady demand for a commercial construction company in Butler, PA, that is comfortable with structural repair, facade work, new storefront systems and interior layouts that bring old floor plates up to current code.
Butler Township, which wraps around the city, is where most new commercial pads and retail have gone. The Route 8 corridor north of the city, the Route 422 bypass and the Route 68 approach from the west carry the big-box retail, restaurants, auto dealers and medical offices. The hospital campus and the health system's outpatient locations drive medical office fit-out work, and Butler County Community College on the township's south side adds institutional and support construction. The township also has active industrial sites that need pre-engineered metal buildings, equipment pads and utility trenching.
Terrain is the defining challenge. Butler's hillsides are steep, soils are clay over shale, and many lots in both the city and township have been cut, filled and built on before. That history means an excavation contractor in Butler, PA, has to expect old foundations, buried utilities and fill of unknown quality. We probe before we price, we plan retaining walls and drainage early, and we keep slopes stable through the wet months. Residential work ranges from compact city lots to large township parcels where a new home means a long driveway, a well and septic system, and real grading.
Services we offer in Butler
Commercial construction
From new retail and office buildings on Route 8 to metal buildings for industrial users, our commercial construction team handles ground-up work across Butler Township.
Commercial renovation and build-outs
Downtown Butler's older buildings are a natural fit for our commercial renovation and tenant build-out services, including office, restaurant, retail and medical office fit-outs.
Excavation and site work
Our excavation and site work crews handle land clearing, grading, foundation excavation, retaining walls, stormwater and utility trenching on Butler's hillside lots.
Design-build
Our design-build process gives Butler business owners one contract and one point of contact from concept through completion.
Home remodeling and additions
If you are searching for a home remodeling contractor in Butler, PA, our additions and remodels page covers whole-home remodels, kitchens and baths, second-story additions and in-law suites.
Custom homes
We build custom homes on township acreage and infill lots, with site work included.
Permits and local requirements
In the city, building and zoning permits run through the City of Butler's Office of Business and Community Development, which houses the building permit office and coordinates commercial inspections through a third-party agency. Butler Township handles its own zoning and building permits through the township office, and the two jurisdictions have different zoning maps and fee schedules, so confirm which side of the line your parcel sits on before design begins. Both follow the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code.
Site work in either jurisdiction needs an erosion and sediment control plan, and the Butler County Conservation District reviews E&S plans for larger disturbances. Any project disturbing one acre or more requires a PA DEP NPDES permit, which should be filed well ahead of the planned start date. Steep-slope lots and work near the Connoquenessing Creek may trigger additional grading or floodplain review. We manage these submittals as part of our site work scope and keep you informed on where each approval stands.
Nearby areas we serve
If you own a building downtown, a business in Butler Township, or a home that needs more room, we would like to see it. Request a free estimate in Butler or call (724) 900-4123. We show up when we say we will, and we build it to last.
Common questions
Permits and soils vary by township. We will walk your site and give you a written, itemized estimate.
(724) 900-4123Get a Free EstimateCommercial construction cost per square foot in Pittsburgh varies widely by building type, structure, finish level and site conditions. A pre-engineered metal warehouse costs far less per square foot than a medical office or a restaurant with full kitchen.
The main drivers are the structural system, the amount of mechanical, electrical and plumbing work inside, the exterior finish, the site work required, and the municipality's permit and stormwater requirements. Hillside lots and clay soil common to the region add to the site portion. Because cost depends on the site and the scope, BCU gives a free, itemized estimate after reviewing your program and seeing the site.
How long a commercial building takes depends on the scope, the building type and the site, and BCU gives you a realistic schedule with your free estimate. Design, engineering and permitting come before groundbreaking. A simple pre-engineered metal building can be faster; a multi-story or medical building takes longer.
Site work, foundation and structure make up the first half of the schedule, and interior build-out and finishes the second. Common delays in the Pittsburgh area include municipal permit review, NPDES approval for sites over one acre, long lead times on steel and electrical gear, and winter weather on foundation work. Design-build delivery shortens the total by overlapping design and pricing.
How long a commercial build-out takes depends on the scope, the type of space and the condition of the site, and BCU gives you a realistic schedule with your free estimate. Office and retail spaces are usually fastest, restaurants take longer, and medical or dental offices take the longest, with design and permitting coming before construction starts.
The space type drives the schedule because of what goes inside it. A restaurant adds kitchen equipment, grease duct and health department review. A medical office adds plumbing in every exam room and a longer inspection list. In the Pittsburgh area, permit review time, inspection scheduling, HVAC and electrical lead times and landlord approvals are the most common delays.
Usually yes. Most Butler County townships require a grading permit for earth disturbance above a set threshold, and state rules add requirements based on the size of the disturbance.
Any disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more needs a written erosion and sediment control plan. Any disturbance of one acre or more needs an NPDES permit through the Butler County Conservation District before work begins. Thresholds and fees differ between Cranberry Township, Adams Township, Jackson Township and the other municipalities, so check with the township building department. A good contractor knows the local rules and handles the application.
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