Schenkar Construction Featured In Modern Home Builders | Built on Service
“A clear and open approach to service and quality projects has helped Schenkar Construction stand out.” By Eric Slack
Founded in 2006, Seattle-based Schenkar Construction has become known for delivering high-quality products and its focus on transparency and customer service. Principal Alex Schenkar takes pride in providing each client with one-on-one attention and communication, serving as senior production manager and the day-to-day contact with customers during construction.
We work with each client to match them with a diverse collection of professionals to ensure that we have fresh ideas, economical solutions and creative planning focused around their individual needs,” Schenkar says.
Strong Experience
Schenkar has 10 years’ experience in the building and remodeling industry. After attending the University of Colorado and earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental design and architecture, he gained extensive project and construction management experience by working in the public and private sectors in areas including architecture, land use planning, historical preservation, marketing and business management.
“Customer service is a key attribute of our company.” Alex Schenkar, Principal
“As a Northwest native, I have dedicated myself to the construction industry and sought to exceed the expectations of my clients as well as the Northwest building community,” Schenkar says. Today, Schenkar Construction has around 65-70 tradesman preforming everything from excavation, concrete, framing, electrical and plumbing to drywall, roofing, custom cabinets, flooring and tile. The company’s primary services include architecture, design, structural engineering, permit facilitation and general contracting. Schenkar construction can handle a wide array of projects, including new construction, large-scale remodeling, steep slope construction, house lifting, foundation stabilization, bathrooms and kitchens. “Our company is best characterized as a boutique custom design/build firm,” Schenkar says.
Schenkar says the company’s customers are Seattle-area residents focused on high-end residential new construction and large scale remodel projects. “Our target customers find us through a strong referral network within the community built from our relationships with local architects, structural engineers, designers and geotechnical engineers,” Schenkar says. “The end-result can be any variety of home genres, including modern, ultra-modern, traditional craftsman, Victorian and Northwest traditional.”
On the Waterfront
One of the projects Schenkar Construction has tackled recently is its Magnolia waterfront custom home in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. A 3,000-square-foot home, it was a single-family residential project built on a waterfront location and including three stories, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The project had a 10-month build cycle from breaking ground to completion and move-in, and it required extensive design and structural engineering work based on soil and topography.
“We put together a creative blend of multiple materials including modern Hardy board paneling, tongue and groove Clear cedar and aluminum standing seam roof panels to achieve a modern genre,” Schenkar says. “The home has 30-foot vaulted ceilings, expansive views of the water, passive solar, hydronic heated floors and custom-made therma-foil cabinets. It is designed to maximize floor-to-floor water views, with large architectural scaled rooms designed with an open floor plan.”
Given the steep topography of the Seattle region and the relatively low water table, Schenkar says it was necessary to design and build this home with the aid of dynamic structural and geotechnical engineering. As with many waterfront homes, the main challenge was the stabilization and bearing capacity of the foundation below the water table.
The house was designed and constructed by driving more than 50 four-inch steel pipes – or pipe piles – in excess of 60 feet below the sea level. The foundation utilized a grade beam concept, which is essentially a thicker, deeper foundation pour encapsulating all of the perimeter pipe piles previously driven into one large foundation. In ement weather conditions, difficult access and steep slope excavation proved to be very challenging conditions that required perimeter shoring of adjacent soil embankments before and during construction.
“We deliver a high quality custom product with a focus on meeting customer expectations, transparency and accountability.” Alex Schenkar, Principal
“It was also necessary to mobilize machines, cranes and equipment down into the excavation pit,” Schenkar says. “These challenges required careful engineering calculations and geotechnical study of existing soil bearing conditions.”
Ultimately, Schenkar Construction’s utilization of the design/build model allows the company to succeed on unique and challenging projects. The design/build model gives its clients a progressive, transparent approach to building their projects through clear communication of design intent while providing up-to-date costing expectations throughout the design process prior to building.
Schenkar says there has traditionally been a fundamental gap between design and the practical cost application of building. But in a design/build model, costs are assessed, economized and communicated as the design is developed to maximize economies of scale. This allows Schenkar Construction to follow a strict budget and allow for real-time feedback from the customer so that they may make informed decisions as more information becomes available throughout the design process. This guarantees buildable projects that meet budget and quality expectations. In the end, this all ties back to the company’s commitment to transparency and customer service.
“Customer service is a key attribute of our company,” Schenkar says. “People care about service and are responsive to it, so as we work to deliver a high-quality product we listen to customer needs and concerns in order to deliver the best possible customer service experience.”
Click here to see the published “Built on Service” article in Modern Home Builder.
