Portland, Oregon · Since 2009
Northbeam is a design-build general contractor. We draw it, permit it, frame it and finish it — with the same crew from the first stake to the final walkthrough.
What we take on
Most work falls into one of these. If yours doesn't, say so on the estimate form and we'll tell you straight whether we're the right shop.
Down to the studs and back up. Layout changes, structural work, mechanical replacement and every finish trade sequenced under one schedule.
Footings, framing and roof tie-ins that read as if the house was always that size. Engineering and permits handled in-house.
The rooms with the most trades stacked into the smallest space. We schedule them tight so you get your house back sooner.
Ground-up single family and ADUs. Site work, utilities, shell and finish — one contract, one schedule, one number.
Track record
Selected work
Every job below was drawn, permitted and built by Northbeam.
Renovation
A 1924 four-square taken back to the frame. New structural beam across the main floor, rebuilt kitchen, three baths and a rear deck.
Addition
Added 940 square feet over an existing ranch. New footings, engineered beams and a roofline that matches the original pitch.
New build
A ground-up detached ADU on a tight infill lot. Utilities trenched from the main house, slab on grade, finished in 14 weeks.
Kitchen
Wall removed between kitchen and dining, new header, radiant floor and a rebuilt primary bath on the same schedule.
How we build
Standards we hold on every project, whether or not the drawings call for them. Ask any contractor for their version of this page.
How it goes
You get a written scope before anything is demolished, and a schedule you can hold us to.
We come out, measure, and talk about what you actually want the house to do. Free, about an hour.
A written scope with line-item pricing. No allowances hidden in the fine print.
We draw it, engineer it where required, and pull the permits under our licence.
Selections locked, schedule published, site protection installed. You know who is in your house and when.
Our own crew frames it. Weekly progress updates and a standing Friday walkthrough.
We close out the list before we ask for the final payment. Ten-year workmanship warranty starts at signoff.
Before / after
Same camera position, same lens. Nothing staged between the two frames.
In-house
Trades we carry on staff, versus the ones we sub to people we've used for years. We'd rather tell you up front.
In writing
Not marketing language — these are clauses. Ask to see them before you sign anything.
The number in the contract is the number on the invoice unless you change the scope in writing.
Start and finish dates, with a daily credit to you if we run past without a signed extension.
The project manager who walked your house is the one who answers the phone in week twelve.
Everything we self-perform, transferable once if you sell the house.
Clients
They gave us a schedule in week one and finished two days early. In this industry that still feels like a magic trick.
The crew was the same six guys for four months. They knew our dog’s name. The work was immaculate and the site was swept every night.
We got three bids. Northbeam’s was the only one where every line was written out, so we could actually compare it to the others.
Two change orders over five months, both explained before the work happened. Nothing showed up on the final invoice as a surprise.
Where we work
If you are outside this list, ask anyway — we take the occasional job further out when the scope justifies the drive.
Questions
Whole-home renovations in this market generally land between $180 and $320 per square foot depending on structural work and finish level. We give you a line-item number after the walkthrough, not a range.
The walkthrough and the written scope are free. If you want permit-ready drawings before you sign a build contract, that is a paid design agreement, credited back if you build with us.
We do, under our licence. We also schedule and meet every inspection so you never have to take a day off work for one.
For kitchens, baths and additions, usually yes — we build temporary dust walls and keep one bathroom live. For full gut renovations, no, and we will tell you that before you sign.
Ten-year workmanship warranty on everything we self-perform, plus whatever the manufacturer covers on materials. Call the office and we come back.
Typically six to ten weeks for a start date, which is roughly the time drawings and permits take anyway.
Structural, historic, tight lot, impossible timeline — those are the calls we like getting.
Next step
The more you tell us here, the more useful the first conversation is. Every one of these is read by a project manager, not a receptionist.