‘It was a shell’: Two-century-old Bethel Park homestead brought back to life

A photograph mounted prominently on Luke Erny’s living room wall shows his Bethel Park home at some point in the distant past, with accompanying text relating its history:

“Lytle Road was named after the early Lytle family settlers. The Lytle homestead still stands near the corner of Lytle Road and Applegate Avenue.”

Without Erny’s intervention, the “still stands” description of the two-century-old farmhouse might no longer be valid.

“It was a shell,” he said about its condition when he purchased the property through sheriff’s sale in 2016. “We had to pull the house back together with 10,000-pound ratchet straps. We had to get in the crawl space and jack the first floor up to hold the second floor up, and then to redo the third floor, to hold the roof up.”

And, as anyone who hears about the extent of the renovation project would tend to agree:

“It was insane.”

Motorists along Lytle Road, a popular connector between Brightwood and Library roads, were bound to notice that work was occurring at the house. Erny finally has been putting finishing touches on the basement, and in the meantime, almost everything inside and out bears little resemblance to what he originally found.

“These two mantels were about the only things that weren’t damaged,” he said about fixtures on either side of the living room. “So I refinished them and rebuilt the fireplaces.”

Erny had renovated a house prior to tackling the Bethel Park project, but not on the scale of the 3,000-square foot residence.

The Brentwood native was living in Jefferson Hills, contemplating the next chapter of his life, when he saw the Lytle Road listing.

“I’m online about 9 o’clock at night, and it’s pitch black, pouring down rain. I’m thinking, man, I need something to do. I need to fix something. I’ve got to keep busy,” he said. “I just drive over here, pouring down rain, pitch black, all the lights are out. It had been vacant for over 10 years.”

But he instantly thought:

“I know I can do this. No guts, no glory. Here we go.”

With help from family members and friends when logistics required assistance, Erny completed a transformation that would make HGTV producers proud. That includes a tastefully decorated interior that reflects the home’s rustic origins.

“I wanted to keep it like a farmhouse. You have to,” he said. “That’s why I kept so much of the barn wood and refurbished it.”

Speaking of which, the homestead’s barn remains intact, too, as somewhat of a rarity in today’s suburban ambience of Bethel Park.

Erny, a Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority senior manager of field operations, has the requisite background to complete such a large-scale overhaul.

“I did landscape construction for a long time, and then during the winters, I remodeled homes. And then I guess I got pretty good at it,” he said. “I know almost every trade there is, and if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have done it.”

He made sure to include a music room in his new home, containing his drum kit, guitars and all kinds of other equipment. Those who attended Brentwood’s Fourth of July parade in the past may remember him adding to the festivities with marathon percussion solos.

Today, he’s enjoying the fruits of his monumental labor, and he has to admit:

“It’s not for everybody.”