Portland Built » Contractors

Insulation: A Tight Fit Equals Big Savings

Shawn — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:16:04 +0000

Insulation is probably the best place to spend money when it comes to getting a return on investment. It’s cheap, installs quickly, and can make a real difference in the bottom-line costs of operating a home.

We recently hired Noe Gaxiola of Vale Insulation Group (503.799.4436) to insulate the interior of the Live/Work project. Noe came highly recommended by my friend, Jennifer, who worked in the industry for many years.

Like many of the trades on the project, Noe went above and beyond the call on our project. He sealed every single nook and cranny of the building with an expanding foal sealant. This will help keep the heat in and – more importantly – keep cold air OUT. “Air infiltration” is widely recognized as one of the biggest causes of heat loss, and Noe went to extreme lengths to ensure an air-tight building envelope. Here’s a close-up of some his work around an exterior window (the foam gets trimmed once it dries):

What really impressed me about Noe’s work was that he provided a lot of value for a very reasonable price.

While it may appear that insulation is just about stuffing stud bays, there’s actually quite a bit of art/skill to installing the bats properly. In fact, many studies have shown that a major loss of heat is attributed to poorly installed insulation. High R-value insulation does little good if the insulation is crammed and crushed around electrical, plumbing and other obstacles. A good installer like Noe pays careful attention and FITS the insulation in every void.

Big thanks to Noe and his small-but-mighty crew at Vale!

Post Script: There are a LOT of options for insulating a home (blown in cellulose, reccyled cotton, closed and open cell foam, etc). We even considered foam at one point. It’s superior for preventing air infiltration, and would have been the best choice for our vaulted ceiling. Unfortunately, the cost differential between fiberglass and other technologies was a budget buster.

Picking the Right Roofer in Portland

Shawn — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 07:50:51 +0000

It rains in Portland. It rains a lot. If you own a home in Northwest Oregon, you know that Portland winters can be merciless on roofs. Just this last summer I spent a week of time on top of my house, repairing a really bad roofing job around my chimney.

What Makes for a Good Roofer

Most crews can handle the basics of 3-tab roofing installs. A nailer and a bundle of shingles isn’t rocket science. Where you start to separate the good from the bad comes in how the roofer handles the penetrations in the roof system – the chimneys, vent pipes, and (most importantly) the skylights.

Skylights are notorious for causing problems in roof systems. Poorly installed skylights cause countless issues with wet insulation, mold, damaged drywall, dry rot, and so forth. Most of us have seen the telltale signs of a bad install – stains around the perimeter or “downhill” from the skylight.

Roofing: The Devil in the Details

So, when you’re selecting a roofer it’s important you get someone who pays close attention to the details. Take the crew on the Live/Work project, for example. Here’s a detail of the flashing on the top side of the skylights:

See how the flashing directs the water away from the skylight? It’s cut nice and low, so it looks good, but still does the important job of keeping water away from the edges of the skylight frame.

A Great Roofing Crew

The roofers on this project, T-Mix Roofing of Portland, also went the extra mile on the shingle installation. Most roofers use 15# roofing felt, with shingles nailed on top. Todd’s crew first put down a butyl-rubber membrane, followed by a layer of 30# roofing felt, then a layer of shingles. We didn’t ask for this level of effort, but as Todd said, “the last thing I want is to be called back to a job.”

Morale of the story – the next time you’re looking to hire a roofing contractor, get into the details. Find out what underlayments they’ll use, the brand of shingles, how they’ll handle the flashing and venting, etc. Ask for references, and call on them. There are a lot of companies out there that do the fly-by-night routine, so take your time and find a reliable business.

Big Kudos to Todd and his crew for a job well done!

Post Script

In my effort to find a roofer for the Live/Work project, I called two businesses who didn’t return my calls. One roofing company had a big website filled with glowing customer testimonials; the other company came recommended by a contractor I know and respect. While it’s good to get into the details of a bid and experience, sometimes the “business basics” (like, RETURNING A PHONE CALL) are good indicators of the business’ attention to detail.

Portland Metal Roofs

Live/Work Framing Videos

Shawn — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:46:32 +0000

Here’s two new time-lapse videos showing framing over the course of 4 days. Hard to believe you can get all of the walls up in such a short period time.

Of course, there were a fair share of challenges in Portland this week. Namely, that we had some of the coldest weather in history. Temperatures in the teens and serious wind-chill made for a tough work environment. Air lines froze; couplings froze; compressors stopped working. Rory and the framers had to jury-rig enclosures for the compressor and fittings to keep them operational. We even brought in space heaters to warm up the tools…Rory seemed to get some perverse pleasure out of the fact that I was effectively heating the outdoors with 2 electric space heaters. Don’t even ask what my power bill will be.

Our weather troubles aside, the framing went remarkably well (with the exception of one poor fella who took a hammer in the nose). Our framing contractor, Santos, runs a good crew and all of the guys worked really hard morning to evening. I think the most impressive sight was watching this one guy pick up 6 2×4’s on his shoulder…even more impressive considering he wasn’t much taller than 5 feet.

The one bright spot in the weather has been the decided lack of precipitation. While it’s been cold, at least the dry weather has made for a reasonable work site. Once things thaw, we’ll be back to the mud pit. Forecasts call for freezing rain and snow this weekend.

Here’s a preview of the job site:

Live/Work Update: Concrete Slab

Shawn — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:46:28 +0000

Some people find concrete work mundane. After today, I’m convinced concrete contractors are totally underrated.

Think about it: Somehow, workers manage to wrestle this extremely heavy goop into a form, shove it around pipes and rebar, smooth it down, level it off…all with minimal power-assisted technology. Sure, the truck and pump get the stuff to the site, but it’s sheer muscle, experience, and know-how that transforms the wet blob into a smooth, seamless surface.

Today was a big day for the Portland Live/Work Project: We brought in two truckloads of concrete for the slab; when that truck arrives, there’s really no going back.

Our biggest concern during the pour was the network of PEX tubing tied to the rebar. A web search the night before told me that it wasn’t impossible for a concrete worker to slice the PEX, creating a totally $#!&!-ed situation. Fortunately, all went as planned and the system retained pressure the entire day (you actually “charge” the radiant system with 100psi of compressed air to ensure that there are no leaks).

One of the coolest pieces of equipment was this mechanized trowel (I’m sure there’s a name for it…I called it the “Whirlybird”). This photo tells its story well:

Even with the help of power tools, much of the process requires an expert touch and experienced hand. Still more impressive was how quickly the crew went from pumping concrete to walking across the surface. In about two hours the crew went from pouring concrete to to walking on the surface. Here’s a few more shots and a timeline from the day’s effort.

10:00 AM: Concrete truck arrives and the pumping begins.

10:07 AM: Kip begins hand-troweling at the corner. Other workers spread the concrete and apply trowels as well. We’re relieved that there are few sharp tools that might pierce the PEX.

10:20 AM: The crew begins screeding and troweling in earnest. Large portions of the slab begin to take shape.

11:30 AM: The pour is complete and worker put the final touches with the float and hand trowels.

12:00PM: Workers move out onto the slab and begin smoothing the concrete with a series of trowels.

12:10 AM: Kip and the crew walk on the slab, using both power and hand trowels. This process continues for at least another hour.

Live/Work Update: Slab Back Fill

Shawn — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:12:11 +0000

The crew from All American was back today to back fill with rock. I was a little shocked to watch the guys build a mini ramp on which they drove the bobcat into the center of the building. Guess it beats the wheelbarrow!

The rain and bobcat made for a real mess. Check out the time-lapse video below to see how quickly the yard goes from solid ground to mud-soup (warning to slow-bandwidth viewers: the video is in high-def and takes some time to download. You can disable the HD by clicking the “HD” logo in the lower right corner of the player).

Live/Work Update: Stem Wall Pour

Shawn — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:01:25 +0000

Today the guys from All American Concrete showed up in force. Kip, AAC’s owner, supervised the pour. Everything went off without a hitch. The truck showed up on time, the pump was ready to go, and the concrete flowed like sweet molasses. Ok, maybe thick oatmeal.

Portland Metal Roofs

Shawn — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:05:38 +0000

I’ve always thought metal was the creme-de-la-creme of roofing materials. Metal roofs last forever (estimates of 30-50 years and beyond), require little maintenance, and can be recycled at the end of their life. Plus, metal roofs aren’t made with petroleum products, which puts them squarely in the A+ column for green, sustainable products.

Where to Start Your Search for Metal Roofs in Portland

A quick Google search will reveal a number of companies that will roof your house in steel or aluminum. Metal roofs come is a variety of profiles from standing seam to more traditional shakes. Personally, I prefer the more modern look of the standing-seam roofs, but owners of older homes will most likely gravitate towards a traditional (shingle-replica) solution. Here are some of the results if I simply put in a generic search like, “Portland Roofing”

I’ve noticed many web sites come up under the search term, “metal roof” but lack any concrete examples of actual installations. The other problem in finding a contractor is that many roofing companies are still operating as if it’s 1986 – i.e. pre-internet. Their websites are poorly produced and lack good customer testimonials highlighting their excellent service. Sadly, many of these roofing contractors don’t understand how many people use the internet to find someone to help with their roofing needs. In fact, just to give you an idea of how many people are looking for roofers, take a look at this graphic (data pulled from Google’s Keyword Tool):

As you can see, there are a LOT of people looking for roofing contractors in Portland! By my estimation, the number of people conducting searches based on the term “Portland roofing” is between 50,000-70,000 per year. And, if you were to add in other, more generic terms like “roofing,” you’d probably hit six figures.

So why does this matter? Well for two reasons:

If you are a contractor, you’d better pay attention to your website and how people find you through Google. You’re missing huge profits by relying solely on word of mouth, yard signs, and advertising.
If you are a homeowner, architect, or someone who buys roofing services you’ll probably need to be very diligent when selecting a contractor. Because this industry is “behind the curve,” often the best vendors will be hard to find through internet-based searches.

Case and point: My neighbor recently re-roofed her house with a gorgeous metal roof. The contractor who did the work, did a fantastic job. You can tell from the attention to detail on the flashing just how good their work was. When I went to look the contractor up on the internet, however, their site was riddled with broken links and missing pages. If I were a typical homeowner (and knew nothing about roof technology) I’d wonder, “why is this web site not working? Why aren’t there pictures of the contractor’s work on the site?” That feeling of doubt might make me look elsewhere.

Finding Contractors Beyond the Web

Fortunately, there are other options besides the web. One way to find a good roofer is to talk to a reliable builder or general contractor. For example, I recently spoke with Stephen Aiguier of Green Hammer Building Contractors. I know Stephen hires top-notch guys and works on the kind of projects where “attention to detail” is the norm. From his experience, he was able to recommend a roofer that he had worked with on previous projects. The next step would be to call on the roofer and ask for references and addresses of houses that he had roofed. Visiting past projects is an absolute must before hiring any contractor.

The Live/Work project will be selecting a roofing contractor in the coming weeks, and Portland Built is looking for a partner in the roofing services segment. If you know of any great candidates, let us know in the comments below.

Photo Credit Englert, Inc.

Live/Work Update: Concrete Work Begins

Shawn — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:06:35 +0000

The crew from All American Concrete showed up today. Somehow, they managed to fit their dump truck and form trailer in the back yard without destroying anything. Incredible. I’ll post on that later.

The crew immediate started work by laying out the perimeter of the foundation.It’s low-tech, but pink string is the tool of choice here.

More updates to follow as the concrete guys get things lined up.

Live/Work Excavation

Shawn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:26:12 +0000

Quick update on the excavation – after just two days, the site is ready to go. The photo above shows where the building will be placed. The depressions are for the footers that support the major structural areas of the building. Related posts:Live/Work Groundbreaking!Live/Work Update: Stem Wall PourLive/Work Update: Concrete Slab Related posts:

Live/Work Groundbreaking!

Shawn — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:07:21 +0000

As many long-time readers know, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time getting the Live/Work project off the ground. This small-scale infill development represents one of the many solutions for more affordable housing, smaller footprint, and economic sustainability (for more on the project, feel free to read the background over at my Live/Work blog).

Following the setup of the erosion fence, the crew from Dbec Excavation arrived on time, ready to go. With amazing speed, they cleared out all of the brush and proceeded to moving large amounts of earth around the property. Basically, every guy’s childhood dream – large equipment and an endless supply of dirt!

Here’s a shot before Dbec arrived.