Andrew and Kim Dobmeier came to us several years ago as a potential design client, but after heading in a different direction, came back to us for our timber frame services. I remember a meeting with me,  Andrew, and Jonathan where Jonathan was asked for advice regarding the timber sizing and proportions and he shared his timber framing experience making small adjustments that culminated with a much bigger impact in appropriate proportions.

As we worked through engineering, the client proposed something that we hadn't yet tackled before, a railing. While this may seem simple, integrating it into the existing design, designing joinery that would keep it in place, as well as negotiating the raising sequencing proved to be a challenging task.

Shortly before the fabrication, we performed a 3D laser scan to better understand the site and as built conditions. Not only did we capture this data, but we also learned more about Andrew, Kim, their project, and the lives they hoped to live. Their home is "human-scaled", not built with excess in mind, but with their needs prioritized without the fluff. In addition to supplying the timbers for the project, Andrew has been reclaiming wood for years as part of his career as the County Forester for Clackamas County, tirelessly milling the logs into flooring, paneling, and siding to be used to complete his project. 

Every once in a while I make my way upstairs to chat with the engineers only to be delighted with the knowledge that something we made is going up in my hometown. Nestled in a neighborhood in Clarence, NY is Brookfield Country Club—a place to play a friendly round, have a wedding, or if it was the 90s and you were a high schooler in Clarence, get a summer job. And soon, home to some New Energy Works' big a** trusses.

"I don't think I've ever seen tension numbers as high as these," said Owen MacDonald, EC Timber Frame Department Manager. 

"An incredible 71.6 kips (71,600 lbs)," replied Melissa Schmidt, Timber Frame Engineer.

And to deal with all of that tension these 50'6" trusses have a glulam bottom cord and hidden huge steel plates paired with traditional mortise and tenon joinery.

"The client wanted the timbers to work well with, yet contrast against, the cocoa T&G that they're using. So the Douglas fir solid timbers and glulams have a custom dark brown finish. This way the glulam blends even further into the truss, making it visually seamless," says Schmidt.

The New Energy Works timber trusses will be part of an expansion of the event space at the country club. The trusses sit atop steel beams and show off a massive 45' skylight that runs down the center of the space.

Delphi Falls Park is a public park in Madison County, NY. Originally private land with a residence and barn it became a park in August of 2018. Since then, the county has been working on expanding the park and upgrading buildings for better community use.

And that’s where we come in, as our team lead by Timber Frame Champion Jason Houtenbrink, has been on site over the last few weeks raising a timber frame visitors center, breezeway, and bathroom complex. 

“The site is the best part of the entire project,” says timber frame engineer Steve Gibbons who worked on the drawings of the frame. “The visitor’s center faces a waterfall, with a view from the inside of the center of the falls and a timber frame porch that allows people to enjoy the falls from a covered area.”

The main timber frame is a roof system, with custom finished Douglas fir queen post trusses and exposed steel that sit atop steel supports with a Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) roof. The blend of timber and exposed steel gives a lightness to the smaller interior space. Externally there is a full timber frame porch, in the same Douglas fir & custom finish, to blend the outside and in. The bathhouse is connected to the main visitor’s center by a timber frame breezeway joining the two buildings together.