Project of the Month Winner – J&J Overhead Door LLC

J&J Overhead Door LLC is a garage door installation and repair company in Sherwood, Oregon owned by Justin Kulland and his wife Jenica. They run the company without any employees and have been doing so since 2014, servicing the greater Portland area while also working with builders doing custom projects near Hood River and Mount Hood. While J&J does in fact work directly with homeowners, they get about 75% of their business from builders and contractors which works out to approximately 70% residential projects and 30% commercial.

Mr. Kulland (left) and Territory Sales Manager Greg Anderson (Right)

For this project J&J worked with Anlon Custom Homes, who actually built the home for Suteki Builders which is based out of Japan. The home was made for the Hillsboro Street of Dreams and incorporated two Dark Bronze anodized Modern Classics with ½” insulated Satin Etch glass – one at 16’W x 8’H (Model 52) and one at 8W ’ x 8H’ (Model 51). The Model 51 is a pretty unique looking door as it doesn’t have any vertical stiles like most Modern Classic customers typically opt for. When asked why they chose Northwest Door for this product, Justin said, “Especially for the full view doors, it’s just a little bit of a higher quality product. I buy probably 90-95% of my stuff from Northwest just because I like the little bit smaller, you know, more personal feel when you deal with them, compared to some other companies where they’re so big it’s almost like you’re just another name on the list. I appreciate everything you guys do as far as being flexible and making sure you do everything you can to get the customer what they want.”

As contemporary style homes and doors continue to grow in popularity, dealers and homeowners alike choose our Modern Classic because of its heavy-duty construction and thicker stiles and rails that you won’t find on our competitors’ doors. We’re also seeing a large increase in applications apart from your typical garage door. J&J just recently did a project with a full view door with full vertical lift for a pool house that opens up to the outdoor pool area, and another one where a small full view door was used to separate a family’s kitchen from their outdoor BBQ area, functioning like a service window. These seemingly unique applications will likely continue to grow as more and more people realize that the Modern Classic can be used as more than just a garage door.

J&J Overhead Door was started after Justin spent 11 years working his way up the ranks of another small family owned door company. One day, he and Jenica decided that there was really no difference between what he was doing at the time and what he would be doing as a business owner. They decided to go out on their own with the goal of never sacrificing quality or customer service for a bigger company. “I like challenges, something new. That’s why I like taking on some of these really custom projects. I don’t really want to grow the business that big; don’t want a whole bunch of employees and all that.”

Justin says one of the best aspects of working in the garage door industry is the variety of work you get. “It’s something different every day, I mean you get to meet all sorts of different folks. You’re never in the same area day after day. You get to see and experience a lot of different stuff. That’s just kind of my thing, I don’t think I could sit in an office all day. I like to get out and about, accomplish something. It’s nice to look back at the end of the day or look at pictures and say ‘I did that’”.

J&J pride themselves on their attention to detail and customer service. With a focus on being really easy to work with, doing a great job and having good prices, J&J appeals to builders and homeowners that like dealing with companies that have a bit of a smaller feel. “A lot of my builders really like that when they call they actually talk to me vs. calling the office and talking to a salesman. They love the one-on-one interaction where they can ask questions or get an answer to whatever they’re looking for right away.”

Looking for a door like our featured project? Head over to our Modern Classic page and look around, you’ll be glad you did! If you’re in the Sherwood area make sure to head over to jandjoverheaddoorpdx.com to get a quote.