The University of Oregon's Spencerview Apartment complex wanted to build an outdoor basketball court for its residents as a memorial for one of the children that lived there. We worked with a local concrete company and together, we removed parts of the play area, clearing out space for the new court. The finished project will add years of enjoyment for residents.

If you have a commercial construction project in the Eugene or Springfield area, please give us a call. We are commercial contractors with extensive experience working with local businesses. 541-767-1611

We recently completed a new deck and stairs for a homeowner in Eugene, off Lorane Hwy. This is after foundation work and excavation. We came in and installed everything from new footings, pressure treated frame, composite decking and steps, cedar railings and spindles with a coat of clear sealer. Enjoy these before and after pictures! ​

An issue we've seen lately, especially now that the weather is starting to warm up, is that of rotten walls on the sides of houses. And truthfully, it's not too surprising given the amount of record rain our area saw this winter and spring. We've had homeowners contact us thinking they have just a rotten strip of siding or window trim needing to be replaced only to find out the problem was much more than they could see from the surface.

Rotten walls are no joke and need to be remedied sooner than later. But, how do you know if you have rotten walls? There are a few telltale signs. You might notice warped sections of your siding, or perhaps streaked fading where water has been running or splashing. It's even possible you will have excessive mold growing on one section of your siding. When you touch these areas, you'll feel the siding give way to the pressure and easily break apart. If you're experiencing any of these with your house, you'll want to get ahold of a contractor right away.

But what caused the rot in the first place? It's simple: the rate of getting wet exceeds the rate of drying and over time, this breaks down the integrity of your wall. This extra moisture can come from a variety of sources such as missing flashing between touching surfaces (i.e. between the roof eave and the top of the wall) or poorly flashed windows or even splashback from having your siding too close to the ground. Left unaddressed, any of these causes allow for wetness to continue seeping into your walls and rotting everything along the way, which in extreme cases, can include the flooring attached to the walls on multiple-story housing.

With warm weather comes more time outside. Consequently, the more time we spend outside, the more we notice the outside of our home and perhaps the need for a fresh coat of paint. Assuming no structural work is needed, color/paint is the most cost-effective way to change the appearance of your home. Here are some of the most common mistakes homeowners make when choosing exterior paint colors.
​

1. Assuming bright/bold colors will be more expensive. Unless the color scheme is for a “painted lady” with numerous colors, this is rarely the case.
   
   
2. Accenting unattractive elements. Instead of drawing attention to the gutters, downspouts, garage door, unevenly placed windows, etc., it is better to blend them in with your primary color.
   
   
3. Ignoring neighboring houses. Your color scheme should not clash with the neighbor’s house as it creates a lose-lose situation with an unhappy neighbor and your house will become “that house” people talk about. Choose a color scheme that blends with the neighborhood or stands out in a subtle, unobtrusive manner. Also be mindful if your house is in a homeowners association; chances are there is an architectural control committee which will need to grant approval before you start painting.
   ​
4. Forgetting the landscaping. When choosing color, consider how your landscape changes throughout the year. Trees that change color, flowering shrubs, gardens that bloom should all be considered as a part of your overall palette. Heavily wooded lots will make colors look darker due to shade and can camouflage homes so attention to detail is important. Greens are not a good choice in this situation.

Now that spring is here, it’s time to start thinking about and setting up your sprinkler systems. At Fort Rock Construction, we’d like to provide a few helpful tips so that you have a nice yard to enjoy with the warmer weather, as well as to make sure that your sprinklers are not set to cause any damage to your structures.

Step 1 — Be sure the ground is frost free. Filling the pipes too early can lead to expensive freeze damage. Use a shovel to check 12 inches beneath the surface as frost can hide.

Step 2 — To allow air a chance to escape from the irrigation system while you’re refilling the lines, remove the sprinkler head found at the highest part of each zone.

Step 3 — Start filling the main line very slowly. A quarter turn is about all it should take. You’ll want to be patient; depending on the size of your zone, it can take a while to fill each zone. But don’t rush the process! Filling the irrigation system too quickly can cause a surge of air pressure which can break fittings and burst your system. After the main line is filled, repeat this process for each zone.

Step 4 — Look at the places where you removed the sprinkler heads. If the water is running clear and doesn’t contain any air bubbles the zone has been properly filled. You can now replace the sprinkler heads and continue to run each zone for two minutes to ensure any trapped air has been flushed out of the system.

Step 5 — Check each sprinkler head for distance and angle. During the winter, breaks or growth may have happened in the heads causing erratic spray. Make sure all plants/lawn are being reached and that the spray is not going against your house, fence, or other structures. Excessive spray on these will accelerate the degradation of the siding or boards of these structures. Also be aware of any places where water is pooling. Make sure there is not water pooling along the foundation of your structures as this will also cause damage over time.

Step 6 — Check the accuracy of your timer programs, then it’s safe to run your sprinkler system as usual.
​
If you come across any problems during start up, or at any other time, call Fort Rock Construction at (541) 767-1611 and we’ll be happy to connect you with our favorite irrigation professionals.

Your gutters are a complex system of integrated components that perform a significant and important part of water evacuation. If your gutter systems are not operating properly, tremendous damage can occur.  Typically gutters and water evacuation include:  Proper flashing or counter flashing from your roof eaves, gutters, downspouts, splash blocks, or storm drains and dry wells.  Every component depends on each other to perform properly to enable successful operation.

Are your gutters leaking, sagging from weight, improperly fastened or just plain full of debris?  Cleaning gutters are an important part of your maintenance schedule.  The protection gutters create can easily become problematic and work against the dynamic they were designed for.  Backed up gutters can cause water intrusion at the roof line damaging soffits, siding, rafters and fasciae resulting in moisture extending into the interior of your home.  Needless to say, properly functioning gutters preserve the integrity, while improperly maintained gutters can cause massive damage.  Gutters can be fairly simple to maintain providing the height is within your comfort zone. However, professional services are readily available to perform this task usually at a pretty reasonable cost.
​
Downspouts and storm drains.  Cleaning gutters should always include properly maintaining downspouts.  Clogs can occur in downspouts causing overflow at the gutters and may eventually cause stoppages in lines leading to storm drains or drywells.  A worst case scenario would be saturation of soils in or near your foundation causing unwanted moisture to migrate into crawlspaces or basements.  Erosion is also a concern when drainage components do not function as designed.