Portland, OR · free measure-ups

Your home, joined properly.

Good carpentry is quiet: doors that close like a breath, trim that meets in perfect miters, wood that stays put. Dovetail measures twice, joins wood the patient way, sands to the touch, and agrees one honest, clear quote with you before the first cut.

Book a free estimate or call (503) 555-0188

★★★★★ 4.91,900+ Google reviews

Since 2004Portland family company

CCB #204518Licensed · bonded · insured

Wood studio

Dovetail WalnutDovetail No. 02, hand-rubbed

#5E4632

The Dovetail deck, tap a chipSpecies help →

Tap a species and the whole site wears its grain, live. Book a free estimate

The honest call

Built, trimmed, or just repaired?

Carpentry is judged from two feet away, in your hallway, forever. Here is what separates work that survives that distance.

Built-ins

Scribed to YOUR walls.

Truth: No wall in any house is straight, especially the good old ones
Craft: Scribing shapes the piece to the wall, caulk just hides the gap

A quarter-inch caulk line on a built-in is a shortcut wearing paint. Scribed edges are why custom costs more than a cabinet from a box.

Trim & doors

Miters tell on everybody.

Look at: Corners, returns, and where casing meets the floor
Doors: An even reveal all the way around is the whole test

Ask any carpenter for close-up photos of their corners, not room shots. The wide angle flatters, the miter doesn’t lie.

Paint vs. stain grade

Two different jobs, one word.

Paint-grade: Joints filled and sanded, forgiving materials, honest price
Stain-grade: Every joint visible forever, grain matched, no filler hides anything

Stain-grade forgives nothing, wood selection and joinery cost real money. If the quote doesn’t say which grade, it doesn’t know its own price.

Repairs

Small fixes, honest sizes.

Often small: A squeaky stair is a shim, a sticking door is a plane and a hinge
Sometimes not: Soft, spongy wood means water, find it before rebuilding over it

Rot is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Replacing the board without finding the water schedules the same repair for next year.

One more honest line: the carpenter usually doesn’t paint. Who sands, primes and finishes, and when, belongs in the plan before day one.

Straight pricing

One number. In writing. It doesn’t move.

No hourly meter, no surprise line items, no “while we’re at it”. You approve one clear quote before the first board is cut, so you know the cost up front.

Book your free measure-upor call (503) 555-0188

The measure-up

We visit, measure every room and listen to what you actually want. Free, and it stays free.

Your clear quote

Lumber, joinery, finish and install, one line, one price. Approved by you before anything starts.

In writing03

Signed & guaranteed

The number lands in writing with a two-year workmanship warranty. If it isn’t right, we make it right.

The breakdown

What moves the number.

No mystery math. Four things decide what a carpentry job costs, and we walk every one with you before the quote lands.

Wood & materialWhite oak, walnut and reclaimed stock cost more than shop-grade pine, and read very differently in the same room. The wood is most of the material line.

Joinery & detailDovetails, coped returns and profiles matched to your old trim are slow hand work, and it is where a build stops looking bought.

Site & accessWalls out of plumb, tight stairwells and upper floors add hours, and what an old wall hides only shows once we open it.

Scope & finishA single door hangs in a morning; a full library wall is weeks of glue-ups and finish coats. Size and finish passes set the labor.

Whatever the mix, you get one clear quote, in writing, before any work starts.

What a serious carpentry quote includes, ours or anyone’s:

Scope per room or piece, drawn or described
Material and grade: paint or stain, named
Who finishes: sanding, priming, painting, stated
Site protection: dust barriers and floor cover
Hardware and fasteners, specified
A schedule with a real end date

The finish line is where carpentry quotes go vague, and where budgets go after. Get the who-paints question answered on paper.

Why Dovetail

The company Portland calls back.

Doing it the honest way: thorough prep, premium wood, a fair price, and a crew who treats your home like their own.

Meet the company

Free estimates

You approve the exact price before we start. No hourly meter, no surprise line items at the end.

One number · in writing

On time, done clean

We start when we say, protect your floors and furniture, and leave the site spotless every evening.

Spotless every evening

Straight, honest quotes

You approve the exact number in writing before any work starts, honest and up front.

It doesn’t move

Guaranteed work

Every project is backed by a written two-year workmanship warranty. If it's not right, we make it right.

Written warranty

The crew

The same hands, start to finish

No rotating subcontractors. Carpenters who show up on time, protect your home, and treat every room like their own.

Your lead carpenterOwner · on every job

The same person who walks your home and quotes the job is on the ladder start to finish, no handoffs to a sub you never met.

Shop leadMills, joins & finishes

Install & scribeLevel, tight & caulked

Project managerYour point of contact

When your site goes live, your crew's real names and photos replace these — we never use stock people.

Recent jobs

Real work, in plain numbers.

Three jobs from the past few months, what they were, where, and how long they actually took.

Built-in bookcases, alcove

Irvington·3 days

Two flanking alcove units in paint-grade poplar, face-frames scribed to a wavy plaster wall so the reveals stay tight. Adjustable shelves on shelf-pins, then filled, caulked and finished on site.

Red oak staircase rebuild

Laurelhurst·6 days

Replaced 14 worn treads and risers in solid red oak, re-set the newel and re-doweled loose balusters. Every tread glued and screwed from below so the whole run stopped creaking.

Sticking door rehang

Sellwood·3 hours

Two swollen interior doors planed and rehung true, hinges shimmed and mortises deepened so they latch clean. Old paint-clogged strike plates reset instead of replaced.

Neighbors trust us

Rated 4.9 by 1,900+ homeowners

4.9★★★★★Google · 1,900+ reviews

4.8★★★★★Yelp · 340+ reviews

Dovetail Walnut

★★★★★

"A wall of built-ins scribed into a 1926 living room where nothing is square. You cannot slide a paper behind the face frame. It looks like the house was built around it."

FILL Marcus D.Beaverton · via Google

Painted Shaker

★★★★★

"Every door upstairs stuck for years. One visit: jambs trued, hinges mortised, and now they close with a fingertip. Should have called a decade ago."

FILL The Alvarez FamilyLake Oswego · via Google

Cherry

★★★★★

"The staircase squeak that survived three handymen died in an afternoon. Blocks and screws from below, not a single new nail visible."

FILL Dena R.Tigard · via Yelp

Ebonized Oak

★★★★★

"Load-bearing wall out, LVL in, permit and inspection handled. The temporary shoring was built nicer than our old deck. Zero cracks anywhere a month later."

FILL Kevin L.Vancouver · via Google

White Oak

★★★★★

"Rotten window sills rebuilt with matched profiles, you cannot tell where old wood ends and new begins. And they fixed the gutter that caused it, unasked."

FILL Sofia M.Milwaukie · via Google

Ash

★★★★★

"The wood studio on their site sold us, tapped walnut and the whole page warmed up. The finished bookcase matches that exact tone."

FILL Jordan & Amy T.Portland · via Google

Where we work

Proudly serving the Portland metro

A lot of our work comes from a neighbor who watched us work on the house next door. If you're in the metro, we're just around the corner.

Humidity swings move every piece of wood in this town twice a year — the reason acclimated stock and proper gaps aren’t fussiness, they’re why our doors still close in February.

Trusted local
service★

Free estimates · never a franchise

Find your city

Hours

Mon – Fri7:30 – 6:00
Saturday7:30 – 6:00
SundayClosed · family day

How it goes

From first call to done.

No mystery in the middle. This is the path the job actually takes, start to finish.

The walkthroughday 1

A carpenter comes to your place, measures the space and looks at how the house is actually built. We talk through what you want, flag anything hidden like rot or out-of-square walls, and take photos so nothing gets guessed later.

Quote lands in writingwithin 48 hours

You get a clear quote by email that lists every part of the job, the wood species and finishes, and what's included. The quote we give you is clear up front.

Materials and schedule set1-2 weeks out

We order the lumber and millwork, let solid stock acclimate in your home so it doesn't move later, and pull any permits the job needs. You get a start date and a rough day count in writing before anything is torn into.

We build on siteday of the job

The same crew that quoted the job shows up, lays down floor protection and works clean. You'll see progress each day, and we check any change with you before we cut it rather than after.

Walk it together, then we gobefore we leave

We walk the finished work with you, open and close every door and drawer, and touch up anything you point out. You get the written workmanship warranty in hand, the site swept and hauled clean, and nothing left for you to deal with.

Before you hire anyone

Five questions for every carpenter.

Including us. Woodwork lives in your house at eye level for decades. Five questions find the hands that deserve it.

01How do you handle walls that aren’t straight?

The word you’re listening for is “scribe”. The word you’re not is “caulk”. Old houses reward the first and expose the second.

02Paint-grade or stain-grade, and is the price sure?

They’re different jobs with different materials. A quote that hasn’t asked the question hasn’t priced the answer.

03Who does the finishing?

Most carpenters build, someone else paints. Fine, as long as both names and the handoff date are in the plan.

04Can I see close-ups of your corners?

Not room photos, corners. Miters, returns, scribe lines. Two feet away is where this trade is judged.

05How do you keep the dust out of my life?

Barriers, floor protection, daily cleanup. Sawdust travels, a pro plans for it before your bookshelf does.

Bring this list to the estimate. We’ll answer all five before you ask.

Good to know

Questions, answered

Getting started

Do you charge for estimates?+

No. Written estimates for built-ins, trim, doors and commercial millwork are always free, we visit, measure, talk through materials and finishes, and email you a clear, itemized quote with no obligation.

How soon can you start?+

Most estimates go out within a day, and typical projects are scheduled within one to two weeks. For urgent rebuilds, before a move, a sale or an event, just tell us the date and we'll do our best to fit you in.

What does “free estimates” mean?+

Before any work begins, we give you one clear quote to approve, prep, materials and labor included. No hourly meter, no surprise add-ons at the end. You always decide before we start.

What should I do before the measure-up?+

Nothing but clear the wall or corner in question. We bring the tape, the laser and the questions, fifteen minutes, then a drawn proposal with one clear quote.

What happens during the measure-up?+

We measure the space, check plumb, level and what the walls hide, listen to how you live, and leave with enough to draw it properly.

Can you work with my designer or architect?+

Happily. We build from their drawings, flag what the site will not allow early, and send progress photos your designer will actually want.

Wood, joinery & finish

Do you build in my house or your shop?+

Shop, wherever possible. Dust, glue-ups and finishing happen there, your home gets one quiet install day instead of two weeks of workshop.

What woods do you work with?+

White oak, walnut, maple, cherry, ash and fir as standards, painted shaker builds too, and reclaimed stock when the project calls for a story.

How do you price custom work?+

From the drawing: lumber, joinery hours, finish and install, one line, one price, in writing. Changes are priced before they happen, never after.

Can you match my existing trim or doors?+

Almost always. Profiles get knife-ground to match the originals, stain gets sampled on offcuts until it disappears into the room.

Which species fits my room?+

Tap through the Wood Studio above, oak, walnut, cherry, ebonized, and the page wears each grain's tone. Bring your favorite to the measure-up.

Build, durability & guarantee

Is my project too small?+

No. A sticking door or one squeaking stair gets the same care as a library wall, small jobs are half our week and most of our referrals.

Why does custom take weeks, not days?+

Wood acclimates, glue cures, finish hardens between passes. Rushing any of those steps shows up a year later, so we do not.

How long until I can use it?+

Installs are usable the same evening, finished pieces arrive cured. Decks want a season before staining, we will tell you the date.

Do you handle permits for structural work?+

Yes, beams, openings and decks that need them get permits pulled and inspections met, paperwork lands in your folder.

Do you haul away the old material?+

Same day, and anything with another life left gets donated or reclaimed rather than dumped.

Is the Care Plan worth it?+

For most homes, yes: an annual inspection, free scuff and touch-up visits, priority scheduling, and 15% off future projects typically pay for the membership the first time you use it, and keep every finish looking new.

Your home, joined properly.

One crew for everything built-in.

Built, trimmed, or just repaired?

One number. In writing. It doesn’t move.

What moves the number.

Real joinery, real local homes, built by hand

Joined once.
For life.

The company Portland calls back.

Free estimates

On time, done clean

Straight, honest quotes

Guaranteed work

Guaranteed in writing, every single job.

One number, no surprises.

The same hands, start to finish

Real work, in plain numbers.

Keep every joint tight.

Rated 4.9 by 1,900+ homeowners

Proudly serving the Portland metro

Hours

From first call to done.

Get your free quote.

Five questions for every carpenter.

Questions, answered

Let's give your home the carpentry it deserves.

Your home, joined properly.

One crew for everything built-in.

Built, trimmed, or just repaired?

One number. In writing. It doesn’t move.

What moves the number.

Real joinery, real local homes, built by hand

Joined once.For life.

The company Portland calls back.

Free estimates

On time, done clean

Straight, honest quotes

Guaranteed work

Guaranteed in writing, every single job.

One number, no surprises.

The same hands, start to finish

Real work, in plain numbers.

Keep every joint tight.

Rated 4.9 by 1,900+ homeowners

Proudly serving the Portland metro

Hours

From first call to done.

Get your free quote.

Five questions for every carpenter.

Questions, answered

Let's give your home the carpentry it deserves.

Joined once.
For life.