Cottage Renovations Can Be Like Pealing An Onion

When you are renovating an old cottage a lot of the time you have to start by pealing back the layers like an onion before you are able to get to a point where you can start putting it back together.

In old cottages there are usually half a dozen renovations over the years that have happened, so of the renovations could have been done properly, but a lot of the renovations where done by people with small budgets and limited knowledge of what they were doing.

The last renovations are the kind that are considered cosmetic and happen over and over again in cottages just to make the place livable, workable and a little more enjoyable.

These renovations pile one on top of the other until there is no way to know what is behind the wall coverings or the drop ceilings. What makes it worse is that the cost to remove all the layers rises for every time some renovated it cosmetically. This increased cost and scale of job can be a road block to a lot of cottage owners as it becomes to big a job to think about and to large a cost to pay for.

What usually ends up happening is that the renovations finally get done when the cottage is sold to another party who has put it in their budget to renovate and restore or the cottage gets transferred to the next generation in the family that comes in with fresh ideas and want and need to fix the cottage up to make it more habitable.

When planning the renovations with your contractor you have to leave some wiggle room with your design, the contractor will have be given a little freedom to do as he thinks best because as they peal back the layers the plan for what is to happen can change slightly.

A lot of the time when contractors start demolition they find things hidden behind walls and ceilings that require fixing or repairing. One of the big things that ends up happening is that we find there is a lack of insulation or the insulation that was there is damaged or outdated. Rooms can be come slightly smaller when you have to add insulation to the outside walls and more studs are needed or the ceiling needs to be built done to accommodate spray foam on the roof.

This is your cottage and chances are you will not be around for a lot of the work because you live somewhere else and you really don't want to be there for all the noise and dust that a renovation causes anyways. So you will have to trust your contractor will do the right thing, you can still have input into the renovation as your contractor can send you pictures and emails but a lot of what happens when it comes to what is behind the walls and ceilings your contractor will have to use their best judgement.

Remember that you hired your contractor because you trusted them, so let them do their jobs and fix your old cottage. If you don't trust them, well that's another blog for another time....

Rob Abbott

Village Builders Inc. 

Have you built Homes near Georgian Peaks Ski Club?

Q:

Have you built Homes near Georgian Peaks Ski Club?

A:

Yes we have we have built several custom homes and chalet at and near the Georgian Peaks Ski Club. Here is one the latest homes that we built in that area;

http://www.villagebuilders.ca/peaks-bay-chalet/

The home is a 3600 sqft two story chalet that has Hardie Board siding and Dutch quality stone on the outside along with Ridley Windows and Doors. The home is situated a short walk to Georgian bay and has beautiful views of the Georgian Peaks mountain range.

The inside of the home is a fairly open concept with the chief’s style kitchen open to the large dining room. The kitchen has a nice large island that is painted a darker colour then the surrounding cabinet’s giving a nice contrast. The kitchen has everything someone would want in a kitchen with a large gas stove and all the appropriate appliances, there is even a wine fridge touched under the island. Beautiful dark granite tops the kitchen, the granite counter tops are a very unique contrast with white veining throughout the dark granite.

The kitchen has direct sight lines through the dining room into the high ceilinged great room. The great room has two stories of windows that look out over the mountain resort of Georgian Peaks Ski Club. The great room has a high modern fireplace with a sleek low profile gas fireplace, it is surrounded with Asian inspired stone tile covering it’s three sides. There is a peak a boo view from the hallway upstairs that not only gives views to the great room but also of the mountains beyond.

The master suite is behind the great room with a large master bedroom that has a large double set of doors that leads out to a small covered porch that is perfect for morning coffee while looking at the wildflowers growing on the mountains in the summer. There is a door less entry into the 4 piece master ensuite. It has heated floors and a large shower that has multiple heads and jets to let you warm up and settle down after a long day of skiing.

The first floor also has a large laundry room that doubles as a place to store all the ski equipment and wet clothes from winter and summer outside adventures.

There is a small powder room next to the laundry room with a sink that has a custom made wood counter top and a touch-less faucet.

The second floor has 3 well sized bedrooms one with its own ensuite and a large main bathroom that is big enough to allow everyone to get ready for a fun night out on the town. At the end of the hall is a rec. room that is perfect for the teenagers and their friends.

The home has a large garage with high ceilings allowing storage of all the summer toys above and around the vehicles.

The backyard has a large covered porch that has a concrete patio that works when you want those barbecue parties for all your friends.

The home has a high efficiency gas fireplace to heat the home that is placed in the crawlspace along with the instant hot water tank and all the other components that run the home.

Particular attention was paid to the insulating of the home. The home was “buttered” with 2 inches of spray foam that was placed in all the wall cavities and then had a Rolex batt installed on top of it. This process was also used in the attic with the drywall installed first without a vapour barrier and then the spray foam was applied to the backside of the drywall in the attic space. After this there was R-40 blown in added on top of it. The overall affect was a extremely well sealed home that is easy to heat in the winter and simple to cool in the summer.

The home is perfect for those family weekends when you are looking for fun in the outdoors.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.