Hello from Oregon

Del

Hello all,

A little about me, I've been in the trade since 1987 worked all over the country from the Oregon coast to Fargo ND.

The market here on the coast is gone so looking for work elsewhere may be moving soon.

See ya in the forums

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caseysbuilding

Glad to have you aboard.

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rhardman

Well hello Del,

I grew up in Salem, lived in Portland for years. Flew at Cape Kiwanda and "buggy'd" at Sand Lake!

You're going to like it here. Great guy's and a rough edge that's indicative of the best the trade has to offer.

If you decide to move...
In the last big recession, the best (Oregon) work was in Portland's west hills and Beaverton. Remodeling and repair always seemed to have the most opportunity. And of course large commercial. You might want to branch into paint and plaster/stucco repair, the slow time is the best time to learn new techniques.

Just a respectful suggestion...

Great Blog! Best I've seen.

Del

I actually worked in portland back in the 90's when I lived in Salem, one of the first jobs I did up there was Kevin Duckworths house. I remember the really high door jams and shower heads. We did alot of big custom homes up there back then.

Thanks for the blog compliment, took some work to get it going but it's rolling now.

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FibaFuse

I agree with rhardman on expanding your job portfolio. Times are tough in most places and where there are glimmers of hope the locals are battling it out with price wars. My suggestion is to differentiate yourself in Portland. For example, I know one taper in New York that decided to make himself a specialty taper by selling a mold/moisture resistant wall system to residential renovations. He targets bathrooms and basements and "sells" the customer that all products used are mold/moisture resistant... 1) green board, barney board, or glass faced board, 2) mud with moisture/mildew barrier, 3) FibaTape Mold X-10 mesh tape or FibaFuse Paperless drywall tape. The customer sees this as a long term solution and piece of mind. He now gets more money per square foot than when he was doing the big jobs. And its less wear and tear on his body.

As a disclaimer, I work for Saint-Gobain who makes FibaTape and FibaFuse. I'm not here to necessarily sell you our tapes but to point out that manufacturers listen to the end-customers pains and designs products around them.

Most importantly, I love Portland. I used to go there all the time when I did work with HP in Vancouver, WA. Just a beautiful area, I'd hate to see you have to leave it.

Best of luck.

Quality1st

Usually i could tell you of a hot market to go to, but now. I,ll keep my ears open and if i see an opportunity i,ll e-mail you. I,m watching an area we are both familar with and who knows. Nice web-site. I,ve traveled alot due to recessions and such and right now i,d advise sitting tight if you can till something concrete is offered. GIDDYUP and good luck

holbrook

I am also a new guy. I am in northern ca. I have learned quite a bit from this website, it is nice to finally join up.