We do not take on more than four active projects at a time. That limit is deliberate.
Craftwork Renovations was established in Portland, Oregon in 2014 by Daniel Mercer, a finish carpenter who had spent the previous eight years working for a mid-size general contractor in the Pearl District. Daniel started the company with a single truck, a table saw, and a straightforward idea: that homeowners deserved to know exactly what they were paying for and exactly who was doing the work. The first year was mostly trim carpentry and bathroom tile jobs in the Hawthorne and Division Street neighborhoods. Word moved slowly, and that was fine.
The turning point came in the winter of 2016, when a client on SE Tolman Street asked whether Craftwork could take on a full kitchen remodel. Daniel said yes, brought in two trusted subcontractors he had worked with at his previous employer, and finished the project two days ahead of schedule. That kitchen ended up being photographed for a local design blog, and the phone started ringing differently after that. By 2018, the company had grown to a crew of four full-time tradespeople and had added basement finishing and deck construction to its regular service list. The office moved from Daniel's garage to a small workspace on SE Powell Boulevard.
Daniel Mercer grew up in Medford, Oregon and completed a four-year carpentry apprenticeship through the Oregon Carpenters Training Center in Milwaukie. He spent eight years as a lead finish carpenter for a general contractor in Portland's Pearl District before founding Craftwork Renovations in 2014. His background is in fine finish work, which is why Craftwork's trim and cabinetry details tend to draw comments. Outside the job site, Daniel restores mid-century furniture and is a reliable presence at the Sellwood Antique Mall on weekend mornings. He reads every project estimate himself before it goes to a client.