Portland General Contractor for Homes Built to Last a Century
Alameda bungalows, Sellwood Victorians, St. Johns cottages. We are 25 minutes west on TV Highway, and we have spent 17 years learning what Portland's pre-war housing stock actually needs.
Who is a good general contractor for older Portland homes?
Green O Construction is a CCB #204939 unlimited general contractor, veteran-owned since 2008, with a licensed architect on payroll and six in-house crews. We work all five Portland quadrants, pull permits in our own name through Portland Permitting & Development, and register every warranty in yours.
What building in Portland actually looks like
If you own a Portland home, expect pre-war construction realities: 1900s-1920s Craftsman bungalows and Foursquares, plaster walls, knob-and-tube wiring, and foundations poured before seismic loads mattered. Your remodel plans should also account for the Residential Infill Project, historic-district design review, and weather driven by the Columbia River Gorge east wind.
- Portland is Oregon's largest city at roughly 636,000 people (2024 Census estimate).
- The January 2024 ice storm and June 2021 heat dome (116 F) are still driving repair work today.
- The Residential Infill Project (effective August 2021) allows up to four units on most residential lots citywide.
- Historic and conservation districts like Irvington can trigger design review on exterior changes.
Portland is Oregon's largest city at roughly 636,000 people (the 2024 Census estimate, and the first year of growth since 2020). Its housing stock is the oldest we work on anywhere in the metro: 1900s-1920s Craftsman bungalows and Foursquares on the east side, Victorians in Sellwood, mid-century ranches in the SW hills. That age is the whole story. Old-growth fir framing worth preserving, plaster walls, knob-and-tube wiring hiding above kitchen ceilings, and foundations poured before anyone worried about seismic loads.
Weather here has a Portland-specific edge: the east wind. Cold air funnels out of the Columbia River Gorge in winter and meets Pacific moisture over the city, which is why Portland ices over when the rest of the valley just gets rain. The January 2024 ice storm snapped limbs and loaded gutters across the east side for the better part of a week; the June 2021 heat dome hit 116 F and cooked south-facing composition roofs years past their rating. Both events are still driving repair work today.
On the code side, Portland's Residential Infill Project (effective August 2021) allows up to four units on most residential lots citywide - which is why ADU and plex-conversion conversations come up in almost every feasibility walk we do east of 82nd or south of Division. If your house sits in a historic or conservation district like Irvington, exterior changes can trigger design review, and we scope that time into the calendar before you commit a dollar.
What we build in Portland
In Portland you can hire us for roofing, exterior and siding, interior remodels, additions and ADUs, structural and seismic work, commercial tenant improvements, storm restoration, and maintenance membership. Every service is scoped for pre-war housing stock, from skip sheathing and lath-and-plaster to Residential Infill Project ADU feasibility on your lot.
- Roofing: we inspect the deck before we price, and register the CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster 4-Star warranty in your name.
- Additions + ADUs: free lot feasibility check under the Residential Infill Project's four-unit allowance.
- Structural: seismic retrofits with PE engineering partners for pre-1970 homes lacking mudsill bolting.
- Storm restoration: 24-hour callback, same-day tarps, and adjuster documentation written the way carriers approve it.
Roofing
Portland's pre-war homes carry steep pitches, dormers, and original skip sheathing that most bids ignore until tear-off day. We inspect the deck before we price, and as a CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster 4-Star contractor we register the long-form material warranty in your name.
Exterior + Siding
Original cedar lap on a 1915 bungalow is usually worth repairing, not burying under vinyl. Where replacement is right, we match reveal and trim profiles so the streetscape - and any district design review - stays happy.
Interior Remodel
Portland kitchens and baths come with lath-and-plaster dust control, knob-and-tube discovery, and floors that have settled for a hundred years. Our architect drafts in-house, so plan-review corrections do not stall your project for weeks.
Additions + ADUs
The Residential Infill Project made most Portland lots eligible for up to four units. Detached ADUs, basement conversions, and garage conversions all pencil differently - our free lot feasibility check tells you which one fits your lot before drawings begin.
Structural
Pre-1970 Portland homes usually lack mudsill bolting and cripple-wall bracing. We run seismic retrofits, foundation repair, and drainage with PE engineering partners on retainer and our own excavators.
Commercial
Tenant improvements and flat-roof work (TPO/EPDM, heat-welded) for Portland property managers - COI with additional insured in 24 hours, daily photo reports by 5 PM.
Storm Restoration
When the Gorge east wind ices the city, out-of-state chasers follow. We are the local alternative: 24-hour callback, same-day tarps, and adjuster documentation written the way carriers actually approve it.
Maintenance Membership
A century-old house rewards routine attention. Annual roof, gutter, and envelope checks catch the small failures - a lifted shingle, a clogged downspout - before Portland's wet season turns them into drywall repairs.
Portland neighborhoods we know
You will find our crews most often in Alameda, Beaumont-Wilshire, Grant Park, Laurelhurst, Irvington, Sellwood-Moreland, Multnomah Village, and St. Johns. Seventeen years of metro work across every quadrant means we already know your neighborhood's housing era, its common failure points, and whether design review applies before we quote.
- Alameda and Grant Park: 1910s-20s Craftsman stock where knob-and-tube rewires ride along with most remodels.
- Irvington: National Register historic district where exterior work can trigger design review.
- Sellwood-Moreland: Victorian cottages where 1900s foundations meet 2020s drainage.
- Multnomah Village: sloped lots, mature firs, and gutter systems that earn their keep every November.
Seventeen years of metro work means our crews have been on roofs and inside walls across every quadrant. These are the neighborhoods where we get called back most.
Permits through Portland Permitting & Development
Your Portland permit runs through Portland Permitting & Development at the Development Services Center, 1900 SW 4th Ave, and we file online in Green O's name so code exposure sits with our license. Because Portland review queues are the longest in the metro, a complete first submittal saves you weeks.
- In-person counter service is limited to Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 AM to 4 PM; most submittals happen online.
- Building permit fees are calculated from project valuation on a published fee schedule, line-itemed in your written scope.
- Historic district work gets design-review time built into the schedule instead of discovered mid-project.
- We meet the inspector on site for every hold point.
Portland permits run through Portland Permitting & Development (the bureau formerly known as BDS) at the Development Services Center, 1900 SW 4th Ave. In-person counter service is limited to Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 AM to 4 PM - most submittals happen online, and that is how we file.
Portland review queues are the longest in the metro, which is exactly why a complete first submittal matters: every checksheet correction cycle costs weeks. Our architect answers corrections in-house, and historic district work gets design-review time built into the schedule instead of discovered mid-project.
On fees: Portland calculates building permit fees from project valuation on a published fee schedule, and larger residential projects also carry plan-review and system development charges. We line-item every city fee in the written scope so the number you approve is the number the project costs - no permit surprises at draw two.
We pull the permit in Green O's name - code exposure sits with our license, not yours - and we meet the inspector on site for every hold point.
A representative Portland job
Picture a 1922 Craftsman on the Alameda Ridge: original skip sheathing, three composition layers, and a leak that showed up in the January ice. The right scope is a full tear-off to the boards, plywood overlay, high-temp ice-and-water at eaves and valleys, new flashing at the brick chimney, and architectural shingles that suit the streetscape. That is a two-day dry-in, a four-to-five-day install, and a warranty packet registered to the homeowner - the way we run every steep-pitch pre-war roof in the city.
Every service we run in Portland
Portland services, by category
Free walkthrough anywhere in Portland
Same-day callback for storm emergencies. 24-hour callback for everything else. Call (971) 226-7751 or email info@greenoconstruction.com.
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm, Sat 8am-2pm · Closed Sundays · CCB #204939
Free inspection — no obligation, written report yours to keep
Probably not the right move if you want the cheapest bid.
If you want this done once — by a CCB-licensed local who'll still answer the phone in year seven — we reply to every web inquiry inside 15 minutes during business hours (Mon–Sat 8 AM–7 PM PT). Storm damage or active leak? Call (971) 226-7751 — same-day callback.
- 4.3 stars — 51 Google reviews
- CCB #204939
- Veteran-owned
- 17 years Portland metro
- 15-min business-hours reply
Direct line
(971) 226-7751
Hours
Mon–Sat
8 AM – 7 PM PT
Office
20001 SW Tualatin Valley Hwy
Suite 208
Beaverton, OR 97006
Storm Response
24-hour callback
365 days/year