Portland Built » Video

Video: Cable Railing for Decks and the DIYer

Shawn — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:57:31 +0000

The Live/Work Project deck has undergone several different railing designs – early iterations had oversized panels (metal) suspended from cables; later versions included metal posts and stainless cabling. Each system had its pros and cons, but most solutions were either cost-prohibitive or simply too much work for me to take on (I do have a day job). We looked at several “off the shelf” options, and quickly realized anything other than wood posts and pickets would be beyond our budget.

Fortunately, we found a solution that combines the economy/speed of wood posts, with the sleek design and easy maintenance of stainless steel cables. Check it out in the video – it’s an advanced DIY project, but if you have basic carpentry skills, it’s well within reach.

As always, a few thank-yous: Jeremy at Polara Studio for the great video work; Noe and Santos of Bronze construction for the deck framing; and our awesome general contractor, Rory Read, for his coordination of everything.

Live/Work Video Update!

Bring Google to Portland!

Shawn — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 20:20:44 +0000

As many of you know, Google is planning to add a high-speed fiber network “trial” to one or more communities in the US. Here’s a bit from their website:

We plan to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Our networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We’ll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

As a big proponent of high-speed (and hopefully inexpensive) access, I’d like to encourage our readers to go and VOTE to nominate Portland as the city of choice. It only takes a few minutes.

The deadline to vote is MARCH 26th, 5:00pm. Don’t delay!

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Video: Designing a Better Wall for a Wet Climate

Shawn — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:45:59 +0000

It’s a big day at Portland Built as we officially launch our new video documentary project! The goal is to help visitors better understand the technology, products, and businesses behind the site.

For our first effort we went to the Live/Work project to discuss wall assembly design, thermal bridging, and insulation.

A big thanks to Jeremy Dunham at Polara Studios for his help in producing our first segment. Share your thoughts in the comments area below.

UPDATE: For those of you with an iphone, or if you just prefer the YouTube experience, here’s another version of the video. We’ve had to cut out some sections in order to meet YouTube’s 10-minute maximum length. (click on the image to watch in HD)

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 Video Update!

Shawn — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:34:08 +0000

After a little technical wrangling, I managed to get my first time-lapse video on the site. It’s remarkably boring (very little work today) but it’s more of a test to see if the camera would work(it did) and what system I could use to get the photos online (for the geek-inclined: stack of JPEG images, pulled into Photoshop, output to a .mov file (High Def) then uploaded to YouTube)

Tax Incentives, Rebates, and More!

Shawn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:32:06 +0000

Debbie Cleek from the city of Portland put together a great overview of resources for tax credits, rebates, and other green building incentives. It’s great to see the city of Portland (and the state of Oregon) taking a leadership role in the green building movement. Thanks Debbie!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Dry Wells: Save Water, Make Money

Shawn — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:45:45 +0000

Not many homeowners give much thought to where the water from their roof goes. Most people figure if the water isn’t going in their house, then it’s not a problem. Except…

In cities like Portland, stormwater is a BIG problem. Old and undersized city pipes mean that big rains create big headaches for city officials. Clogged drains are one visible symptom, but much worse is what happens at the Willamette river. You see, when the storm drains back up, so do the sewers. Which means – you guessed it – raw sewage gets into the river. Yuck!

So, as part of a comprehensive plan to reduce storm water runoff, the city incentivizes home owners to “manage” their own storm water. Simple examples include disconnecting your downspouts (so the water simply flows back into the ground) or saving the water in rain barrels for future irrigation. More ambitious methods include saving the water in underground cisterns or even cleaning it for consumption (keep in mind you’ll need a metal roof and some serious hardware).

The Live/Work Project is taking a middle-ground (ha!) solution. We’re placing a drywell roughly ten feet from the building. A dry well is simply a concrete canister filled with rocks…when the rains come, gutters direct the water to pipes that run underground and out to the dry well. The water then percolates back where it belongs – in the water table.

Dry well

This solution has several benefits. First, you’re putting water back into your property where it can be appreciated by trees, plants, and other helpful organisms. Second, it saves you money. The city gives you a small discount on your water bill each month as credit for not taxing their already overworked system.

For new construction, it’s a no-brainer. You’ve got to send the water somewhere, and piping it into the storm drains represents an expensive plumbing proposition. Dry wells save money and solve the problem in one graceful step!

Live/Work Update: Kitchen Installation