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HBA HOME BUILDING NEWS
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UP FRONT
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MAY, 2013
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HBApdx.org
wood flooring; and renovations
aimed at both aging in place and
home efficiency. He said he’s also
seen a rise in the popularity of Ac-
cessory Dwelling Units, in part as
a result of local government regu-
lations.
While it may not necessar-
ily be a widespread trend, Rich-
ardson said he’s recently talked
with three different clients about
building wine cellars in their
homes. The success of the Or-
egon wine industry has helped
fuel its popularity, and Richard-
son said that, in a way, is having
a small impact on some remodel-
ing projects.
“I think the success of Oregon
wine just makes more people
want to buy wine and join wine
clubs,” he said. “And when you
buy wine, you’ve got to have a
place to store it.”
Additionally, Hullinger said
many homeowners have been
keen on the transition between
inside and outside the home.
That means large lift and slide
doors — some as tall as 16 feet
— that invite in natural light and
help seamlessly connect indoor
and outdoor living spaces.
He’s also seen a new desire
for products made in America
— “There’s a widespread feeling
that people really want quality,”
he said — as well as homeown-
ers who’ve become much more
knowledgeable thanks to the In-
ternet and sites like Houzz.com.
“They don’t have to spend
$200 on magazines to come up
with ideas for their kitchen any-
more,” Hullinger said. “They are
definitely more aware of what
they want.”
Old is new again
Another prevalent trend these
days is remodeling characteristic
older homes in a way that both
updates them and preserves their
original charm.
Neighborhoods like Irvington,
Ladd’s Addition and Laurelhurst
are full of the classic foursquare,
bungalow and Victorian homes
that add a unique character to
The Rose City. Attractive as many
of those homes are, however, the
reality is that they’re often still liv-
ing like they did when they were
originally built, before the age of
great rooms and open kitchens,
efficient windows and wireless
routers.
The challenge for many re-
modelers, then, becomes one
of bringing these charmers into
the 21
st
century while preserving
their quaint, original flair.
“What we’re looking to do is
make these older homes work for
today’s lifestyle,” says Lane Coo-
per, president of Cooper Design-
builders. “So the goal is to get this
nice blend of the new meeting
the old.”
Cooper Designbuilders had
a project on this year’s Tour of
Remodeled homes that did just
that by completely renovating
a one-story 1920s bungalow in
northeast Portland’s Alameda
neighborhood into a two-story
foursquare. The home has been
embellished, for sure, but Coo-
per says certain accents —mold-
ing, cabinetry, lighting and so on
— help tie the house to the root
style of the neighborhood.
The home that designer Louise
Farrar-Wegener worked on for
this year’s tour is a 1914 home in
the historic district of Irvington,
which places limits on what can
be done to a home. That made it
challenging for Farrar-Wegener
and remodeler Steve Klingerman,
who’d hoped to remove several
windows to gain more space. The
historic guidelines wouldn’t allow
for that, so they got creative and
left the windows on the exterior
while blocking them off inside.
Sometimes maintaining an
older home’s character through
a remodel means working with
what’s already there. Arciform
LLC did a whole-house remodel
of amid-century modern home in
the West Hills. During the project,
original mahogany trim and mill-
work were removed, refinished
and reinstalled. Additionally, a
unique hydronic in-wall heating
system original to the home was
left in place but repaired to func-
tion more efficiently.
“That was really important for
this style of house,” says Trisha
Mead, marketing director for Ar-
ciform, primarily because one en-
tire face of the home is nothing
but windows.
Other times, remodels are not
about maintaining the existing
home’s unique style but inject-
ing that style into new construc-
tion. Dual Purpose Construction
built a new Accessory Dwelling
Unit to replace an old garage of
a 1920s bungalow. Owner Scott
Dual says everything from wood-
en windows and true cedar siding
to enclosed soffits and period
cabinets helped link the building
seamlessly its surroundings.
“It was really about taking de-
tails that were reminiscent of the
existing home and putting them
in the new building,” he says. “It
worked really well.”
Remodeling Month:
local remodelers preserve vintage
charm while providing 21st Century convenience
Continued from page 1
energy Trust’s ePS
for existing homes
gives a before and
after look at effi-
ciency
Underscoring the remod-
eling trend toward energy
efficiency, the Energy Trust
of Oregon rolled out its Ex-
isting Homes Energy Perfor-
mance Score program during
the 2013 Tour of Remodeled
Homes.
Designed to educate home-
owners about how efficient
their homes are — and how
efficient they would be with
the right improvements — the
EPS for existing homes works
like this:
A Home Performance with
Energy Star contractor uses di-
agnostic equipment to exam-
ine every aspect of a home for
efficiency before a remodel.
That contractor then issues
an EPS, which assesses energy
consumption, cost and carbon
footprint. The contractor also
makes energy-saving recom-
mendations, such as improved
insulation and more efficient
appliances, that could help
improve the EPS.
Once the improvements
are complete, the contractor
comes in again and calculates
a new score.
“It really gives homeowners
a nice before-and-after metric
to really see how their homes
are performing,” said Andrew
Shepard, trade ally project
manager for ETO.
To find out more, visit
www.
energytrust.org.
Cooper
Designbuilders’
2013 Tour of
Remodeled
Homes project
renovated a
1920’s bungalow
to a two-story
foursquare.