St. Matthews · 40207
Home remodeling in St. Matthews, KY
Opening up postwar Cape Cods, adding a second story where the lot is tight, and bringing 1920s homes up to date, from Browns Lane to Breckenridge Lane.
- Type
- Home-rule cityIncorporated 1950
- Population
- 17,5342020 census
- ZIP code
- 40207About 7 miles east of downtown
- Permits
- City + MetroLetter of Compliance, then Metro permit
Keystone in St. Matthews
Remodeling close to home
St. Matthews is a few minutes up Frankfort Avenue and Lexington Road from our office in Crescent Hill, and it's one of the places we work most. Its streets are lined with the houses Louisville built between the late 1920s and the 1960s: brick Cape Cods, period-revival cottages and solid postwar ranches on modest lots.
Those houses have good bones and small, closed rooms. The work we do here is about making them live larger: opening the kitchen to the dining room, finishing the basement, adding a primary suite or building up with dormers or a second story. And because St. Matthews is its own city, every project starts with a city approval before Louisville Metro will issue a permit. We handle both.
Know the place
From potato fields to Shelbyville Road
Col. John Floyd settled along Beargrass Creek in 1779. By about 1840 the crossroads was known as Gilman's Point, after tavern keeper Daniel Gilman, and it took the name St. Matthews from St. Matthew's Episcopal Church; the post office adopted the name in 1851, the same year the Louisville–Frankfort railroad came through.
For decades this was farm country. The St. Matthews Produce Exchange, founded in 1910 by about 200 farmers, became the second-largest potato shipper in the country before it closed in 1946. Its building survives as The Colony shopping center.
The first subdivision was platted in 1907, and building surged in the late 1920s, again from 1937 to 1941 as families moved to higher ground after the 1937 flood, and again after World War II. St. Matthews incorporated in 1950, and Mall St. Matthews opened in 1962 as Kentucky's first indoor suburban mall.
What's on the streets today
The oldest sections hold 1920s and 1930s period-revival houses and bungalows. Around them are large numbers of 1940s and 1950s Cape Cods and brick ranches, many on lots too small to build out very far. Street names still carry the old farm families: Brown, Rudy, Chenoweth, Monohan, Nanz and Arterburn.
These homes tend to share the same limits: a closed kitchen at the back, one or two small baths, a partly finished basement and an attic with untapped headroom. That's why so many St. Matthews remodels combine an opened kitchen with a new primary suite, either at the rear or upstairs.
The houses
The St. Matthews homes we remodel most
Each era of house brings a different set of opportunities.
1920s–30s period revivals
Tudor and Colonial revival cottages and bungalows. Character worth keeping, with wiring, plumbing and small baths that need replacing. We match trim and plaster details as we go.
1940s–50s Cape Cods
Story-and-a-half houses with steep roofs. Shed or gable dormers turn the upper floor into real bedrooms and a full bath, and the main floor gets an opened kitchen.
1950s brick ranches
Long, low houses with galley kitchens and one bath. Taking out the kitchen wall, adding a rear primary suite and finishing the basement transform them.
Our services
Remodeling services in St. Matthews
Every service we offer, applied to St. Matthews houses and lots.
Kitchen Remodeling in St. Matthews
Opening postwar kitchens to the dining room, with a beam where a bearing wall comes out.
Kitchen details
Bathroom Remodeling in St. Matthews
Adding a second bath or primary bath to homes that were built with one.
Bathroom details
Basement Finishing in St. Matthews
Turning 1940s and 1950s basements into family rooms, offices and guest rooms.
Basement details
Home Additions in St. Matthews
Dormers, second stories and rear family rooms that respect tight side setbacks.
Home details
Whole-Home Remodeling in St. Matthews
Updating 1920s–50s homes top to bottom while keeping their period detail.
Whole-Home details
Garages & Conversions in St. Matthews
Detached garages on narrow lots, approved by the city before Metro permits.
Garages detailsPermits & approvals
St. Matthews has its own first step
St. Matthews keeps its own development code with review overlays, so remodeling here involves two governments.
Rules change. We confirm the current requirements for your address before design is finished. How permitting works in Louisville →
City Letter of Compliance
Before Louisville Metro will issue a building permit, the City of St. Matthews issues a free Letter of Compliance. The application includes two copies of the site plan.
Licensed contractors
Contractors working in the city need a current St. Matthews business license. Ours is part of every project here.
City engineering and zoning review
The City Engineer reviews building plans and the city's Planning Officer handles zoning questions under the St. Matthews Development Code.
Louisville Metro permits
Building, electrical and mechanical permits come from Louisville Metro Construction Review; plumbing permits come from the state.
Around St. Matthews
Working on St. Matthews streets
We work on homes throughout the city, from the streets around Browns Lane and St. Matthews Elementary to the blocks near Trinity High School on Shelbyville Road, Waggener High on Hubbards Lane, and the neighborhoods along Chenoweth Lane, Breckenridge Lane and Westport Road.
Lots here are close together, so we plan site logistics carefully: where the dumpster goes, how materials are staged, and how we keep driveways and sidewalks clear for neighbors. Brown Park and Draut Park along Beargrass Creek are reminders that drainage matters here too, especially when we add impervious area or finish a basement.
5.0 from 17 Google reviews
★★★★★
“They treated our home as if it were their own. The kitchen is the room everyone ends up in now, and the craftsmanship shows in every joint.”Kitchen remodel, St. Matthews Sample text Read our Google reviews
Questions
Remodeling in St. Matthews: questions
Do I need a city permit to remodel in St. Matthews?
For permitted work, yes, in a sense: the City of St. Matthews issues a Letter of Compliance first, and then Louisville Metro issues the building permit. Contractors also need a St. Matthews business license. We handle both steps.
Can I add a second story to my Cape Cod or ranch?
Often, yes. Many St. Matthews lots are too narrow to build out, so going up is the natural choice. We check the existing foundation and framing, design the structure, and confirm height and setback rules under the city's code.
Is my house in a historic district?
St. Matthews isn't a local preservation district, so exterior changes don't need Landmarks review. Some areas fall under the city's review overlays, which we check for your address.
Can you open my kitchen to the dining room?
Yes. It's the most common change we make in St. Matthews. The wall is often load-bearing, so we size a beam, reroute anything inside the wall and patch floors where it stood.
How far is St. Matthews from your office?
About ten minutes. Our office is at 184 N Ewing Ave in Crescent Hill, just west of the city line.