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We want our clients and friends to know how much me appreciate them! So we want to extend our gratitude by way of referral kick back checks. If you recommend Rebuild to someone who signs a contract with us, we will write you a nice check. So thank you for helping us to achieve our goals and create new relationships.

We are right in the middle of 2 whole home remodels and are eager to get some pics up soon of them both. Keep checking our FaceBook site for updates: http://www.facebook.com/RebuildLLC

Time to tour some really nice remodels at the 2012 Tour of Remodeled Homes, presented by HBA PRO (the Home Builders Assoc.- Professional Remodelers Organization). http://remodeltourportland.com/ Show runs March 10th and 11th only.
This year there will be 13 unique home remodel projects displayed by the top remodelers Portland has to offer. We are delighted to be amongst these accomplished companies and really look forward to seeing you at our project in the Hollywood district up on Alameda Ridge. It’s the largest home we have completed to date and we think you will agree it is done very well. So come see what can be done when you hire Rebuild LLC to transform your home. See pics here: http://rebuildllc.com/whole-home-remodels/

We are constantly evolving at Rebuild. With that in mind, we NEVER stop looking to bring our clients more knowledgeable and professional resources and subcontractors, and as ALWAYS, the most cost effective approach to your project.
First: We would like to introduce Lovett Deconstruction, who specialize in dismantling and reuse of all things building materials. We really like that they add a one stop option to what we used to bring in two different subs to perform, demo and recycling. Thank you to Der and his clean and detailed crew.

Next: Lake Oswego Environmental, who perform our asbestos removal and abatement in older homes. They are quick, thorough, and clean. They file necessary papers with DEQ and we hardly even skip a beat when we come across this nasty stuff. Thank you Ken!

Finally, Please check out what we have found in our latest web hunt!

1- http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/users/thertner The new favorite inspiration site, and I have a permanent link on my home page. Only go here if you have time to kill. I’m serious!
2- http://bigchill.com/site/  The retro appliance alternative! We are doing a kitchen replacement currently and can’t wait to show you these appliances.
3- http://www.quickdrainusa.com/  The new standard for custom shower floor drains. They are slightly higher cost but 10x cooler!

As always thank you for dropping in to read what’s happening with Rebuild LLC. We appreciate your time and interest and look forward to speaking with you.

Summer! Today is supposed to be 85! So as I try to get all my work done, I look to take one day this week and pressure wash my entire existence. Moss, dirt, gutter residue, painting prep, and whatever else I can blast.

The months have clicked off seeming like weeks are months. We are busy and that translates to the time warp I believe. We have family plans stacked up like a turkey club and hope to be able to squeeze some friend time in there as well.

At Rebuild, we are first and foremost interested in a friendship. Because if we aren’t all happy and in agreement, I will need to spend additional time to educate and substantiate the proposed project.I feel the need to explain how and why often so those who have not landed here before now can get a clear picture as to how we operate. We don’t feel its necessary to offer a big flashy and overrun website with all sorts of boxes and “deals” to click on. We just opt for simplicity and a straight forward approach for you to see our work, read about how we operate, and decide without question that you want us on your team and in your home. Thank you for taking time out of your day to visit.

The jobs are coming in weekly, we have at least two running at all times, and we are not turning away anything that we feel suits our business model.

We promote our offerings and make our ethics clear during our meetings, on our website, and emphasized by our past clients so your decision to use Rebuild becomes one of ease and comfort. We have the professionalism and expertise to accommodate ANY size or type of project you or your family may be considering.

We are a member of the City of Portland Field Issuance Remodel program (see FIR Brochure ), which is a benefit to both Rebuild LLC and the Client. We email one of three inspectors to meet us on your job, they come out look over proposed plans and bring the stamp with them to get us going right then and there. Slickest thing since sliced bread!

We pass our inspections, keep everyone on schedule, jump over every hurdle with manners, accuracy, and do it with a smile on our face.

Jobs are not based on price alone. We hope our Clients see that we are always in the same range of cost so they will feel comfortable using us regardless of the project or number. Like when you go to the dentist, you know it will cost you, you know you can afford it, when it’s done you are safe and sound again, but you don’t question the workmanship or the outcome. The cost is just the cost. We want you to trust us the same. We are solidly placed right between the high bid and the low bid, and that’s how we get 80% of our jobs.

We offer an all-inclusive remodeling package, which covers inspiration, design, plans, products, services, outstanding finish work, and future communication to ensure you are still happy with our finished work. There is no grey area with Rebuild.

All jobs are different, some are simply stock replacements with reasonably priced items, some seek out the best of some things and not of others, and some demand the best of everything. We have a retail contact for every type of every item to get you what you need.

There are so many new products and materials out now I have to hit the town almost monthly to see it all. Tile, slab materials like Caesarstone which is my favorite for many reasons, custom kitchen cabinet parts and pieces, engineered flooring, windows, plumbing, and electrical technology, energy star and so many other things.

But one thing that I feel needs a swift kick in the pants is what I call “equalization”.

In my opinion, if you choose to live in a home which costs over $500k and drive large fuel consumption vehicles either for leisure or necessity, you are ethically and morally suited for advanced green home systems. I speak mainly of Geothermal Heating and Cooling, Greywater Recovery Systems, and Energy Star Appliances. These are the easiest ways to reduce carbon footprint and gain neighborhood recognition.

Follow me for a second here- You CHOOSE to pay extra for some things in life. If you want to be perceived as one who doesn’t give anything back, that’s your choice. But if you want to be seen as someone who cares about earth, and all the ways we strip our great planet, then you should consider spending for good just as you spend for luxury or bad.

Geothermal is best suited for folks who have the space to do some digging, it heats and cools your home year round with nearly no gas or power needs.

Greywater is for those who want to utilize every drop of water that falls on their property as a means of reuse and redistribution to other areas of need. Nearly 80% of our drinking water is wasted by daily usage of appliances or unnecessary running.

Energy Star is the rating awarded to makers or appliances that meet or exceed specific usage guidelines for lowest consumption possible.

We want to be your “GO-TO” company for anything “Home”. If we don’t have the answer we will get it for you. We learn every day because there is a lot to know, and every month something changes or is developed to help make our job and your home a better place to dwell. And if you refer us to a friend of family member we will pay you nicely.

We appreciate the trust you place in us, and look forward to speaking with you.

Hello, I have read a lot of articles about where home trends are forecast to end up this year and next, but I got to tell you, we are getting calls every week for nice projects. Some qualified leads, mostly referrals, and some tire kickers. We have bid a few additions with two more still to complete, a handful of bathrooms, a couple kitchens, and a bunch of stuff in between, but we look at EVERY job lead. And we now pay respectable kick backs on your referrals, so don’t hesitate to give out my website address or number, it could get you at minimum a $50 bill in your pocket.

Granted- there will be smaller projects, tougher competition, higher scrutiny, and confused clients. Only the best contractors will include everything necessary to perform your requests with 100% turn key success. We offer all an inclusive level of- products, services, cleanliness, passed inspections, and the ability to jump over every hurdle with accuracy, manners, and do it with a smile on our face.

Here is what I get called into about once every 2 months: “Hmmm, that is a low number…” And that’s where the undercut, stinky mouth, unlicensed knuckleheads will lead you. You will get turned upside down by these type of people and quickly. Say you get into a $10,000 bathroom remodel and decide to take the low guy at $6000. You KNOW it should cost $10k because you aren’t living under a rock and you and your friends talk. He will have left out 30% of the necessities, specified a cheap close out pallet sale of tile, bought you a Home Depot fan that sounds like a 1965 VW Bug, and set his own tile because you didn’t know better to ask before hand. When problems pop up he will charge you more or just bail out. Then you look around and the level of detail and installation of items will leave you thinking you could have done a better job. But wait, then you are sitting on the new toilet that rocks and looking at the grout in your tile job with an ugly haze to it and he sealed the haze onto the tile. “What service or warranty?” Then you have to call us. Ultimately you have the means to make a solid decision, with so much helpful info and photos of work WE ACTUALLY PERFORMED, it becomes easy to make the right choice. So why do so many people make the wrong choice?

They gamble. Last I heard, gambling was an addictive condition which sometimes requires counseling.  We offer line item pricing with the actual sub pricing listed, viewable upon request, and depending on how common or complex the renovation is, we add our markup accordingly. And we explain why. Then we list alternate adds with cost for possible unknowns, which we see occasionally, for complete open book forecasting.

Here is a listing of benefits we find to be a total value using Rebuild LLC:

1. We are all inclusive because if you want to renovate your home, there are 15 possible trades that may need to be brought in. We have all trades covered and trust them.
2. We educate clients on the significance of maintaining the character of their home, and how to achieve it. Our goal here is no noticeable seam or break from old to new.
3. We offer direction with reputable designers, of which you may award job to, which will help significantly and actually save time and money.
4. We can and will render your addition or exterior transformations so you can get an exact interpretation of what is being proposed.
5. We offer the most transparent bid documents on the market, and that is a fact Jack!
6. We estimate costs of hidden things we hope “not” to encounter, so you can plan for possibility.
7. We also do maintenance, repair, replacement of any item you may require because there is more to remodeling than tearing everything out and starting over.
8. We would be happy to sit down and explain the repercussions of cheap, wanna-be contractors and the huge loss of livelihood and resources they can drain from you. Then you pay to fix it all.
9. We are an Energy Trust Ally and feel strongly about insulation. It traps the heat you pay for and keeps the cold out in the winter months. And traps the cool you pay for and keeps the heat out in the summer months. So it works for you every day in any weather. Go to http://energytrust.org/residential/evaluate-your-home/home-energy-review/ and set up a home energy audit. We will even pay for it if you decide to have us do the work outlined by their findings.

I really appreciate that you have taken the time to read 840 words worth of what I felt like talking about this month and hope you took at least a couple usable facts with you. I feel great about the future and look forward to hearing from you and your people. Take care of yourself and check back soon for new pictures and industry information.

Thank you- Todd Hertner

This year was all about breaking records at Rebuild LLC. We worked for Lawyers, Doctors, Designers and hired top level trades. We joined clubs, met a bunch of new people, found some new suppliers, and bought a lot of lunches. We worked in the nicest neighborhoods, saw some amazing views, and thought… this is finally making sense.

Starting 17 years of experience, licensed for total of 7 years, worked for others for total of 7, dipped into commercial for 2 years, and now 1 year licensed again. Being taken seriously… Priceless.

I feel complete and surrounded by the best moving forward. There is no project which I feel is too big nor too small. I want everyone to know that we treat you and your investment with all the respect and concern as our own. And with that, here is this months blog.

We would like to thank all of you who contracted, referred, and offered help to Rebuild in 2010. It was a great year for us and we worked on 20 different projects all over town. The main occurrence that has us so thankful is the referrals. 15 of the 20 jobs were due to referrals. So we recently implemented a kick back program which should help raise the bar for you to spread the word. We will pay out $100 bill to you on any paying job, and if the job exceeds $10,000 you will get 1% of total cost not to exceed $1,000. So lets work together to promote Rebuild! Thanks in advance.

As I look over the past year a few things stick out that really are worth people knowing about. In 16 years of remodeling, this year we had the largest and nicest jobs ever.

1- We finished our largest whole home remodel on Alameda Ridge in Hollywood District.

2- We performed our largest kitchen remodel in Happy Valley.

3- We subcontracted with the highest level contractors to date.

4- We paid the most taxes ever.

5- We gave out over $700 in “thank you” items to Clients.

6- We redesigned our website.

7- We had 3 yard signs in the ground, and at one point needed 2 more!

8- I was able to run at a very busy pace and still pick up my kids from school, on time!

I should stop now before I start to sound redundant. It is great people like you that made it happen, so I want you to know why I ran out, took the other call, or needed to meet you in the evening. And mainly show you how it all turned out.

Moving on. I would like to offer a couple links for you to click on so you can see the results of all the work. The whole home remodel in Hollywood was a entire gut job where 60% of the existing framing stayed and all the rest was new. New third floor dormers front and rear, first/second floor front addition with balconies, open first floor new plan and staircase, basement beefing up of footings, beams, and all mechanical/electrical/plumbing. Other items included Milgard windows, Gary’s Vacuflo central vac, AO Smith Vertex 96% efficient gas water heater, closed cell sprayed insulation to entire exterior structure, entire exterior siding and roof, detailed trim details throughout, cherry hardwoods and stair treads, tile everywhere, custom concrete acid staining, and the homeowners finishing touches. 100% new space!

The nicest Rebuild kitchen remodel ever. But hopefully not! This was a 8 home gated community in Happy Valley. The owners planned for a year, brought in a well known designer, and were ready to go, literally. All appliances purchased, cabinets designed, and could not wait any longer to start. Cool! So we removed the kitchen, laundry, butler pantry, living room, fireplace, built-ins, flooring, and went to work. New sub panel to accommodate all we were about to add like full NuHeat under travertine marble, added appliances and A/V equipment. Look at the the photos and you will see finish through before pics. Too long of a list to really get into typing here. But I would be more than happy to talk to you about it if you would like. I would like to give the subcontractors credit for a great job: West Side Electric, Modern Plumbing, Oswego Drywall, Fred’s Sound of Music, Crown Tile, Sundeleaf Painting, Lisac’s Fireplaces and Stoves, Bravura Finishes, Contract Furnishings Mart, and my personal carpenters and demo crew. All of which you can find on my links list. Thank you for taking the time and I appreciate your interest.

Todd Hertner and Family.

Hello friends, clients, and everyone else. Thank you for spending your valuable time looking at what’s going on in Rebuild General Contractor world. We are finally enjoying some warm weather, getting some color in the process and looking forward to hearing from you and your people.
Since I last posted we have been fine tuning the final approach on the Wistaria house on Alameda Ridge, knocked out a fence, gate, and concrete job at Summerplace Retirement Community, Finished the Flying Pie Lake Oswego remodel, just signed a magazine quality kitchen/living room remodel in Happy Valley, submitted a $20k bid for a composite deck, and dropped a couple more bids off along the way on nice projects.
We are officially a new member of the HBA Pro (Home Builders Association- Professional Remodelers Organization) and a new member of Energy Trust Ally Program. So if you are having thoughts of a project at your home or business the resources are there to find answers, get inspiration, and realize the difference we can make on your project. We will show you how energy savings, good design, and great new products can ultimately change your life.
The 4 story remodel is in the final swing, and painters have the stage currently. The entire home is masked for painting of trim. There have been a few snags to get there but that’s the way it goes when homeowners are extremely involved and changes occur. I don’t advise against this just warn that it takes a great deal of patience and added time for all. Once paint wraps up, it will be on the custom hardwood guys to shine up the floors, and slab will go it shortly after. The Vertex water heater is going in next week, the fireplace mantle will be built, and the exterior grounds are transforming for the better. This place is going to glow.
The large Happy Valley remodel will include all my best Subcontractors: Modern Plumbing, West Side Electric, Lisac’s Fireplaces, Breese & Co., Oswego Drywall, Crown Tile, Summit Woodworking, Sundeleaf Painting, and about 800sf of NuHeat floor heat mats under all the travertine. All new painted and stained cabinets, a custom 8′ arched french interior door with true divided light, Wolf and Sub Zero appliances, slab granite, Caesar Stone, Graphic Eye Lighting controller, a Town and Country fireplace, on and on… Fun job.
The Street of Dreams this year had a couple homes I really felt a connection with, but unless you went it would not hit home. Both were designed and build by Hearth and Home Construction, first was the “Refinement” and next was “Transitions”. An excellent flow of materials, design and finished product that I actually took pictures of! The show is on Skyline this year and runs until Aug 29th. Go see them.
*** I am happy to make an open offer to anyone who refers our business to others.
** If you make a referral that turns into actual work either now or in the future, I will send you $100 with no questions asked, but much thanks given. Keep us in mind and we will take care of you!
Thanks to all who read this months blog-book, and as always we genuinely respect you and your thoughts.

Well it seems as though everyone wants something done these days. We try to accommodate all requests and have no problem referring our sub contractors to the small jobs. Don’t hesitate to have us over to take a look or have a listen. If I don’t trust the people I refer or back their level of quality, you will not be hearing from them.

We have been coordinating and performing work on the big 4-story job for months now and there is much to report on finishes, as the cabinets in entire house are installed, the hardwoods are installed but not finish sanded, the tile is 90% complete, the finish trim is 95% complete, the interior painting is almost ready for it’s final coat, the exterior painting is at punchlist status awaiting minor tweaks with siding detail, the basement floor is ready for it’s concrete staining (here is pic of desired look), the HVAC system is ready for it’s final cleaning, and the exterior grounds on this massive lot are in need of some initial landscaping. By the way, I think the clients are really getting excited to move in!

We just completed a design build exterior deck project up on Vista and it was a little monster to say the least. The lot was heavily sloped, the material was long and heavy, the clients did not really know what they wanted other than the decking before we started, and we were constantly changing gears to keep the job rolling. But what a transformation! TimberTech Twin material for the actual decking, and a custom built privacy fence built from 1×2 and 1×4 clear cedar, which the client painted as fast as we could bring it in for install. It was nice to have a client getting so involved in a project for once. They went out looking at cool fences etc to gain the inspiration and we mocked up these ideas for final approval. (see photos here) The detail was mitered corners wrapping around corners, but where the outside boards turned to meet the inside boards they were at different heights for the stepped privacy affect, so a small ledger was placed vertically to make the transition. We reused the existing stair system as it was very beefy and definitely reusable, retrofit some additional anchors and framing to existing deck to strengthen and made the inspectors actually smile! The look from either side of this finished product is just beautiful.

We are currently finishing up the Flying Pie Lake Oswego remodel, which we build a new 150sf storage room, demo’d and moved the front entry low wall, did misc carpentry, and will install the concrete counter tops in a week or so to both bathrooms. The carpet was completely replaced, the acoustical tiles at kitchen area were replaced, the walls were painted, and everything was cleaned. I can personally say, all the Flying Pie locations are good for a while. :)

Thank you for reading and as always, we appreciate the trust you place in Rebuild LLC. Talk to you soon.