Licensed, bonded, and insured in Oregon. CCB 174033.
Vintage
WHAT ALBERTA IS BUILT OF.
The Alberta corridor runs through Vernon, King, and Concordia, and the housing was built out from the 1900s through the 1930s along what was once a streetcar line. Bungalows and foursquares dominate, on lots wider than Sellwood's and flatter than Alameda's. The stock is old enough to need everything and regular enough that the work is predictable, which is a better combination than it sounds.
Whole House
TAKING IT ALL THE WAY.
The Alberta project, more often than not, is the whole house at once. These are homes that have had a century of partial fixes layered on top of one another, and the cheapest path is frequently to take it back to framing and start from a known condition rather than working around six previous owners' decisions. A bigger number up front and a smaller one across the following twenty years.
Systems
REWIRE, REPIPE, RE-INSULATE.
Open an Alberta house to the studs and the systems work is most of the job. Full rewire, because knob and tube and undersized panels are the norm. Repipe, because galvanised supply has been closing up for decades. Insulation and air sealing, because there is generally none worth the name. Oregon's residential energy requirements are stricter than the national model code, and a full gut is the one chance to meet them properly.
A hundred-year-old house on a flat lot still moves. Settlement at the centre of the span, mudsill rot where framing met the ground, and post-and-pier supports that were adequate in 1912 and are not now. Levelling and reinforcing is ordinary work, but it has to happen before finishes go back, because everything you install on a moving floor will eventually tell you so.
Additions
BACK-OF-HOUSE ADDITIONS.
Alberta lots run deep, which makes the back of the house the natural place to add. A rear addition can take the kitchen out of the 1915 service wing, put real glazing on the south side, and connect the house to a yard it was never designed to use. It is the single most satisfying thing you can do to a foursquare, and it does not touch the street elevation at all.
Permitting
PERMITS THROUGH PORTLAND.
Portland permits building, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical separately and reviews anything structural. On housing this age that almost always means engineering rather than prescriptive detailing. We plan for a longer Portland review than a suburban one because that is the reality. None of it is unusual. It simply has to be in the calendar from the start.
How much does a whole-house remodel cost in Alberta?It moves with scope, condition, and finish level, and anyone quoting a number before seeing the house is guessing. On a house of this age the money goes to systems, envelope, and foundation before anything you can see.Do these houses need new foundations?Some do. Many need reinforcement rather than replacement, and a few are fine as they stand. Post-and-pier supports, mudsill rot, and settlement are all common at this age. It is a question to answer with a crawlspace inspection at the start, not an assumption to carry either way.Can I stay in the house during the work?On a full gut, generally not, and we would rather say so than phase a job into twice the time to avoid the conversation. On a partial remodel it is often workable with a sealed work zone.
