Technology and Creativity Partner for Solutions
According to the owners, Schaefer’s Canal House in Chesapeake City, Maryland, while steeped with local history, is more than just a restaurant and marina. It is a place where people from all walks of life come to share stories, be with friends and family, and to create new memories for the future. Sounds like our kind of place!
Schaefer’s has a long and dynamic history dating back to 1907. In 2010, the Giordano family of Kennett Square, PA, purchased the restaurant. The Giordanos were veteran restaurateurs with decades of restaurant and business experience, and over the years they have renovated both the marina and the main restaurant. The restaurant has been very successful, and that success has led to the need for more space to better serve their customers.
For their newest project, the owners decided to add an elevated terrace veranda and an addition for kitchen storage. The project presented some challenges, as it was located over water on helical piles, and would require new bulkheads and new decking.
AMP provided solutions. The decision was made to convert the steel and wood construction to a Butler conventional pre-engineered steel construction. Our team, led by Director of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Chris Donahue and Division Manager for CM EDiS Building Systems (EBS) Chuck Aungst, used the master plan for Schaefer’s Canal House as a guide and used the latest in Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology to establish the site constraints for the new veranda project. The AMP team used the laser scanner to finalize the existing building structure dimensions, elevation, and proximity of the new bulkhead and existing C&D canal. Once the structural bulkhead, foundation, and Butler pre-engineered building were designed, the team used the 3D BIM process in conjunction with point cloud data to verify final parts and pieces would marry up.
In addition, the team worked with existing civil/site data, using a field point data robot for laying out the final bulkhead whaler elevation and building grade beam and anchor bolt locations. During the preliminary design, EBS assisted in providing total building costs estimates so the owner could budget for the future building expansion. The expertise of EBS allowed for the owner to build the expansion below the planned budget.
The result? The owners ended up with a custom fit solution that saved them time and money, will be easy to maintain, and will last them for years to come. So next time you are in the Chesapeake City area, stop into Schaefer’s Canal House. Tell them we sent you!
