Your lease is signed. Now the space has to become your business.
A commercial build-out is where a bare shell or tired tenant space turns into the studio, salon, or storefront your customers walk into on opening day. K&H Construction handles Portland tenant improvements end to end — demo, framing, walls, flooring, finishes, and the permits and inspections between you and your opening date.
We’re a licensed, family-run general contractor (Oregon CCB #233813) — the same crew Portland homeowners trust for full home remodels, now putting that finish-quality to work for local business owners.
Commercial Spaces We Build
Fitness & Studio Spaces
Training floors, gyms, and studios — open layouts, durable surfaces, and the ventilation and finishes a workout space actually needs.
Salon, Spa & Service Suites
Wax bars, salons, and treatment rooms — plumbing-heavy build-outs with clean lines and finishes that photograph as well as they wear.
Retail & Office Improvements
Boutique fit-outs, reception areas, and office tenant improvements that make a leased space feel like your brand, not the last tenant’s.
Recent Commercial Projects
We bring the same craft that built our residential reputation to commercial spaces — and it’s already proven on real Portland businesses.
Femme Rising — jiu-jitsu studio
A Portland jiu-jitsu studio, built out from lease to training-ready: full interior framing, custom curved architecture, and a finish level you’d expect in a design showroom, not a gym.
Curves don’t come off a shelf
Every arch in this studio was laid out and framed by hand — stick-built ribs, blocked and faired until the curve reads clean from across the room. This is finish carpentry applied at room scale, and it’s the difference between a space that photographs like a brand and one that looks like a leased unit with paint.
- ✓ Custom radius framing, laid out on site
- ✓ Built straight, plumb, and true before any finish goes on
- ✓ Original timber ceiling preserved and featured
From framing to seamless
The same archway, finished — plastered smooth, painted, and lit. No flat spots, no visible joints, just a clean curve. Getting drywall to follow a radius without telegraphing every seam is slow, careful work, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that makes clients ask who built your space.
- ✓ Radius drywall and smooth-coat plaster
- ✓ Details resolved before paint, not hidden by it
- ✓ Same crew from framing through finish
Just Peachy — wax bar
A wax bar build-out, from empty tenant space to open-for-bookings: reception, retail display, treatment rooms, and a lounge your clients actually want to wait in.
Built to sell, not just to open
Service businesses live on rebookings and retail — so the build has to work as hard as the staff. Backlit display shelving, warm accent lighting, and durable finishes that still look like opening day after a year of daily clients.
- ✓ Built-in retail display with integrated lighting
- ✓ Plumbing-heavy scope handled end to end
- ✓ Finishes chosen to wear well and photograph better
Both owners got the same treatment our homeowners praise in reviews: a clear scope, a tidy site, and a build that hit its opening date. Ask us about either project on your walkthrough — or see how we work in our project gallery.
Why Business Owners Pick K&H
The people who bid it build it
No layers of subs you never met, no project manager who’s never held a brush. The crew that walks your space and prices your build-out is the crew on your site — which is why our finish quality survives the schedule.
- ✓ Licensed, bonded & insured — Oregon CCB #233813, commercial and residential
- ✓ Permits and inspections handled — City of Portland commercial permitting, managed for you
- ✓ Your opening date drives the schedule — we build backwards from the day you need doors open
- ✓ Line-item bids — landlords and lenders get real numbers, not allowances that balloon
- ✓ Structural experience — if demo opens a wall and finds surprises, our dry rot and structural repair crew is already on site
How a Build-Out Works
Walkthrough & Scope
We walk the space with you (and your lease’s improvement terms), then define exactly what has to happen before opening day.
Bid & Permits
A line-item estimate you can take to your landlord or lender, and permit applications filed as soon as you say go.
The Build
Demo, framing, systems coordination, finishes — with a tidy site and steady communication throughout.
Punch List & Handoff
Final inspections, a walkthrough against the scope, and keys back in your hand ready for opening.
Tenants and Landlords
We work both sides of the lease: tenants using a TI allowance to build their first location, and landlords readying a space between tenants. If your lease includes a tenant-improvement allowance, bring it to the walkthrough — a scope built around your actual allowance beats discovering the gap mid-build.
How much does a commercial build-out cost in Portland?
It depends on the space’s condition, how much plumbing and electrical your use requires, and finish level — a wax bar with treatment rooms prices differently than an open training floor. We give free, line-item estimates after a walkthrough so you’re planning with real numbers, not per-square-foot folklore.
How long does a tenant improvement take?
Small fit-outs can run a few weeks; plumbing-heavy or structural projects run longer, and City of Portland permit timelines add lead time. Tell us your target opening date on day one — we build the schedule backwards from it and tell you honestly whether it’s achievable.
Do you handle commercial permits?
Yes. We manage the commercial permitting and inspection process with the City of Portland (or your suburb’s jurisdiction) as part of the project — including the drawings review that trips up first-time business owners.
Can you work with my tenant-improvement allowance?
Yes — bring your lease’s TI terms to the walkthrough. We’ll scope the work around the allowance, flag what it realistically covers, and give your landlord the documentation they need.
Is my project too small?
No. Single-suite build-outs, one-room conversions, and refresh-level improvements are exactly the projects the big commercial firms won’t return calls for — and exactly what we build.
Get your space open-ready.
Free walkthrough and line-item estimate for your Portland build-out — call (971) 220-6397 or request an estimate.
Serving Portland & the Metro
- Portland
- Beaverton
- Tigard
- Lake Oswego
- Milwaukie
- Gresham
- Happy Valley
- Hillsboro
- West Linn
Own or manage a commercial building? We also handle fire escape testing and repair and structural dry rot repair on Portland commercial and multifamily buildings.