Does every remodel in Arlington Heights need a slope evaluation?

No. Interior alterations that do not enlarge the footprint can be excepted, unless they alter the foundation or trigger mandatory seismic improvements. Additions and new foundations are where it applies.

Is Arlington Heights a historic district?

No historic or conservation district covers the residential streets. The Washington Park Reservoirs Historic District is in the park, and the J. O. Frye House on SW Fairview Boulevard is individually nominated to the National Register.

Can a house on a lot this steep be added onto?

It depends on what the slope evaluation finds. Portland can require a soil engineering report with the permit plans, and for a single family house a surface reconnaissance and stability questionnaire may be substituted at the city's discretion.

Do the trees on the lot affect the permit?

Yes. A tree plan has to be included in a Portland building permit application, and the preservation rules apply once the work disturbs the root zone of a private tree 12 inches or more across.

Creston-Kenilworth dining room with a period pendant and the original window run

Galley kitchen with gray Shaker cabinets and a subway tile backsplash

Long living room with a cased opening and refinished hardwood

Subway tile shower and tub in the Creston-Kenilworth bungalow

Remodeling a house in Arlington Heights

Remodels for Arlington Heights houses on steep, terraced lots beside Washington Park.

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Craftsman living room with a box beam ceiling and refinished hardwood

Terraced lots beside Washington Park.

Arlington Heights followed Dorr Keasey's 1905 Portland Heights project, on the hill beside what was then City Park. The park was renamed Washington Park in 1912, the Rose Test Garden was dedicated in 1924, and the Japanese Garden opened in 1967.

The city describes the homes as typically on steep, terraced lots of 7,000 square feet or less. One of them, a 1930 English Cottage on SW Fairview Boulevard built on speculation by Jeter O. Frye, is nominated to the National Register. Its lot drops so steeply from front to back that the main floor sits below the street.

The front of a house stripped to the sheathing with water damage showing — SW Portland, stripped to the sheathing

A kitchen wall opened with insulation and wiring exposed — Walls opened on a kitchen job

A kitchen stripped to the framing with the subfloor exposed — Down to the framing

A slate tile deck over a garage before the work — The leaking deck before the work

What is behind the walls of your house.

The age of the house moves the price more than anything you can see. This is what is typical for a Portland house of that age. The site walk confirms what yours has.

Your house was built in1928

8 of 8 are likely on a 1928 house.

Knob and tube or early cloth wrapped wiring is common in houses of this age, and it is live in more rooms than the panel suggests.
Electrical service and panel: $2,000 to $12,000
What DWV does: Full electrical replacement with a service upgrade, as on the Foster-Powell bungalow.
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Galvanized steel supply lines narrow with age. On the Foster-Powell bungalow they were replaced from the meter through every fixture.
Part of the electrical, plumbing and heating line
What DWV does: New plumbing from the meter through every fixture.
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The waste lines in these houses are often the original cast iron, out of sight under the floors.
Part of the electrical, plumbing and heating line
What DWV does: Replaced with the plumbing where they have failed.
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Brick chimneys of this age are unreinforced masonry, which matters as soon as the structure around them changes.
Priced on the estimate after the site walk
What DWV does: Looked at with the structure before any wall around it moves.
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The walls are usually uninsulated and the windows are single pane wood. Insulation comes up to energy code once the walls are open.
Part of the structure and envelope line
What DWV does: Insulation to current energy code while the walls are open.
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Many of these houses were first heated with oil, and the tank can still be under the yard. A tank taken out of use is decommissioned by a DEQ licensed service provider.
What is behind the walls: $8,000 to $60,000
What DWV does: Decommissioned by a DEQ licensed service provider.
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Paint applied before 1978 is treated as lead paint under the renovation rule, and work that disturbs it follows lead safe practices.
A line item, priced before demolition
What DWV does: Lead safe practices, priced before demolition.
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Oregon DEQ requires a survey by an accredited inspector before a house built before 2004 is renovated. Older duct wrap and sheet flooring get tested before anything is disturbed.
A line item, priced before demolition
What DWV does: Surveyed first, then handled the way the survey says.
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Same spot, before and after.

The brown bungalow before the work, from the homeowner's own photo — A pre-1920 Craftsman restored from the original framing out.
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The same bungalow restored in navy with a rebuilt porch, from the homeowner's own photo — A pre-1920 Craftsman restored from the original framing out.
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Finished white kitchen in the Foster-Powell bungalow

The work Arlington Heights houses ask for.

The photographs are from our own jobs in Portland.

A 1920s or 1930s house, opened up

Knob and tube wiring is common in houses built before 1950, and galvanized water lines before 1960. Paint from before 1978 is treated as lead paint.

Creston-Kenilworth kitchen with a view through to the dining room

Kitchens opened to the next room

Interior alterations that do not enlarge the footprint can be excepted from the city's slope hazard evaluation. Taking out a wall still needs a building permit.

New concrete stem walls with the anchor bolts set beside an older house

Additions on a small, steep lot

With lots of 7,000 square feet or less on terraces, an addition starts with the slope. Portland requires a slope hazard evaluation where its slope conditions apply.

View through a doorway into a bath with a white vanity

Bathrooms

When a tub comes out, a tiled walk in shower goes in its place, with a new pan, a tile surround and glass.

Dining room with a period pendant and a view through to the remodeled kitchen

City of Portland permits, on ground rated for landslides.

Arlington Heights is a City of Portland neighborhood, and permits come from Portland Permitting & Development. A 1992 city plan rated about 85 percent of the area that includes Kings Heights and Arlington Heights as having severe landslide potential.

Slope stability has to be evaluated where slopes are steeper than two to one or where there is evidence of past instability nearby. The evaluation is done by or under a professional engineer or a certified engineering geologist.

The residential streets are not in a historic district. The Washington Park Reservoirs Historic District is next door, inside the park.

Check which permits your job needs

Jobs on this site

Our jobs near Arlington Heights.

Our closest job is the deck over a garage in Southwest Portland. Tap a pin to see the job.

SW Portland

A leaking deck over the garage, rebuilt with new cedar siding.

See this job

Next door: Portland Heights, Council Crest, Hillsdale

Questions from Arlington Heights homeowners.

No. Interior alterations that do not enlarge the footprint can be excepted, unless they alter the foundation or trigger mandatory seismic improvements. Additions and new foundations are where it applies.
No historic or conservation district covers the residential streets. The Washington Park Reservoirs Historic District is in the park, and the J. O. Frye House on SW Fairview Boulevard is individually nominated to the National Register.
It depends on what the slope evaluation finds. Portland can require a soil engineering report with the permit plans, and for a single family house a surface reconnaissance and stability questionnaire may be substituted at the city's discretion.
Yes. A tree plan has to be included in a Portland building permit application, and the preservation rules apply once the work disturbs the root zone of a private tree 12 inches or more across.

Talk directly to Don about your project.

Request a quote (503) 805-5762

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