Saturday Night Live's fictional inspirational speaker Matt Foley lived in a van down by the river and was none to pleased about it, but if he lived in a home on the river, it may have been a different story, especially if it was built by Marc Even, a builder who focuses on constructing floating homes in Portland, Ore.
As Zillow reports, Even, whose father was a Navy captain turned home builder after he retired, built his first floating home 20 years ago and hasn’t looked back since. While he also builds homes on the land, he gets the most enjoyment out of constructing a floating home, a process that takes eight months to a year.
There are two types of floating homes that Even builds, log homes, which are constructed on the water, and concrete float homes, which are launched after they are built. The concrete float homes last for decades with minimal maintenance, have better support than log homes, and can incorporate luxuries like radiant floor heating.
After each home is completed, a tugboat takes it to its new moor, which is usually about a two-day trip from the building facilities. This is often a high-stress journey as the house has been completely finished at this point and there are any number of things that could go wrong.
The fact that the homes are built on the water is not the only thing custom about them. Inside, every detail has been decided upon by the client and Even takes it upon himself to turn the design into a reality without losing anything in translation.
Even estimates he has built around 50 to 60 floating homes in Portland and, although he has received numerous calls inquiring about the possibility of building a floating home elsewhere, Even keeps his focus firmly on the Portland area.
