PHOTOS BY EXPOSURE IT

For Garret Myers, renovating his first house gave him a chance to put his project management skills to use beyond his regular 9-to-5 job — and it also afforded him a chance to spend quality time with his father, Gary. 

Together, father and son tackled remodeling 3719 Mt. Troy Road, a duplex in Reserve. 

“It was a solid, well-built, mid-century house, but the inside needed love in every corner,” Myers says.  

The two-unit duplex, which Myers purchased in 2019, is now on the market for $325,000 (MLS# 1532706, Molly Finley, Howard Hanna Real Estate, howardhanna.com). It is under agreement. 

Sitting on a generous lot, the duplex’s all-brick exterior is easy to maintain. There’s also an expansive driveway with a two-car garage. 

“My property is almost ¾ of an acre with woods behind it, so it is very private and secluded,” Myers says. “It is literally a 10-minute drive to Downtown Pittsburgh.”

Inside, each two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit is well-appointed. Myers and his father pulled up the old carpets, painted all the walls and updated the lighting, adding long-lasting LED lights. They also upgraded the kitchens and baths.

The downstairs unit has a roomy living space featuring a living/dining combination. Natural light floods the area, thanks to a large window, while white paint and light-hued flooring ramp up the energy. 

Renovating the kitchens, Myers recalls, turned out to be his favorite part of the project. 

“I really like to cook, so it was a lot of fun for me to pick modern finishes and colors. It really changed the whole house,” he says. “I did all of the tile work on the backsplashes myself.” 

The kitchen now features soft gray cabinets, a white backsplash, stainless-steel appliances and white quartz countertops. Myers also removed a wall, which visually enlarges the space. 

In the duplex’s upper unit, the kitchen’s finishes are a little more dramatic, with white cabinets, black stone countertops and a richer gray paint.  

The bedrooms in both units are bright and cheerful, with generous closets and a soft carpet underfoot that creates an airy coziness. 

The bathrooms in each unit received complete makeovers, with new subway tile, vanities, toilets, tubs and brushed nickel fixtures. 

The units have separate laundry facilities. The utilities — including gas, electric, HVAC and water — are separate as well.  

Outside, there is a lot of yard to roam. On the hill is a patio that’s perfect for entertaining. 

“I was surprised by how much I loved outdoor space,” Myers says. “Before, I was living on the 26th floor of an apartment Downtown. Within a year, I built a garden and started planting.”

While he says he is looking forward to his next building project, he remains grateful for the past experience. 

“This was the biggest stuff I ever took on,” he says. “I had lots of help with my mom, dad, friends and a whole lot of YouTube videos.” 

Hot Property, an inside look into unique and historic homes on the market. Each week, Hot Property goes behind the For Sale sign to share the story of a special Pittsburgh-area home. And four times a year, Hot Property gives an in-depth look at the region’s real estate market in Pittsburgh Magazine HOME, tracking housing prices and sales and detailing where the hot properties can be found. Rosa can be reached at onecordovaroad@gmail.com.

About: Reserve (reservetwp.com)
Population: 3,333
Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Public transit via Port Authority. Some street parking. Rideshare.
Schools: Shaler Area School District (sasd.k12.pa.us) has award-winning programs, including marching band, music and athletics. The district also has a choice of online and in-person enrollment via the Shaler Area Virtual Institute.
Neighborhood: Located just four miles from Downtown, the township borders the city, Shaler and Ross. The community was named Reserve after the state set aside a broad area of land for its own purposes. Today, the houses are situated on roomy lots.