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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.

What do you think is happening with remodeling currently and in the next quarter? We read things have finally broke even and turned upward 5% and projected to hit 12% by first quarter of 2011. All stats aside I am living it and see current trend as medium and steady, while future work looks promising, increasing steadily for months now.

With all the tax credits and remodeling going on why wouldn’t you consider taking 30% off of a major energy efficient appliance(s) to save on energy costs and get a solid new unit? We are pushing this due to the credits and they may be gone after Dec 31st.

http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?genericContentID=113316

I am happy to include a couple new products that I am excited about. First in the latest issue of Kitchen & Bath Design News, the Robern Uplift. The best idea in bathroom wall mirrors in a minute. I will just say that “I want this”, and “I want you to want this” as well!

http://www.robern.com/product/detail.rbn?productNumber=UC3027FPL&overAllHeight=&overAllWidth=&productLine=Uplift&edge=&depth=&category=Cabinets&opening=&frameStyle=&installationType=&design=&paging.pageIndex=1&paging.pageSize=10&similarProductNumber=UC3032FP

And next is the coolest shower drain system I have seen. It’s made by Proline and is very PRO. Forget this expensive wall mounted accessories, this thing is worth every penny, and will give your shower and floor a kick needed to take your bath to the next level.

http://www.quickdrainusa.com/gallery.php

And finally for the serious men out there…I cannot neither confirm or deny the ability of the pictured help. LOL
Plywood Handle

So we just purchased the coming years bond and insurance last week and are on track for a very industrious year. We are digging into our most highly regarded club, the HBA PRO, and trying to make a difference in what happens for the good of the industry.
We will be joining a new group in the short term but will divulge that once complete.
I have met some very nice and talented designers in the past few months that I am excited to be working with them. I hope to start something with every one of them.

We typically are running at least two jobs at a time, with 5 running as of late, and I am more than confident that you will not know the difference between busy or slow once Rebuild LLC comes on board. We just finished two full bathrooms with other carpentry throughout. Just finished a year long project where we performed a 4 story, whole home remodel. Just finished a fireplace addition to a big beautiful home. And have 2 others going still, a full kitchen and living room remodel, and another fireplace but this one is a complete tear out.
All our top level subs we use are manned up, professional, and the owners get out to our jobs and put their noses right in the project. That is great for me, but better for you. You will get an accurate price, with reasonable change orders, for what you would pay other outfits who are less than trustworthy and timely. I can attest to this personally as I have used A, B, and C, level subs and will never go back to the B or C teams. Just ask me how I can substantiate this claim and I would be happy to discuss it with you, just not stated here.

Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

We know you could be anywhere in the world right now, and you decided to be here with me. I thank you for that.
Without divulging too much data, I would like everyone to know how appreciative I am of the business we have signed and there appears even more to come this month. Truly makes me happy to do what I love.
We currently have 3 jobs running, 1 on Alameda Ridge, 1 in Happy Valley, 1 in SW Hills right above the martini glass lights! All are in different stages. I have 3 other bids out, one with yet another designer, which we thought was ready to sign then they wanted to add scope. Cool with me.
Additionally I have looked at two other jobs which were referrals, and are awaiting my bid.
We are wrapping up at the Wistaria job, with hardwoods now complete, interior painting about half done, deck railings almost complete, slab granite counter tops installed, front porch concrete slab formed up, and concrete basement floor about ready to be stained in a patina pattern. You will love this house.
The Happy Valley kitchen living room remodel just kicked off with deconstruction and will be a tightly scheduled job to help bring this one in quickly for clients appreciation. I hope all goes well as this is our nicest and largest kitchen remodel in 16 years. There is an interior designer on this job who really brought it to the table in my opinion. I will post progress pics of this job in “Current Projects“, a new tab I am going to create this weekend on Rebuild LLC site.
The SW Hills job is 2 bathrooms back to back finished off with really nice tile from United Tile. If you cut a hole in these bathroom floors you would be looking 50′ down the hillside. Sweet! This job has an interior designer on board as well, and a homeowner who is one of the nicest women I have met to date.
So I will leave you with this- If you refer me you will be rewarded. I take business seriously, and if I receive business, I am grateful. I do my best to thank and address all who refer, recommend, teach, or just help make my company better. Don’t be surprised to get a call from me around 11:am for lunch!
I don’t claim to know everything which I think is impossible. But I do try to have as much qualified information for you all as I can. If I don’t have the answer I find it in timely fashion.
These days everyone wants to sell you something, we simply strive to give you what you want and offer your money a great place to be spent. Take care.

Hello and welcome to “almost” summer! We are running and loving how the economy seems to be turning the corner on home remodeling projects. A little bit of everything right now: additions, decks, concrete work, concrete counter tops, and the big 4-story remodel we have been on for months now.

Flying Pie Pizzaria has commissioned us once again to remodel the bathrooms and build some new walls at their Lake Oswego location. That’s cool to us because we have already done extensive work at their main Stark Street location. So this time around we will pour two concrete counter tops, one for each bathroom, and do some touch up and detail work with the partitions. As well as replace all the toilets with one piece Toto 1.6 gallon flush. Then we will build a new 15′ x 10′ dry storage room adjacent to the front counter to free up much needed space in the kitchen area. New acoustical ceiling tiles and fixes throughout. And finally knock down a wall at the pizza tossing area and build it lower so the shorter people that really enjoy watching that can finally see.

We will be remodeling a master bathroom in SW Portland which will involve gutting half the space, re-routing some electrical and replacing some plumbing, drywall install and texturing the entire space out so everything matches nicely once painted. We will install some travertine marble to the floor and base trim, tumbled marble to shower, add new door and window trim, and add an entire wall of maple shaker style cabinets that will maximize storage space. Finish it all off with a Kohler toilet, new towell bars, recessed vanity, and bright white paint. Now that Rebuild is on board, the client will be happy to walk in there every morning!

We are bidding a deck job up top of Vista which will be a retrofit to existing 18′ x 10′ with composite lumber. It rises 15′ off the ground on one end to 10′ on the other, a heavily sloped lot. TimberTech XLM is the material of choice here. We propose a 6′ addition the long direction and removing existing stairs and turning them from east to north. This should be a fun one with the City of Portland PDC.

The 4-story remodel on Alameda is really cranking now. We have Brazilian Cherry hardwoods going in, the first coat of Miller paint on the walls and ceilings are complete. The eaves and deck lids are finished now and they look awesome. I will post some pics on my “Exterior“ page. And the tile install is moving along nicely. Cabinets will be installed next month and the exterior painting should begin mid June.

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