Hammer & Hand

Established in 1995 by two Reed College graduates, Sam Hagerman and Daniel Thomas, we began as a remodeler of historic Portland homes. Our work quickly expanded, however, and now includes new home building, commercial construction, and the execution of both traditional and modern designs by the region's top architectural firms. In 2011 Hammer & Hand expanded to Seattle and into the Bullitt Center, the noted Living Building and "greenest office building in the world." A company of carpenters, we construct buildings that sustain and delight by empowering employees, harnessing 21st century building science, and advancing the tradition of craftsmanship.

Need more livable space? Look no further than your basement! Transform your underused basement into the new space you're looking for. Our basement remodels are warm, natural extensions of the home you and your family will want to spend time in. Basement remodels can take many forms - from exercise room to family rumpus room, to a fully separate accessory dwelling unit. Whichever direction you want to go with your basement, we're here to help you build it with care and creativity. Have more questions about remodeling your basement?

Every home we build is one-of-a-kind - designed by a variety of independent, talented architects and designers and built by us. If you're still on the hunt for the right match, we're happy to recommend one that is a good fit for your project, and look forward to working with your designer if you've already found one. From start to finish we provide regular site meetings, three-week look ahead schedules, and fully transparent financials accounting for everything from the first labor hours to the final paint touch-ups.

You don't have to leave the home you've loved for years just because you're starting to outgrow it. We specialize in home expansion projects including second story additions and dormers, kitchen or bathroom bump-outs, basement conversions, and first story room additions. With a deep appreciation for the range of architectural expression and heritage in Portland and Seattle, we collaborate with designers and architects to ensure that your addition makes architectural "sense": either a natural and seamless extension of your home's current aesthetic or an intentional and tasteful departure.

Our Portland-based wood shop brings an experienced hand to crafting custom windows and doors. We've become the go-to provider of fine millwork for a growing cadre of contractors, designers, and homeowners across the United States and Canada. With custom knives we can match everything from the intricate cope-and-stick detailing to elegant and simple modern profiles. And as building science experts, we offer high performance windows and doors, incorporating vacuum-insulated panels and triple-panel glazing for high thermal resistance and lower energy consumption.

As a high performance builder we collaborate with clients and architects to create buildings of beauty, durability, comfort, and performance. Our systems-based understanding of how buildings function enables us to deliver projects that boast both unmatched resilience and revolutionary energy efficiency, reducing building energy consumption for heating and cooling by 90%. Our advanced modeling tools coupled with our in-the-dirt practical experience allow us to give architects and clients more freedom to make the aesthetic and programmatic design decisions they need without compromising building performance.

A company of carpenters, we construct buildings that sustain and delight by empowering employees, harnessing 21st century building science, and advancing the tradition of craftsmanship. Through our focus on Passive House construction over the past several years, we have emerged as a regional and national leader in high performance green building, bringing transformational energy performance and quality-assured durability to our green projects. Even as we push the boundaries of high performance building, and even as that work transforms the way we approach "conventional" projects, we remain rooted in the craft-based remodels and new buildings that got us started 20 years ago.

For Hammer & Hand, project development is a collaborative process between architect, builder, and client to design and construct the best response to the project's program. Unlike the single-source "design-build" model that tucks design functions behind builders' walls, our approach is to partner with independent architects in an open process that provides clients with two advocates rather than one. This means that the project itself gets three advocates - the architect, the builder, and the client - each independently empowered to champion a unique set of advocacies critical to project success.

After a nightmarish experience with an unlicensed contractor, I turned to Hammer and Hand to undo a disastrous bathroom remodel. My partner and I had been without a bathroom for 6 weeks! Hammer and Hand mobilized immediately, produced an estimate and began work within a week of my first contact. We enjoyed the relationship with our project manager Kevin and lead carpenter so much that we engaged them to finish a long-delayed bedroom project as well, and are currently developing a basement remodel that will hopefully begin next month.

We understand that a kitchen doesn't just have to be easy on the eyes - it also has to be easy to use. We'll work with your designer to ensure you get a kitchen you'll love for years to come. Regardless of size or style, our team of expert craftspeople create beautiful spaces to cook, laugh, and live in. Whether your dream is a cozy built-in nook for two or a kitchen befitting a grand Thanksgiving base of operations, we can build it. From start to finish we want to be part of your project team. While we don't perform design in-house, we work with a variety of architects and designers to make each project one-of-a-kind and we are happy to help you find the right match.