Remodeling a house in Bridlemile
Kitchen, bath and whole home remodels for Bridlemile's ranches, daylight ranches and split levels.
Talk to Don about your projectHe comes out and prices it himself
- Oregon CCB
- #208048
- Washington L&I
- #DWVCOCL7540W
- Coverage
- Bonded and insured
- Established
- 2008
Ranches and split levels, mostly from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The name comes from a mile long bridle path Dr. John Powell built for his wife Ruth on land they bought off SW Dosch Road in the mid 1940s. Bridlemile has at least 52 subdivisions, most created after World War II, beginning with Orchard Park in 1946.
The neighborhood association puts the typical house at 1968 on an 11,750 square foot lot. Ranch houses are the most common style, and walkout basement ranches are common because many lots slope. Split levels, 1960s neo-colonials and Northwest Contemporary homes by John Storrs and Saul Zaik are here too.
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.
2 of 8 are likely on a 1968 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.
Ask Don about thisGalvanized 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.
Ask Don about thisThe 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.
Ask Don about thisBrick 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.
Ask Don about thisThe 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.
Ask Don about thisMany 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.
Ask Don about thisPaint 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.
Ask Don about thisOregon 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.
Ask Don about this
Same spot, before and after.
Before
AfterA leaking tile deck over the garage, rebuilt watertight with pavers and new cedar siding.
See the project
The damage was bigger than expected. The estimate was right.
“We recently discovered that we had a water leak in the tiles of our front deck which overlies our garage that was resulting in damage to the underlying structures as well as the siding. We needed to replace some of the underlying support as well as the waterproof membrane, the tile and the siding as well as paint the new siding. We got several bids but the approach proposed by Don Vedaa and Mark Stumpf made the most sense and their price was competitive. We were very impressed and pleased with the attention to detail and genuine concern that things be done right. They really went the extra mile, as if it were their own house they were working on. Communication was good throughout the project and the people who did the work were very thoughtful of our neighbors and very pleasant to have around. The damage turned out to be more extensive than originally thought so the project took a bit longer than anticipated but the cost estimate was accurate. The overall cost turned out to be over the original estimate also but that was because we added new windows, new lights, and requested a change in the paint, all things that were not included in the original proposal. We are very pleased with the end result and are happy we chose to go with DWV Construction. We recommend them highly.”
Jeff WeeksGoogle reviewThe work Bridlemile houses ask for.
The photographs are from our own jobs. The closest is a hillside house in Southwest Portland.
Kitchens in ranch houses
Ranch subdivisions here were built with drywall rather than lath and plaster. Most full kitchens we build take six to ten weeks.
Bathrooms, and the old septic question
Early Bridlemile homes often had septic systems with a drain field in a lower backyard, and the city did not approve a sewer system for the unconnected parts until 1963.
Baths in a daylight basement
Walkout basement ranches are common here. A tiled walk in shower is built on a new pan, with waterproofing and glass.
Decks on sloping lots
A deck more than 30 inches above the ground needs a building permit in Portland. On our Southwest Portland job a leaking deck over a garage was rebuilt on a sealed membrane.
Portland permits for most addresses, confirmed first.
Portland annexed Bridlemile in pieces, mainly in 1956 and 1963. Inside the city limits, permits come from Portland Permitting & Development, so the address is confirmed before an application is written.
Many lots slope. Portland requires a slope hazard evaluation for additions on sloped sites, with an exception for interior alterations that do not enlarge the footprint. Part of the neighborhood is in the city's mapped potential landslide hazard area and part carries an environmental overlay, both checked by address.
All of Bridlemile's streams run to Fanno Creek. No historic district covers the neighborhood, though the 1855 Tigard/Rogers House and the 1917 Wilcox estate are landmarks.
Check which permits your job needsOur jobs near Bridlemile.
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 jobNext door: Hillsdale, Raleigh Hills, Portland Heights
Questions from Bridlemile homeowners.
Most are. Portland annexed the area in pieces, mainly by election in 1956 and by ordinance in 1963. We confirm the jurisdiction for your address before the permit application.
Yes. Turning a basement into living space needs a building permit in Portland. Interior work that does not enlarge the footprint can be excepted from the slope hazard evaluation.
It may have been. Early Bridlemile homes often had septic systems with a drain field in a lower backyard, and sewer for the unconnected parts was not approved until 1963. That is worth knowing before digging for an addition.
It gets tested. Oregon requires an asbestos survey by an accredited inspector before any house built before 2004 is renovated, and what it finds is priced before demolition.
Talk directly to Don about your project.
Or pick a time for Don's site walk
“Don provided clear and transparent pricing that remained constant throughout the entire remodel.”
Steven Smith · Google review