Your new website
What has been built, what is waiting on you, and how to send your notes back. Nothing here is visible to the public or to Google - the site stays hidden until you say it is ready.
What is built
- Every word is yoursThe service names, the descriptions, your approach, your reviews and your credentials are taken from your current website, unedited. Where something new had to be written for the new layout, it is marked - see below.
- Nine pages, plus one for every projectHome, What We Do, Our Approach, Portfolio, Building Science, Design Services, Who We Are, Reviews and Contact, with a page for each of the seventeen projects and one for each of the three building science write-ups.
- Photos front and centreYour photographs were pulled across from your current site at full size. On the portfolio you can step through a project's photos without leaving the page, and clicking any photo on a project page opens it large.
- Two things no other builder site round here hasA zoning guide that tells someone what the code lists for their address, and a wall section you can pull apart layer by layer. Both are described further down.
- The enquiry form worksIt sends straight to the office inbox, tested end to end. No third-party form service, no monthly fee.
- Built to be found, when you say soPage titles, descriptions, a sitemap and the business details Google reads are all in place - but the whole site is hidden from search engines until you approve it. Nothing here competes with stratifiedscm.com.
How to read the preview
[Colby: like this] - something only you can write. It stays visible on the page until you send the words.
Wording like thisReview needed - words written for the new site. Please confirm or correct them. Clicking the tag jumps to the question here.
Everything else is yours, unedited, from your current website.
The pages
- HomeThe first impression: your headline, licences, three featured projects, your four services, building science, the Thursday update, a lead review and the family.
- What We DoYour four services, each with photos of that work, the projects you have done and where to go next.
- Our ApproachThe four steps as a numbered path, then why clients choose Stratified.
- PortfolioYour three featured projects, then every other project, filterable by service. Photos step inside each card.
- Building ScienceEnergy Star, in-house HVAC and lead-safe practice, the Inside the wall explorer, and three write-ups waiting for Colby.
- Design ServicesClaire's design process, custom tile and Focus Fireplaces.
- Who We AreThe company first, the family at the close.
- What could I build here?New. A guide to what the zoning code lists for a property. On the preview only until you decide about it.
- ReviewsAll five reviews, unedited, each with the line that stood out.
- ContactThe promise, the form, and your phone, email and licence numbers.
Two new things to try
What could I build here?
Someone types an address, or picks their area and zone, and sees which housing types the published zoning code lists for that zone - house, ADU, duplex, triplex or fourplex, cottage cluster, townhouses - and which of them depend on the lot itself. It covers Portland, Oregon City, Clackamas County, Vancouver and Clark County, links every source with the date it was read, and says plainly on screen that it is general information, not a determination for a property.
What we need from you: Would you use a link like this with a prospective client? Which areas matter most to you? And should it stay on the site when it goes live?
Inside the wall
A drawing of a wall in section. Pick a layer and it says what that layer does, what goes wrong without it, and what the third-party rater checks. It makes the invisible half of your work visible to someone who has never heard of a rainscreen.
What we need from you: The wall on screen is a general example, not your detail. Each layer has a space for your reason for building it your way - and which assembly should it show first: the Manor wall, the roof, or HVAC?
Please confirm (13)
Words written for the new site, because the new layout needed them. A yes, an edit or a replacement is all we need - and if a sentence does not sound like you, say so and it goes.
Homepage headline and opening line
Built the way it's drawn. A family-owned custom homebuilder serving the Portland metro and southwest Washington. Every detail resolved before it's framed - so the build follows the drawing instead of negotiating with it.
This is the first thing every visitor reads, and it was written for the new site. Does it sound like you? Edit freely.
The introduction under the photo
Two artists who build high-performance homes. Thoughtful design. Careful building. A house that performs for decades. Colby and Clairissa Stephens each hold master's degrees in art and a decade of building experience.
Is this the right way to introduce you? Is "a decade of building experience" how you would put it (your current site says over a decade of industry experience)?
Short headings for your four services
Ground-up homes, built with precision / Secondary dwellings, thoughtfully integrated / Well-executed developments for modern living / Existing spaces, elevated with craftsmanship
The service names and descriptions are word for word from your site. These four headings are new, built from those descriptions. Keep, edit or replace.
Where you build
Portland metro, Oregon City and Clackamas County, Southwest Washington
Is this the right description of your service area? Anything to add or remove?
Our Approach introduction
We approach every project with a commitment to organization, transparency, and consistency. You won't be left wondering what's happening, and you won't be handed problems to solve.
The first sentence is yours. The rest was added. Keep it or cut it?
Descriptions on the four featured projects
SE Clay: Six new homes on one Southeast Portland lot, photographed at dusk. / NE 55th and Everett: A three-storey infill custom home on a tight corner lot. / SE Market: A complete small development: four homes on one Southeast Portland lot. / Garage-to-ADU: A detached garage rebuilt as a complete second dwelling, with its own kitchen, bath and entry.
These were written from the photos and your project list. Please correct anything that is wrong, or replace them with your own two or three sentences.
Names and labels on reviews
SE 50th homeowner - Custom home / Tigard remodel client - Kitchen remodel / Realtor - Referring agent / Home builder - Former employer, now client / Subcontractor - Interiors contractor
The quotes are unedited from your site. The small second line under each name was added from what each review says - please check them. Could we use first names, for example "Jim, Architect"? And would the home builder who wrote the fourth review be happy to be named?
The phrase each review leads with
I must have won the home buying lottery / he would call them back repeatedly to make it right, and at no cost or hassle to us / There is nothing that escapes Colby's attention. / Colby's background in engineering and fine arts brings huge advantages to any builder, developer and job site. / of all the builders I work with, there is no one I would recommend more highly
Each review opens with one phrase taken from it word for word, so a visitor sees the point before reading the whole review. Are these the right five? Pick any other sentence from a review and we will swap it.
The button that opens a full review
Read full review / Show less
Each review shows its first lines, with this button to open the rest. Nothing is cut: the full review is one click away. Are you happy with the wording?
What the contact page promises
Tell us about your site and what you're imagining. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right builder for it. / If we are, you'll get a written update every Thursday from the first day on site to the last.
Are you comfortable making both of these promises on the contact page?
Contact form questions
Name, email, phone, type of project (your four services or Not sure yet), timeline (Ready to start / Within 3-6 months / Within 6-12 months / Flexible), rough budget, and a message.
Are these the right questions and timeline choices? While the site is in preview, form messages go to Amir, not your office.
The "What could I build here?" tool
Enter an address or pick the area, and see which housing types the published zoning code lists for that zone - and what depends on the lot itself.
A new page for people thinking about an ADU or a small development: it reads the published zoning codes for Portland, Oregon City, Clackamas County, Vancouver and Clark County and says what each zone lists, with links to the sources. It makes no promise about any particular lot. Would you use it with a prospective client? Which areas matter most to you? It is on the preview only; we decide together before launch whether it stays.
"Inside the wall" explorer
A wall is a system. Pick a layer to see what it does, what goes wrong without it, and what the third-party rater checks.
An interactive wall section on the Building Science page. The layers and their descriptions are a general example, not your wall, and each one has a spot for why you build it your way. Which assembly should it show first: the Manor wall, the roof assembly, or HVAC? Please correct anything that is not how you build.
Please write (6)
These show on the pages themselves, in amber, so you can see exactly where your words will sit. Rough notes are fine - they will be shaped into finished copy for your approval.
Claire: two or three paragraphs on your design process - how you take clients from unformed ideas to a finished palette, what a selections document looks like, and how the Chris and Kim palettes came together. A photo of a real selections document goes here.
Colby: what goes wrong in a conventional build, in homeowner language.
Colby: the assembly, the products, the sequence. Rough notes are fine; I'll shape them.
Progress photos: framing, insulation, air sealing, finish. Four to eight images.
Colby: measured if possible - blower door, HERS, Energy Star - or what the owner noticed.
Colby: two or three sentences about this project - what it was, what made it worth doing, what you are proud of.
- 14th St, Oregon City
- Gloucester, Portland
- Age In Place - Meriwether Condo
- Meriwether Condo Overhaul
- NE 7th Ave Development
- NE Graham St, Portland
- Salmon St Bath Remodel, Mt Tabor
- SE 11th and Grant St, Portland
- SE 36th, Portland
- SE Rhone Development
- Stafford Guest House, Tualatin
- Swift St, Portland
- Woodstock Bungalow Remodel
Please send or decide (10)
Photos, choices, and one question of taste. The typeface is the quickest: open the comparison and tell us which one looks like Stratified.
Three favorite projects for the homepage
The homepage currently shows SE Clay, NE 55th and Everett, and SE Market. Which three would you choose? Favorites beat biggest.
Check which photos belong to which project
Photos were copied from your current website and matched to projects in the order they appeared there. Please look through each project page and tell us any photo on the wrong project. If any image is a rendering rather than a finished build, tell us which, so it can be labelled or left out. What We Do now shows three photos for each service, and one each for tile, HVAC and Focus Fireplaces; tell us if you would choose different ones.
Photos for five projects, and larger originals
Swift St, SE Rhone Development, Gloucester, NE 7th Ave Development and NE Graham St have no photos yet. The photos from your current site are sized for it; larger original files would look noticeably sharper, especially full width on the homepage.
Style words for the portfolio filter
The portfolio can filter by style as well as by service. Describe your last ten projects in two words each (for example "modern farmhouse" or "contemporary craftsman") and the filter list comes from that.
Photos for "the people behind it"
Who We Are can close with a small series of photos you click through: family, crew, site moments. Eight to twelve photos, and phone photos are fine.
Projects from before Stratified
Would you like a section for homes Colby built before Stratified, in the Bluestone Homes years? If so, how should they be credited?
Design Services images
A photo of a real selections document, and any palette images you are happy to show, to sit alongside Claire's write-up.
Building science photos
Progress photos for the three building science pages (HVAC, the Manor insulation, the roof assembly): framing, insulation, air sealing and finished. A photo of an HVAC install would also help the services pages.
Why you build each wall layer your way
The wall explorer on Building Science has eight layers, from cladding to the interior finish, each with a line for your reason: what you use and why. A sentence or two per layer, in rough notes, is plenty. A photo of each layer going in would make it even better.
Which voice for the headings
The headings are set in the same typeface as the body text. The preview has a page comparing that against three alternatives - Amir will send the link. A look and a preference is all we need; the words do not change either way.
Sending your notes back
Whatever is easiest: an email, marked-up screenshots, or a phone call - page by page is easiest to act on. Nothing is final, and nothing goes public until you say so.
While the site is a preview, anything sent through the enquiry form comes to Amir rather than the office, so feel free to test it.