Frequently Asked Questions
Planning Questions
Remodeling and building a custom home in the Beaverton, Portland, and SW Washington areas can be a daunting journey. We are the experienced guide who can see you through from start to finish. Our design-build services provide everything you need for your project under one roof. For more details, visit Why Us.
First, contact us and let us know what projects you’ve been thinking about. We will provide some insights, but most of all—we will listen to your goals, discuss timing and budget, and let you know how to get your project done through our process.
There is a lot of necessary, up-front work to get to the start of construction. Our team guides you from concept to layout design and material selections. We can get started right away with our process to determine all the details that need to be completed before the actual construction begins. Our team is always starting and finishing jobs, so we are ready to get started now.
Yes! Our design/build process is very inclusive of outside designers and architects. We want to bring everyone together early on in the process to be part of the project team.
Make sure the contractor you’ve hired has a good reputation. Check to see if the company has a sizable amount of positive reviews? Do they belong to any associations? Have they won any awards for their work? These are the things a quality contractor in the Beaverton, Portland, and SW Washington areas should be able to provide you. Visit our Awards and Reviews pages to see some of our reviews. By looking at this section of our site, you’ll see we are more than qualified to handle your project.
Remodel Questions
Most people only consider the construction phase, but there are a lot of details to figure out before demo day. It takes several months of planning to work through preliminary design, estimating, material selections, engineering, and permitting. A typical kitchen remodel takes 10-12 weeks of construction. Our team will develop a complete and realistic timeline and guide you through the entire process.
We can provide a price range based on similar projects at our site visit once we understand the scope of your project. Don’t forget – a kitchen remodel is rarely just a kitchen. The project tends to affect adjacent rooms such as the family room, dining room, as well as flooring and paint throughout your home.
We won’t sugarcoat it: a kitchen remodel is disruptive. Construction impacts your day-to-day routine, but we do our best to contain the mess and respect your home. Our clients have gotten creative and set up a temporary kitchen in their garage, wash dishes in the bathtub, make freezer meals ahead of time, and order a lot of takeout food. It’s a temporary inconvenience that ultimately pays off in the end.
Most people only consider the construction phase, but there are a lot of details to figure out before demo day. It takes several months of planning to work through preliminary design, estimating, and material selections, engineering, and permitting. A typical bathroom remodel takes 8-10 weeks of construction. Our team will develop a complete and realistic timeline and guide you through the entire process.
We can provide price ranges based on similar projects at our site visit once we understand the scope of your project. The investment levels vary between a large, master bathroom or smaller guest or powder bath. To maximize value, many of our clients remodel multiple bathrooms at the same time.
We won’t sugarcoat it: a bathroom remodel is disruptive. Construction impacts your day-to-day routine, but we try very hard to contain the mess and respect your home. It is helpful if you have more than one bathroom in the home that you can use during the remodel. If not, you may have to move out during construction.
Custom Home Questions
We build custom homes all over the Portland metropolitan area from Vancouver and Camas, Washington down to the Woodburn area. Currently, we are not building in Salem, on the Oregon Coast, or in Central Oregon.
We don’t have a one-size-fits-all model. There are too many variables to talk about that will affect the cost-per-square-foot number such as amenity levels, lot conditions, or permit costs. These factors can be big numbers that add to the cost of construction. We will work with you to understand what investment level you need to be at so we can design to your budget. A typical range is in the $350-500 per square foot range. At Mountainwood Homes, our typical home starts at $950K (home only).
We can connect you to real estate agents that specialize in finding land. They have search tools and access to listings that you have not seen before. There are lots all over the Portland metro area. A real estate agent can help you find one that meets your needs, price point, and lifestyle you want to live.
Yes! It’s important to have a builder involved in these early conversations to address site conditions. You can engage with our team on a Feasibility Study to ensure that the property you are considering will work for you.
No, but we can help design a plan tailored to your needs and location. We have hundreds of plans that we have built, each unique to our client’s lifestyles.
A typical new home can be built in 6-9 months, but there are many steps before start construction. The process of securing land, obtaining permits, and getting approvals can take time, so start now. We recommend engaging with our team as soon as possible no matter where you are in the home building process.
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Have you been thinking about remodeling your home or building a new one? Take the first step toward making your new space a reality. Let’s set up a time to talk and figure out how we can help you fall in love with your home again.
We had given up on finding a company that might solve our unusual remodel problem until someone told us to try Mountainwood. We are glad we took her advice!