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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

Birdsmouth Design-Build

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United States
Portland, OR
Birdsmouth Design-Build

Portland design-build firm with in-house architects, designing and building resilient, healthy high-performance homes, ADUs and remodels. CCB # 184665

Passive House builders, B Corp certified, and licensed in Oregon and Washington. Joshua Salinger is founder and CEO of Birdsmouth Design-Build in Portland, OR. Birdsmouth is a residential Design-Build firm focused on addressing climate change through the built environment through zero energy new homes and deep energy retrofits. He is an instructor for both Earth Advantage’s Sustainable Homes Professional program and PHIUS’ Certified Passive House Builder training program. He sits on the board of Passive House Northwest and also sits on the technical committee of Zero Energy Ready Oregon. Additionally, he is an EEBA Zero Energy Home Professional, an ‘Expert Member’ on Green Building Advisor and contributes content to Fine Homebuilding magazine.

10/29/2026

Our founder, Josh Salinger, is speaking at Reimagine Buildings ‘26 on November 6. His session, Built to Last, is presented with The BS + B**r Show. It goes past the why of high-performance building and into the how: lessons from practice, a second look at conventional approaches, and solutions that builders, designers, and trades can put to work.

Alexandria Baczek joins him to talk about designing for durability, health, and comfort, and how homes that last mean less replacement, less rebuilding, and fewer materials used over time. There’s room for questions and a little friendly debate, so bring yours.

The full day is online and brings together designers, builders, and industry leaders for learning and connection. Register here: https://ringcentr.al/4zjFeQz.

10/21/2026

Josh recently got back from PhiusCon in Arizona. He has been going for more than a decade, and it all traces back to the Phius builder course he took 12 years ago. He says it split his career into a before and an after. For the first time, someone showed where the answers came from, then gave builders the exact detail, the order to put it together, and the reason why.

Back then, the researchers behind the studies were in the room, and products like SIGA, INTELLO and Zehnder were brand new in the U.S. After the sessions, people drew wall assemblies on napkins at the bar and argued about where the air control layer goes.

The building science is mostly worked out. The conversation now is carbon, with embodied and operational counted together as one total budget. Jacob Racusin presented his new BEAM calculator and embodied carbon work this year. Fewer breakthroughs, more refinement.

What keeps Josh coming back is the people. He skipped an hour of sessions because a conversation with Jacob was better, and he gave up lunch to keep talking with Alan Gibson. He also caught up with the team at Simple Integrity, met with Michael Ingui of Source 2050 and Passive House Accelerator, and ran into the B.Public Prefab crew.

10/20/2026

The red house is 107 years old. The blue one is the ADU we built out back to zero-energy ready standards, and somehow they get along better than most neighbors.

Making that work comes down to small details, like the slatted privacy screen that gives each home its own entry and a backyard laid out so both places feel private without feeling boxed in.

P.S. We’re revisiting this one because the owners are starting a new chapter, and the property is on the market.

Here’s the Matterport 3D tour of the ADU:
https://bit.ly/3W0iJBd

09/21/2026

I’ve been enjoying the Vibe Vibe Dot for a couple of months now and I’ve been impressed with how well it works and how easy it is to use. It’s been a big help, for sure. I’m looking forward to using it in my daily workflow from here on out. Check it out!

09/05/2026

Join us Thursday the 10th from 5 - 7pm at our SE PDX passive house as we do our first blower door in front of a crowd of people! This could be a big celebration or a very real demonstration of tracking down the leaks! We will be handing out blue tape and sharpies and welcome everyone to witness in real time if we pass or fail the big test…

There will be a presentation about the resiliency aspects of this build and the Phius certification by Josh Salinger. There will be drinks and snacks and lots of good discussions, we are sure.

Sign up at PHnw.org or head to the link in bio for registration. We hope to see you there!

08/27/2026

Posted a day late, but there’s no reason not to turn this into the 12 days of international flashing awareness day, no? On the first day…

Thanks to Jess Fine Homebuilding Magazine for the beautiful camerawork and help w this one.

Thanks to Aron and Gena Aron Jones for making this day so special.

Thanks to all the sponsors, too!

SIGA North America huberwood Innotech Windows + Doors Sashco Inc. Benjamin Obdyke York Flashings Westlake Royal PROS

08/07/2026

Meet Tyler 👋 From apprentice carpenter to superintendent, television shop manager to timber framing student, Tyler has built a career rooted in craftsmanship, nature, and a love of learning. Today, he brings that experience - and his passion for sustainable building - to the Birdsmouth team! Swipe to get to know more about Tyler.

08/06/2026

Join us this Thursday, August 13th from 5p to 7p at our SE PDX Passive House for tours and talks about how we can make the built environment better for people and planet.

Some features of this build:

- Phius certified (with corequisite Indoor Air Plus, WaterSense, US DOE ZER Homes and Energy Star certifications)
-Reduced embodied carbon concrete with slag and biochar from Solid Carbon
-Reclaimed EPS foam under slab (recovered from a retrofit of another certified PH!)
-All Forest Stewardship Council US certified wood (except for some engineered wood where needed)
-Triple pane windows and doors from Pivot Windows
-Exterior cork insulation and a fully vented rainscreen over SA WRB
-Foam-free vaulted and vented roof assembly w/ Metal roof
-All electric with SPAN smart panel, Solar PV, batteries and electric car charging
-Air to Water heat pump for conditioning and DHW from Aris Hydronics
-ERV, vented range hood w/ makeup air
-Induction range, including a Copper range in the classroom
- (2) 5,000 gal rainwater storage tanks
-Greenhouses, edibles, and native landscape design by Studio Wild Landscape Architecture

08/06/2026

It feels so, so good to walk into this backyard and see old friend after old friend and meet all sorts of new ones. Summer Camp never ceases to inspire and motivate for another year to come. My cup is full.

The presentations this year were amazing. Of course the food and music was, too! The conversations had over evening festivities are where the good stuff happens, especially with this group of polymaths.

This event makes me a better person and our company more able to deliver the best for our clients and their families, our staff and our planet.

Thanks yet again to Joe and Betsy for opening up their home and hearts and sharing this with all of us! 🙏🙏🙏

08/04/2026

I really have to hand it to Steven Baczek. One of the better photobombs I’ve seen…

Address

3525 SE 17th Avenue
Portland, OR
97202

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Website

https://birdsmouthpdx.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_link

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