The 2014-2015 house built by Benson Tech students is located at 130 NE Skidmore. It is a two-story home with three bedrooms. There is a master bedroom suite on the ground floor and two bedrooms on the second level. A large vaulted living room, dining, kitchen space looks east to a large tree on the corner of NE Skidmore Street and NE Mallory Avenue.

Work continues on the interior with a focus on interior trim,
finishes, and cabinets. Exterior work remaining includes final color selection and exterior painting. Construction program instructors Rich Weber and Luke Hotchkiss, along with other Benson Tech staff, have made this project a great real life experience for dozens of students. They have also done an amazing job in reaching out and engaging our many industry partners. The project would not have been possible without their support. See the list of the firms and individuals that have contributed toward the project so far at the end of this post.

It’s anticipated that this house will be ready for sale at the end of this current school year. Drafting and Architecture Teacher Tammy Hite, a Benson Tech alumni, returned to the school at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year to build and grow the architecture program. We will soon be in a position where these architecture students can help design the next house. The big issue to be resolved is confirmation of a site. There have been several
conversations with Portland Public School officials and there appears to be a good chance that the district will allow Benson Tech to use one of three sites it owns south of Humboldt School in North Portland.

It is anticipated that the district will let us use the southerly most site of the three sites. The site is 50’ x 100’ and located west of N. Haight Stand and has an alley that provides additional vehicular access to the western edge of the site. With an eastwest orientation, the site lends itself to a design scheme that could take advantage of good southern exposure to natural light. There also has been conversation about consideration of designing in a rental unit or an
ADU (accessory dwelling unit) into the home design.

This will be an excellent opportunity for the architecture students at Benson Tech, along with Tammy Hite and other volunteers assisting in the program to design the next house to be constructed by students.

Contributors to the Building Construction Program
Makita USA – Roger Russell
Emerson Hardwood – Sean Surratt
Woodcrafters – Bob Rierson
Neil Kelly – Pat Murray, Kelly Dobbs
Schulz Clearwater
Miller Paint Co. – Randy Stone
Parr Lumber – Ron Hanel, Dave Frank
Oregon Roofers Supply – Gary McDonald
Ztec Engineers, Inc. – Chris C. Fischborn
W. E. Given Painting – Dan Diessner
JB Insulation Co. – Richard Lock
Southgate Wallboard Inc. – Randy Nielsen
West Side Electric Co. – David Grigonis
Rayborn’s Plumbing – Kenneth “Kap” Provancher
The Joinery – Ariel Enriquez
Tight Access Excavation – Mark Withright
ABC supply – Geoff Greenwood
Malarky Roofing
Pacific Overhead Door – Steve Harris
Paragon Pacific
Pat’s Pound & Pour – Pat Scheafer
Toughstuff Industrial Floors
Precision Images
Green Structures N.W. – Tim Kort
Fortifiber Building Sys. – Frank Mendez
Cascade Radon – Steve Tucker
Daltile – Bob Kagawa
Mackenzie Group – Dick Spies
Buckland Sheetmetal

 

This article appears in our February 2015 newsletter (pdf)