Remodeling a house in Westmoreland
Whole home, kitchen and bath remodels for Westmoreland's 1920s houses, permitted in Portland.
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
Platted in 1909 and mostly built in the 1920s.
Westmoreland was platted in 1909 from William Ladd's Crystal Springs farm, the same land that became Eastmoreland a year later. Its 700 lots were sold between 1909 and 1924, and the streetcar on Milwaukie Avenue brought the houses.
The city's neighborhood plan calls it a primarily 1920s area. Bungalows are found throughout Sellwood-Moreland, alongside four-squares and English Arts and Crafts houses, and more single family homes went up after World War II.
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.
8 of 8 are likely on a 1924 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.
Siding, trim and facade restoration on a Portland bungalow.
Drag to compare.
A 1924 bungalow with an addition on the back.
“Don Vedaa was our contractor for the huge remodel and addition that we had done on our 1924 Portland bungalow. The work consisted of adding an extension to the back of the house for a bedroom/bath, new kitchen and laundry. Along with these, a dining room was created, existing bathroom remodeled, topped off with a new roof and paint all around. We hired Don based upon the recommendation by our architect that designed the work that we had done, and we could not have been happier with Don's service. From the very beginning Don was responsive and worked hard to get us all of the information needed to make the ultimate decision to have the work done. The COVID-19 pandemic did create some significant challenges between the increased costs and the supply issues, but Don managed to find options that would work when those problems arose.
As always happens with construction, unanticipated issues occurred. We were very pleased with Don's communication with us when these issues arose and his responsiveness in working with his subcontractors to resolve the problems.
The quality of the workmanship and materials
he chose were excellent. Don's expertise shines in the bathroom and kitchen remodeling we had done. We are thrilled to be living in our much improved homed and appreciate all of Don's hard work.”
Jennifer L'HommedieuGoogle reviewThe work Westmoreland houses ask for.
Shown on our own jobs, two of them bungalows we rebuilt nearby in Southeast Portland.
Kitchens in 1920s houses
Most full kitchens we build take six to ten weeks from demolition through final inspection. You review the layout in 3D before a cabinet is ordered.
The parts of the house worth keeping
On the Foster-Powell bungalow the original framing was sound and stayed, along with the siding profile and the front window casings. Everything inside it was rebuilt.
An addition at the back
The Creston-Kenilworth bungalow, built in 1924, took a rear addition for a bedroom and bath. It was matched to the roof pitch, and the street front did not change.
A second bath in a smaller house
A 1999 survey describes Westmoreland as a neighborhood of smaller houses. Adding a bathroom in an existing space needs a building permit and a plumbing permit in Portland.
Portland permits, and the creek rules east of SE 21st.
Westmoreland is part of the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood, inside Portland city limits. Building permits for houses come from Portland Permitting & Development. It is not on the city's list of historic or conservation districts.
The city's 1997 neighborhood plan put most of Sellwood-Moreland east of SE 21st Avenue in the Johnson Creek Basin Plan District and in the 100 year floodplain of Johnson Creek and Crystal Springs. Inside the plan district the zoning code regulates new development, exterior alterations and the removal of trees six inches or more across.
Those lines date from 1997, so the address is looked up on the Portland zoning map before an addition is drawn. Where a lot carries an environmental overlay zone, an addition may need an Environmental Review.
Check which permits your job needsOur jobs near Westmoreland.
The closest is the Creston-Kenilworth bungalow. Tap a pin to see the job.
Creston-Kenilworth
A Portland bungalow with a rear addition matched to its roof pitch.
See this jobNext door: Eastmoreland, Sellwood, Reed
Questions from Westmoreland homeowners.
No. Westmoreland is not on Portland's list of historic, conservation or National Register districts. The nearest one is Eastmoreland, on the other side of McLoughlin Boulevard.
It depends on the address. The city's 1997 neighborhood plan put Sellwood-Moreland east of SE 21st Avenue in the 100 year floodplain of Johnson Creek and Crystal Springs, and land next to both creeks is prone to seasonal flooding. We check the current map for your address before the design starts.
They can. Portland's tree preservation and tree density rules can apply to additions and exterior renovations, and the city reviews them with the building permit.
Yes. Adding a bathroom in an existing space needs a building permit and a plumbing permit for the fixtures. We file both and book the inspections.
Talk directly to Don about your project.
Or pick a time for Don's site walk
“With his good communication comes efficiency and punctuality, he creates a timeline and amazingly sticks to it.”
Kevin Duran · Google review