Commercial construction and excavation, built on integrity. Serving Butler County and greater Pittsburgh with straight answers, dependable schedules, and a 2-year workmanship warranty.
Office, retail, medical, historic and metal buildings across Butler County and greater Pittsburgh, with excavation, concrete and framing on the same crew.
From clearing the lot to the last coat of paint, one contractor carries the schedule, the budget and the warranty.
Site work and buildings done right the first time. Six core services, one crew, and a construction manager on every job.
Grading, land clearing, foundations, utilities, stormwater and pad-ready commercial sites. The same crew that builds on the site prepares it.
Ground-up commercial buildings, retail and office construction, and metal buildings for owners who want firm schedules and proof of insurance.
Office, retail, restaurant and medical build-outs, plus renovations of existing commercial space, scheduled so your business keeps running.
One team from the first sketch to the keys. Design, pricing and construction under one contract with one point of accountability.
New homes built on your lot, from excavation and foundation to finished interior, by the crew that handles nearly every trade in-house.
Second-story additions, in-law suites, garages and complete remodels, priced honestly and built to last for decades.
Olivia Minarik owns Building Contractors United and leads business planning and development. JT Minarik, our Construction Manager, has been building in Western Pennsylvania since 2009. He handles estimates, quotes, contracts and change orders, and he leads every job in the field. Together they run a company that handles nearly every trade outside of plumbing, HVAC and electrical, so one team owns your schedule, your budget and your warranty.
Every line below is something we put in our contract. No slogans. This is how we run a job, and how it compares to what most people have lived through with other contractors.
Excavation and commercial construction are the core of our work, and the same people carry that discipline into custom homes and remodels.
A new storefront, a medical suite, a restaurant, or a warehouse addition. We price the full scope up front and phase the work so you can stay open where it is possible.
Pad-ready sites, shell buildings and turnover renovations with one contract and one point of accountability from excavation through punch list.
Custom homes on your lot, additions that match the original house, and whole-home remodels with a clear schedule and a written warranty.
We build from your drawings and bring constructability and pricing to the table early, or deliver the full project design-build under one agreement.
Based in Zelienople and proudly building across Butler, Allegheny and Beaver counties, from Cranberry Township to Moon Township and into the city.
Full demolition of a commercial building with BCU's own excavator, followed by debris removal and site clearing to get the property ready for what comes next.
Permits, timelines, delivery methods and what we need from you to give a real number. If your question is not here, call and ask. You will get a straight answer.
Ask Us DirectlyTo give you a real bid, a commercial contractor needs a defined scope, drawings or at least a program describing the spaces and their uses, the site address, and your target budget and schedule. The more defined the scope, the tighter the number.
Helpful items include a site survey, any geotechnical report, zoning information, existing building drawings for a renovation, your finish expectations, and the lease or landlord requirements if the space is leased. If drawings do not exist yet, a design-build contractor can produce them and price the project as the design develops, which avoids bidding on incomplete information.
A general contractor holds a single contract with the owner to deliver the finished building for a set price and takes on the risk of cost and schedule. A construction manager acts as the owner's advisor and coordinator, usually for a fee, while the owner holds the contracts with the trades.
With a general contractor, you have one price, one point of accountability and one warranty. With a construction manager, you have more visibility into each trade's cost but carry more of the risk yourself. For most small and mid-size commercial projects north of Pittsburgh, a general contractor is the simpler path.
Design-build is a project delivery method where one firm is responsible for both design and construction under a single contract. Design-bid-build is the traditional method where the owner hires an architect first, then puts the finished drawings out to bid to contractors.
With design-build, the builder is involved from the first sketch, so pricing, constructability and schedule are worked out as the design develops. With design-bid-build, the owner gets competitive bids on a finished design but often discovers the cost after the drawings are done. Design-build usually means fewer change orders and a shorter overall timeline.
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.
In many cases, yes. Phased construction lets a business keep operating while sections of the space are renovated in sequence, using temporary walls, dust control and off-hours scheduling for noisy or disruptive work.
Phasing works best when the space can be divided into zones and when the mechanical and electrical systems can be isolated by area. It typically extends the overall schedule and adds some cost for protection and sequencing, but it avoids the lost revenue of a full closure. Restaurants, medical offices and retail stores all use this approach. Talk to your contractor early so the phasing plan is built into the design.
A custom home in the Pittsburgh area typically takes 8 to 14 months of construction, plus 3 to 6 months of design, engineering and permitting before groundbreaking. Larger or more complex homes take longer.
Site work and foundation take the first one to two months, framing and exterior the next two to three, and mechanical rough-in, insulation, drywall and finishes the remainder. Winter weather slows foundation and exterior work, and material lead times on windows, cabinets and HVAC equipment can affect the finish phase. Starting design in the fall and breaking ground in spring is a common plan for a move-in the following year.
Tell us about the project in four quick steps, or call us directly. We price it honestly, up front.
