Although architects will not be end users, they will act as an important contact point between Kenai and potential home owners. Kenai would be able to be an integral resource, not only in the critical early stages of the design phase, but throughout the project.

The fact that Ken Iannaccone is a licensed engineer in the state of Colorado, Structural Resources would be able to provide complete structural engineering services for the entire project. With his knowledge & experience in timber frame fabrication and construction, the timber frame design can be streamlined as to not require a reiterative process between the architect and engineer, who may or may not be familiar with timber framing and traditional joinery.

Most timber frame companies have either an in-house engineer, or have an engineer that they work closely with and with whom have established specific design & fabrication details. But what about the rest of the structure? Foundations? Shear walls? Floor framing? Connections? Hybrids?

Most often, there is an engineer of record who eventually has to review and approve the timber frame engineer’s work. With Kenny, you could eliminate the need for a second engineer, avoiding design & assembly conflicts, as well as how the timber frame interfaces with the overall building.

There are many architects whose clients want a timber frame, or timber elements or a hybrid, that are not familiar with or educated in timber frame construction. So they create a design and turn it over to their engineer with whom they have been working with for years. However, this engineer too is not familiar with or educated in timber frame construction. So they overdesign. They upsize timbers, or they don’t upsize timbers but do not account for joinery conditions. Or the design connections using steel plates, which can be quite labor intensive. All of these scenarios ultimately result in more time and money for the homeowner.

Another scenario would be an engineer who is knowledgeable with timber frame joinery. So they design connections that are structurally sound, but are very labor intensive in the shop, therefore increasing the budget, when a simplified join design can accomplish the same engineering requirement. And all too often, they have not considered the sequencing of raising and assembling the frame, and the joints they have designed do not work.

This is where Kenny’s experience with Kenai Timberframes is paramount. Having been in involved in the entire timber frame process from initial design sketches and conceptual drawings through complete structural engineering, construction documents, shop drawings, fabrication and assembly of the frame right down to the last timber, Kenny sees the entire picture. There are no gaps between who is responsible for what, or “I thought the other guy was going to do that.” Equally important, there is a lot less going back & forth with design – what works and what doesn’t work. Typically, Kenny can foresee anticipated problem areas and have the input to navigate around these potential road blocks.

Whether the clients decide to choose Kenai Timberframes or not, their decision to engage with Kenny and Structural Resources early in the process will prove to be a wise one.