Cedar Mill Property Repair does repairs and small remodels in Forest Heights, Northwest Heights, the hillside streets of the Forest Park neighborhood and Bonny Slope, about 16 to 20 minutes out with traffic. The usual list: raised decks, soft trim, exterior paint, foggy windows, water heaters and bathrooms. Text a photo to for a written price.
Slava has 7 years of hands-on experience. See all our services.
Do you work up in the hills around Cornell Road and Skyline?
Yes. That covers Forest Heights, the bigger Northwest Heights area around it, the residential streets of the Forest Park neighborhood (houses, not park work), Bonny Slope toward Laidlaw Road and the south end of Skyline near Cornell .
Most streets sit 500 to 800 feet up, so many lots drop away behind the house. Farther north on Skyline, toward Germantown Road, send cross streets and we'll answer before driving out. North Bethany is on the Bethany page, Terra Linda on the Cedar Mill page.
What are the houses like here, and what do they need at 20-30 years old?
This page covers two kinds of housing. Census estimates for the tract holding Northwest Heights and Forest Heights give a median build year of 2001, with about 92 % of homes built from 1990 to 2009. About two thirds are detached and close to a quarter are townhouses. The Bonny Slope tract is nearly all detached, with mixed ages: about a third went up before 1960 .
At 20 or 30 a hill house wants deck boards, stairs and railings, and on a slope the tall posts under a raised deck. Trim and fascia go soft where roof water spills over . Homes by the Forest Park woods also get fir needles in gutters and moss on north-facing roofs.
Services people here ask for
Figures here are Portland-area market ranges (market data, November 2026), not Slava's numbers yet.
Decks on sloped lots. On a hillside the back deck often stands a full storey up on posts . Deck repair on joists, stairs and railings runs $949-3,605, typically $2,251, with materials . New boards alone run $500-4,000, typically $1,200, with materials .
Trim rot and exterior paint. With a 2001 median, many Forest Heights houses are due for a first or second repaint, which is when soft trim turns up. Rot repair on trim, fascia and sills runs $500-4,000, typically $1,500, with materials . Repainting siding and trim runs $2,498-5,167, typically $3,801, with materials, more for two storeys .
Windows. Builder windows from 1990-2009 are at the age to fog between the panes or stick . Window replacement runs $450-1,800 per window, typically $825, with materials. Freeing a stuck sash or replacing a worn balance runs $150-600, typically $300, labour only .
Water heaters. A house finished around 2001 is probably on its second or third tank. A tank replacement runs $880-2,000, typically $1,350, with materials, and we offer seismic straps with it, $150-400 on their own, typically $250, labour only .
Bathrooms. Owners live in about nine of every ten homes in both tracts, so the work is upgrades for owners staying put. A tub-to-shower conversion runs $1,600-8,400, typically $3,200, with materials .
Bolting Bonny Slope's older houses. About a third of the homes in the Bonny Slope tract predate 1960 . Foundation bolting runs $2,800-10,000 per house, typically $5,000, with materials .
Gutters and moss. Under big firs, gutters fill quickly. Gutter cleaning runs $175-450, typically $285, labour only , and roof moss is scraped and brushed off, never sprayed.
Does my house sit inside Portland city limits or in unincorporated Multnomah County?
The Census geocoder places Forest Heights, Northwest Heights and the Forest Park neighborhood inside Portland city. The Bonny Slope point comes back as Multnomah County with no city at all, so it's unincorporated land even where the mail says Portland.
So neighbours a mile apart may answer to different offices. Before any job that might need a permit, check the address first .
What is a fair price to pay a handyman per hour here, and what do jobs cost?
Most handyman work on Portland's west side runs about $95-120 an hour (market data, November 2026) . More on pricing and in the hourly cost guide.
Portland-area market rates, November 2026 .
| Work on a hill house | Low end | Middle | High end | Priced per | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deck repair (joists, stairs, railings) | $949 | $2,251 | $3,605 | job | with materials |
| Wood rot repair (trim, fascia, sills) | $500 | $1,500 | $4,000 | job | with materials |
| Exterior painting (siding and trim) | $2,498 | $3,801 | $5,167 | house | with materials |
| Window replacement | $450 | $825 | $1,800 | window | with materials |
| Water heater replacement | $880 | $1,350 | $2,000 | job | with materials |
| Tub-to-shower conversion | $1,600 | $3,200 | $8,400 | bathroom | with materials |
| Seismic foundation bolting | $2,800 | $5,000 | $10,000 | house | with materials |
What are some red flags when hiring a handyman?
From anyone you hire, expect a written price that names the job and says if materials are in it. Be wary of a firm phone quote made without photos. If wiring is involved, read who can do which job in Oregon first.
We don't disturb lead-based paint, so for any older Bonny Slope place, pre-1978, we need its build year ahead of a quote . We also skip moss chemicals, zinc strips, gas line connections, HVAC and hauling. The rest is on the not-offered page.