Contractor in PortlandBungalows, foursquares and a lot of rain
Portland's older houses were built well and have been rained on for the better part of a century. We repair and replace roofs, siding, windows and trim across the city, and we try to save the original details worth keeping.
Multnomah County, OR14 miles from our Gresham shop CCB #215023
Much of Portland's housing went up between about 1900 and the 1940s. Craftsman bungalows line the streets of Laurelhurst, Rose City Park and Sellwood-Moreland. Old Portland foursquares stand in Irvington and around Mt. Tabor. Farther east, in Montavilla, Parkrose and Hazelwood, you find post-war ranches with carports and low roofs. Each era wears out in its own way, so as a Portland general contractor we read the house before we price it. A 1912 porch needs different care than a 1958 carport.
The rain is the constant. Portland's wet season runs from fall into late spring, and water finds every weak spot: worn roof valleys, split window sills, siding cut too close to the ground, porch columns standing in puddles. That is why so much roofing and siding work in Portland starts as dry rot repair. We open up the soft spot, find where the water came from, fix the cause and then replace the wood with material that will hold up.
We also care how the finished work looks on an old house. Matching trim profiles, keeping a window's proportions, choosing paint colors that suit the era. A lot of Portland homeowners call us for a mix of things: a front door that has finally given up, drywall cracks, a fence along the alley, a few rooms to repaint. One call covers it. We're based just east in Gresham, so most Portland neighborhoods are an easy drive.
Neighbourhoods we work inA long wet season
Portland stays damp from roughly October to May. Moss holds water on north-facing roofs, and shaded siding rarely dries out. Keep gutters running clear, trim branches back from the roof, and check the bottom rows of siding and the sills under windows each spring. Soft wood there is an early warning, and it is far easier to fix early than late.
Old houses, original details
Bungalows and foursquares carry details that are hard to replace: wide trim, tapered porch columns, old-growth siding, divided-light windows. We repair before we replace when the wood is sound. When a piece has to go, we match the profile as closely as we can. The goal is a house that still looks like itself when we leave.
Permits in the city
The City of Portland has its own permit office and its own rules, and they differ from the suburbs. Some exterior work needs a permit and some doesn't, and homes in historic districts can face extra review. We'll tell you up front if a permit is needed before you sign the bid, so the schedule is honest from day one.
Portland’s short list.
“Triple SSS Construction helped us with a couple of projects at our home to make it easier for us to age in place here.”Judi Duffy · Google review
Do you work on older Portland homes?
Yes, a lot of our work is on them. Bungalows, foursquares and post-war ranches all have their quirks: plaster walls, out-of-square openings, old framing sizes. We plan for those during the estimate instead of discovering them halfway through, and we tell you what we find before anything in the plan changes.
Which parts of Portland do you serve?
All of it, though the east side is closest to our Gresham base: Montavilla, Parkrose, Hazelwood, Rose City Park, Laurelhurst and down toward Lents. We also work in Sellwood, Irvington, St. Johns and on the west side. Call and tell us where you are and what you need.
Can you replace old windows in a Portland house without ruining the look?
Often, yes. We look at the window size, trim and sill, and talk through options that keep the proportions right. In some houses, repairing the existing trim and sills makes more sense than replacing everything. We'll explain the trade-offs honestly and give you a clear written bid.
Tell us about your house.
Send a few lines about the job and the best way to reach you. Shawn reads every message himself and calls back fast, usually the same day.
- Call or text, 24/7(503) 781-2093
- Emailshawnpherbst@gmail.com
- Oregon CCB#215023 · licensed & insured