One lead carpenter per house
Your lead carpenter is on site every day, owns the schedule and answers your texts. Designers visit weekly, and subcontractors report to the lead.
About Harbor & Beam
A small studio for houses that have already lived a lot.
Dana Whitcombe left a design-build firm in 2014 to start something smaller: a shop on SE Hawthorne with six carpenters, two designers and a rule that nobody manages more than three active houses. Most of our clients live within a mile of someone we have already worked for.
The studio rules we do not break
Open the wall before we promise
Where a house allows it, we do a pre-construction demo of a small area to look at plumbing, framing and wiring before we finalize the price.
Salvage first
Old-growth fir, hardware and tile that can be reused are carried to the ReBuilding Center instead of a dumpster, and we note the diversion rate on your closeout.
A house binder at handover
Paint codes, circuit maps, tile lot numbers, warranties and photographs of every wall before it was closed.
Studio milestones
- 2014
The Hawthorne shop opens
Four carpenters and a rented bandsaw, finishing three kitchens that first fall.
- 2017
Lead-safe certification
Every lead carpenter takes the EPA renovator course, so pre-1978 houses become routine, not risky.
- 2020
Phased renovations
We introduce the multi-year phase plan after clients told us they could not leave their house for a whole-house remodel.
- 2023
Seismic retrofit crew
A dedicated team for foundation bolting and cripple-wall bracing, drawn to Portland's retrofit standards.
The studio
- Dana WhitcombeFounder and principal designer
- Teo AlvarengaSenior lead carpenter
- Priya ChaudhryInterior designer for kitchens and baths
- Walt BrennermanEstimator and permit specialist
Come see the shop
The Hawthorne shop is open for tours on the first Saturday of each month.