PRIVATE RESERVE
1800s farmhouse with big addition priced at $219,000
Lauren and Andy Monahan’s home in Reserve was built in the mid- to late 1800s, but they remade it with hard work, laughter and love. “When we bought it, there was no addition,” Mrs. Monahan explained. “It was basically a four-room house, almost half the house it is now.”
With three sons who needed bedrooms, they decided to nearly double the space with a large addition. Mr. Monahan, an insulation contractor, did the work with his father and his father-in-law.
“When we built the addition, we put a new roof on the whole thing about four years ago,” he said.
But the house was still not quite big enough.
“We need more space, more bedrooms,” Mrs. Monahan said. “Andy would like to throw in the towel, but I’m not done having babies.…I might get my girl yet.”
The family has put the three-bedroom, 1½-bath house at a 11 Volta St. (MLS No. 1581332) on the market for $219,000 with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices agent Sheryl Florio (412-500-9297 or www.thepreferredrealty.com). An open house is set for 1-3 p.m. Sunday.
The Monahans opened up the first floor
and added a 16- by- 24-foot room with a cathedral ceiling and tall windows. By removing a wall to the kitchen, they created an open floorplan.
They also converted the original dining room into a master bedroom with a fireplace that still has its original handcarved mantel. Mrs. Monahan believes it may be cherry wood.
The kitchen, which is part of the open living space, has a new electric stove, dishwasher and a large refrigerator that Mr. Monahan said will never leave the house because it’s so big. But the new appliances aren’t what his wife likes best.
“The kitchen ceiling is the original tin ceiling and when we do walk-throughs, I know that’s what people are going to really like,” she said.
There is a plaque on the front that says the house was built in 1898, but the couple isn’t that sure about it. Mrs. Monahan’s brother-in-law is John Schalcosky, a historian, artist and founder of the popular Facebook page “Odd, Mysterious & Fascinating History of Pittsburgh.” while checking out some old
maps, he found the farmhouse on a map from 1850.
“There used to be a mansion up the hill and our house was the servant’s house. That’s why it was only four rooms,” said Mrs. Monahan. “From about 1900 to early 2000, the same family owned it. They were the first police officers in Reserve Township.”
Wanting to add a mudroom that was in keeping with the old farmhouse, Mrs. Monahan took to Pinterest for inspiration. Like so many things in this home, it was a family collaboration. Her mother found the corrugated steel that backs the bench. It came from a barn that was knocked down by a microburst and was purchased online for $10 per piece.
Mr. Monahan didn’t share his wife’s vision at first, but “he was just here for the hired muscle,” she said
He built the 40-foot-long deck at the back of the house where the couple say they they can see fireworks from Pittsburgh and four other municipalities on the Fourth of July.
The second floor holds two bedrooms measuring 11 by 13 feet and 12 by 15 feet. A full bathroom has a shower/ tub combination and is decked out in black and
white tile, fixtures and vanity.
There is a powder room in the unfinished basement.
“It’s a Pittsburgh basement, but the half-bath is nicer than the basement ... a legit bathroom,” said Mr. Monahan with a laugh.
The Allegheny County assessment is $79,500. Over the last three years, one house has sold on Volta Street for
$60,000 in June 2022www2.alleghenycounty.us/ RealEstate/Building.aspx?
The couple can walk their sons to Reserve Primary School and there is a T-ball field right next door. The fire and police departments are within a block and buses run up and down nearby Mt. Troy Road. The Millvale Shop n’ Save and McKnight Road shops and
restaurants are 5-minute drives away.
“It’s like living in the country in the city, right above Troy Hill,” said Mrs. Monahan. “We can get to Lawrenceville, Mount Washington, Interstate 79 in 15 minutes.
“Thereis so much privacy here. We have two lots that go with the house with a paper street.”