Discover period home additions by Arciform, where we design and build seamless custom expansions that merge flawlessly with your home's storied architecture.

Depending on the zoning of your property, the city of Portland has different requirements for how much of the property can be covered by buildings, as well as where we are allowed to build.  The city provides a great resource with the website www.portlandmaps.com, which lists your zoning, if you are near a conservation district, shows where your sewer ties into the public sewer system and many other parameters that are important to consider when starting any remodeling project. Even a dormer addition has to be built outside of your setback. We can apply for set back adjustments if your goals are outside of what the code allows.  Tree roots can also get in the way of your foundation and we sometimes need to manage the rainwater that runs of the new roof surface on your property. 

Arciform walks the property and thoroughly investigates how best to tie into the existing rooflines and foundation, how the grade may dictate the type of foundation, if there are trees, AC units, gas meters, overhead or underground electrical connections, or are gas and plumbing lines in the way?  The city provides a free service called „call before you dig“ who comes out and marks underground piping to prevent especially gas lines from being damaged.

There are parameters depending on which neighborhood you are in.  Many neighborhoods have height restrictions; there are glazing requiems for esthetic as well as fire safety reasons; and historic neighborhoods have restrictions Arciform helps you navigate with regards to proportions, details, finish, and fixture selections.  There are also property specific parameters that we verify and document on your site plan.  We have to list the location, size and type of trees and make sure the addition does not damage the tree roots; we hire surveyors to help pinpoint the exact property line if we are planning close to your property’s edge or need to know the grade changes.  In most neighborhoods we have to account for parking on the property, and we have to consider where and how to tie into existing services.  We have to plan according to codes to keep fires from spreading fast between neighboring properties as well as your main structure and your garage or secondary dwelling units.

Depending on the addition you are planning, in general it is easier to build out rather than on top of an existing structure.  When building outward we can manage most if not all of the additional wind and gravity loads within the new structure. When building a dormer or second story addition, the loads are being transferred onto the existing structure, which was not meant to capture those loads.  This can trigger many invasive structural changes that affect the lower levels. It may also be appropriate to consider seismic retrofitting at this time.