GENERATIONS OF CRAFT & CARE
FOUNDED ON INTEGRITY
In 1947, Neil B. Kelly walked away from a home improvement company because he couldn’t stomach how it treated customers. He bought a small weatherproofing business—Northwest Weather Proofing—for $100 and ran it from the basement of his Northeast Portland home with his wife, Arlene.
His belief was simple: homeowners deserved honest answers, real accountability, and a contractor who stood behind the work. That belief is why the company still operates the way it does today.
Our carpenters were thinking about the job when they were going home. They were thinking about, 'How can we do this to make those people happy?' You just have to have that.
ONE TEAM, START
TO FINISH
How does a one-man weatherproofing business in a basement become a company that changes how remodeling is done? Slowly, and on purpose. In the 1970s, Neil Kelly pioneered the design/build model: one team, one contract, no gap between what gets designed and what gets built.
Over eight decades the company grew into a complete home partner—design/build remodeling, custom homes, ADUs, home repairs, and solar—so a homeowner can stay with one trusted company across a lifetime in their home, not just for a single project.
WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN
Remodeling projects can feel stressful — the costs, the contractor horror stories, the decision fatigue. Our process keeps you informed and in control from your first consult to your final walkthrough.
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01
Good People
Integrity matters here. We hire carefully, hold high standards, and work with people who genuinely love what they do and take pride in doing it well.
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02
Sustainability
Solar water heating in the 70s. FSC-certified cabinetry in the 90s. The West Coast's first LEED-certified home in '06. This isn't something we adopted. It's something we've always done.
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03
Accountability
This is where the buck stops. We keep our promises and stand behind our work for years after we finish the job. That's not a burden—it's the whole point.
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04
Excellence
Decades of award-winning design, master craftsmanship that shows in every detail, and a standard of service that doesn't stop at good enough.
What 80 Years Looks Like
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National pioneer of the design-build model in the 1970s.
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The first woman to lead the National Kitchen and Bath Association — Martha Kerr, Neil Kelly's own, in 1985.
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Developed the first formaldehyde-free and sustainably sourced cabinet line in 1998.
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Built the first LEED-certified residential home in the country, in 2006.
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Expanded from Portland to Eugene (2004), Bend (2008), and Seattle (2014) — each market its own team, not a branch office.
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Launched our Handyman Services Division in 1995, Home Performance in 2007, and Solar in 2010.
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30,000+ projects completed across the Pacific Northwest.
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A Meals on Wheels delivery route Neil B. Kelly started more than 55 years ago — still run by Neil Kelly employees every week.
The People Who Carry
It Forward
It all starts with good people. Three generations of family stewardship and a team of designers, carpenters, and project managers chosen as carefully as the materials they work with. When this team is in your home, the founding belief isn’t a slogan—it’s standing in your kitchen.
Those same people are why that belief isn’t history. It’s still being built upon for the next generation of Pacific Northwest homeowners.
This business is all about people—the people who built it, the people who work here now, and the families who trust us with their homes. Tom understood that. It's what he handed me, and I intend to carry that forward for future generations of family and employees.
Dan Watson
Build With Us.
If you read this far and something here felt like you—the care, the craft, the way we treat people—come be one of the people who carry it forward. We hire for character first, and we build careers, not just fill roles.