How To Keep Your Cottage Secure

While monitoring your cottage by a security company can get expensive, there are other ways that you can monitor it without breaking the bank.

New technology has arisen in the last couple of years that allows you to install camera's inside or outside the home, these camera's can be placed on remote or motion activated. A lot of these camera's can be installed by you or your contractor.

The camera's can be wired two ways, they can run to a DVR in your cottage where all the data can be stored, or they can be uploaded to a cloud network on the internet that you can access anywhere you have an internet connection.

Most of these systems will work with an app to your cell phone and will inform you when there is movement inside the home or outside depending on where you have placed your camera's.

A couple of things that you will need though;

• You will need constant power supply to the camera's. This means that turning off the power to the cottage for the off season when you are not there is not an option.
• You will need a reliable wi-fi source for the camera to be able to stream or upload video to the internet, especially in real time.
• You might also require a reliable cellular signal as well to operate the camera system the way you want.
• These camera's cannot force intruders to leave your cottage's, some of these systems come with microphones so that you can talk to the people but that doesn't mean that they will take you seriously.
• Screen shots can be taken of video to give to police after a break-in.
• Camera's placed outside on motion could go off often depending on the amount of animal movement and or tree sway in high winds or during snow storms depending on the size of the flakes.
• It's a good way to know what kind of weather is at the cottage before you get there. 
• It's also a good way to check to see if you forgot to shut a door or lock a window.

Even with these types of systems relying on the police after you have discovered a problem is probably not your best bet as in cottage country the police in the off season could be a long way away. Your best bet is to either make friends with a permanent residence near your cottage or hire someone that can stop by and take a look at your place for you. Usually maintenance companies will do this for you as they can stop by when they are clearing snow or checking that your cottage doesn't have a lot of storm damage.

In a changing world this technology is another tool to help keep your property safe. Use it wisely.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Just Bought That Piece Of Waterfront Property, Now What Do You Do?

You have just found that perfect piece of heaven in the Bruce Peninsula, a wonderful waterfront lot that you can see yourself enjoying with your family for years to come. It's a vacant piece of land without a cottage on it, now what do you do?

Well you need a cottage don't you. First things first, you will need a set of plans.

There are many different places to get a set of plans;

1. You can go to an architect or an architectural technologist or a draftsmen to have your plans created. The costs vary depending on the level of service that you require. These plans will have a BCIN number on them that the municipal building department requires for the plans to be valid. 
2. You can buy your plans from a place like Beaver Homes and Cottages which are sold through most Home Hardwares. The plans are not free but are pre-drawn and so the cost is relatively inexpensive. They are not a true custom home but you are able to change them a little to get what you want.
3. You can buy your plans from the internet. Some websites are good for this and other websites are not as a lot of the homes you will find on the internet are drawn for the US only and will not work in Canada.

Once you have found your plans you need to find a builder. This will be probably the hardest thing  you will have to do. 

There are not a lot of good quality custom home builders on the Bruce Peninsula and the ones that do work there are extremely busy. You will have to make your mind up on the builder that you want early in the fall as most builders are booking up the entire spring by late fall. 

The only way for you to get proper pricing for your cottage build is to have your full set of drawings to send to the builders. That is the only way they will be able to price it for you.

If you find a builder that you trust then you shouldn't worry about the cost so much as most custom home builders build the same way which is time and material with a management fee. This means that most of the builders will end up being the same price. It is more important that you find a builder that you can work with then one that is really cheap.

If you are planning to build in the Bruce Peninsula in the spring find your builder this fall or it could be too late.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Closing Up The Cottage Look For Needed Repairs

Even though the weather is still warm it is coming closer to the point in the fall that everyone will start closing their cottages for the winter. They will be shutting everything down until next spring or summer.

When you are doing your shutdown procedures for your cottage take a close look around, if you see anything that you believe needs to be repaired or replaced by the spring then maybe you should call someone this fall to do it.

Contractors are busy after the cottage season is over and they usually have work lined up for the foreseeable future, if you call them right away in the fall then they can come out rather quickly and give you an estimate on the repair.

They might not be able to do the repair for months or even until the spring but at least you will be in the line for the repair work. If you try to call in the spring and get it repaired you might end up with a scenario that you either don't get called back at all because they are too busy or they do come out and quote you but can't actually do the renovation until the middle of the summer.

Remember the good contractors are always busy, that means that you want to give them as much notice as possible when you are going to need renovations.

Don't worry that the renovations will happen when you are not there, you shouldn't have to be there to supervise the contractor, in fact its better that your not for everyone involved. Hire your contractor let them do their work when you aren't around and everyone will be happier.

Remember that in cottage country the motto for getting renovations completed should always be hurry up and wait. Hurry up to get the quote and then wait for them to be able to service you.

If you would like a quote on your cottage repairs email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes

It's Time For Fall Cottage Renovations

Well labour day has come and gone, the weekends have started to become quieter with less people around and the temperature starts to drop. These are the times when most cottagers start thinking about how long they can keep their cottages open before the weather starts to turn too cold on them. The other thing that cottage owners start to think about is Cottage Renovations.

That's right, after labour day comes and goes it is the official start of the fall renovation season. Depending on how you use your cottage this is when cottage owners start calling around to renovation contractors to have renovations completed before Christmas. Why Christmas? Because I guess its as good a date as any.

What you will find is that most contractors are already booked for the fall, they were booked for the fall by the middle of the summer because most people didn't want to renovate when they were still using their cottage so they booked their contractor ahead.

Don't make the mistake of settling for someone that you don't trust can do the job just because the other contractors are to busy. If you have to you should wait till the winter to get the contractor that you want to do your renovation.

Something's that you should remember is that it can take several months even when you find your contractor to start the renovation, don't be put off that they can't start for several months. Depending on the size of the renovation it can take several months to properly prepare for a major cottage renovation. There are supplies to be ordered, plans to be made, sub contractors to be notified, permits to be obtained and labour to secure.

If you are looking for renovations this fall/winter to completed drop me an email and I can see what I can do for you; greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Looking To Buy A Cottage But Need To Know The Renovation Cost?

In cottage country when you are looking to buy a cottage that is older the first thing that you think about is "how much is it gonna cost me to renovate this old cottage?" That is something that every person thinks about when they are looking to buy a cottage that has been previously "enjoyed".

What most people do is start calling around to contractors and asking them questions over the phone about what they charge and then they try to come up with their own price for what they think things will cost. Some people even try to convince contractors to come look at the cottage before they have even bought it. That sounds like a good plan except that in cottage country contractors are busy enough with renovating that they don't have time to come out and look at a cottage you haven't even bought yet.

What you need is a contractor that's willing to come out and look at the cottage or cottages that you want to buy as a consultant. When a contractor works as a consultant they are billing per hour to look at the home, find out what the renovation needs are and what the wants are of the home buyers for changes, designs and style. Then the contractor will be able to produce a budget on the potential costs of doing the renovations. These budgets are not a price from the contractor to actually do the work, they are a budgeting tool for the homeowner so they know what they are getting into if they buy the cottage.

The contractor is not doing this to get the renovation work, in fact a lot of contractors do not have the time to take on the renovation work that is proposed, they are their solely working as a consultant to help the homeowner decide to buy or not buy the property.

We at Great Lakes Custom Homes do this type of consulting work for potential cottage buyers. We will bill you per hour and produce a report with a budget so that you can understand what you are getting into if you buy a certain piece of property.

If you need help with renovation budgeting for your cottage purchase send me an email at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

We would be glad to help you.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Building Cottages On The Bruce Peninsula

I hear people talking about how they can't find a cottage builder on the Bruce Peninsula, well let me put this as simple as I can, "WE BUILD COTTAGES AND HOMES ON THE BRUCE PENINSULA".

Great Lakes Custom Homes builds new cottages and new homes on the Bruce Peninsula. Who is Great Lakes Custom Homes you ask, it is me! I am the owner and operator of Great Lakes Custom Homes.

We build custom homes and have been in the construction business since 1980, me personally since the 1990's. I am a second generation of custom home builder.

I don't only build cottages and homes on the Bruce Peninsula but I also own a residence up in the Northern Bruce Peninsula. I have a place in Bradley Harbour on the Lake Huron side of the Bruce Peninsula.

Being a second generation builder, I learned everything from my father in a family run business that I worked in since I was 12 years old. We prided ourselves on building high end quality homes while giving our clients the best building experience possible.

I would love to be your Contractor on the Bruce Peninsula,

email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Looking forward to talking with you.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc. 

I Can't Find A Contractor On The Bruce Peninsula

"I can't find a contractor on the Bruce Peninsula," this is something I hear from people everywhere I go on the Bruce Peninsula, especially the northern Bruce Peninsula. The limited permanent population compared to the much larger summer population means that the contractor that are working in the area are fully booked.

Well, look no further. Great Lakes Custom Homes does operate in the area of the Bruce Peninsula as I personally own a place there, this allows me to service the summer population that requires good, quality contractors.

Great Lakes Custom Homes doesn't just build new homes and cottages we also construct garages,addition and renovations.

Fully licensed and insured we are hear to help you with your next project.

If you would like to chat about your next project or you would like me to come out and give you and estimate send me an email at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Do You Find That Your Cottage Is Too Noisy?

A lot of people I talk to tell me how on busy weekends at the cottage it is so noisy that they have trouble concentrating even when they are inside with the windows and door closed because of the amount of noise that people are making outside. Other people have the same problem but because of how hot their cottages can get when the doors and windows are closed they are forced to listen to all the exterior noise as they have to leave them open.

The second problem is fixed by adding an air conditioner or a complete furnace with an air conditioner that would allow you to keep your doors and windows closed. That doesn't mean that will reduce all the noise, but it will fix the problem of having your windows open all the time.

For the first problem there are several things that can be done to combat the problem of noise transmitting inside from outside;

• Replace your windows. Cottage windows are usually older windows and are either single or double pane windows. New windows are made to deflect and absorb sound so much more efficiently then older windows. They also create much better R value to help you when you are heating and cooling. If you are in an extremely noisy environment and you want to stop all noise from coming through your windows then you can actually purchase triple pane windows, triple pane windows can deafen noise to the point that you wouldn't hear someone on the other side of the window if they were yelling at you.
• Update your insulation. Insulation makes a big difference in dampening sound. A lot of older cottages have little to know insulation. Older cottages that are built out of 2x4 exterior walls (instead of today's standard 2x6) are peculiarly poor at dampening sound. Foam is one of the best ways to improve this, either having it sprayed into the walls or attached to the inside or outside of the walls as sheets. This will not only help dampen those unwanted sounds but it will also help you with your heating and cooling.
• Trees and shrubs If the sound that is annoying you is coming from a road or your neighbours then you can add trees and bushes. This will help dampen the sound that travels to your actual house. If its coming down the driveway then putting a bend in your driveway along with planting bushes and trees down it will help dampen the noise.
• White noise. Turning on fans or installing ceiling fans in your cottage can help create background noise or "white noise". White noise helps cancel out other noises, this technique doesn't remove any of the unwanted noise but it does trick your brain and ears into not actually hearing a lot of the other noise as it concentrates on the constant white noise.

One of the biggest problems at your cottage will be how sound carries over water, it doesn't matter how quiet your neighbours are being you are bound to hear them and everything they are doing. Trees and bushes are not going to help this as most people don't want to block the view of the water, that's one of the main reasons that they are at the cottage in the first place. The best way to stop the noise is to upgrade your cottage with the above mentioned ideas.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

There's Great Opportunity To Build Yourself A New Cottage In The Bruce Peninsula

If you are thinking about buying a cottage but can't seem to find one that you like or one that is not so old that it isn't worth the purchase price? Then you should think about having a cottage built, a custom cottage built were you want it, how you want it and the best part is it will be brand new!

The prices of cottages has climbed over the last 4 years since the real estate market in the Bruce Peninsula bottomed out. There are very few cottages for sale and a lot of the ones that are for sale are older then the people that are looking to buy them. A lot of the cottages on the Bruce Peninsula were constructed in the sixties and seventies, these cottages are now in need of major renovations, repairs or utter removal and replacement.

One thing the Bruce Peninsula seems to still have is an abundance of vacant land, vacant land that can be anything from cheaper residential treed lots to larger pieces of land and bush parcels all near the water. What is truly amazing is the amount of waterfront lots that are priced very reasonably. Waterfront lots especially on the Lake Huron side (most of them facing west) that are priced at the same number or cheaper as normal residential lots that you would find in most towns and cities.These lots are not small, most being at least 150 to 190 feet wide and are 200 to 400 feet deep.

Waterfront lots like these are great to build your cottage quite near the water for the great views, keeping you close to your docks (still allowed to be built on Lake Huron) and allowing you to place your septic system, garages and other storage facilities at the back out of the way of the views and the fun activities like horse shoes, badminton, volleyball or lawn bowling.

The building fees from the local municipalities are way under the average for Southern Ontario and restrictions on building are fairly lacks. 

All of this points to an amazing opportunity for people to build a brand new waterfront cottage instead of having to buy something that needs more work then its worth.

If you are thinking about buying a cottage in the Bruce Peninsula then email me and let me help you not only find a great place but also construct you a wonderful new cottage.

I can be reached at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

The Art Of The Custom Cottage Build

Not Everyone can build a custom home or cottage and not everyone should even attempt to build one, there are so many things that you have to know to build it right.

Gone are the days of building the little cedar bunglows that were never used past the labour day long weekend, today's new cottages are expected to be used all year round. They are bigger, more modern and much more complicated then ever before. Cottages are more like normal residential homes then they are the old "camps" as they are called up north.

One of the biggest differences between a modern residential home and a cottage is the remoteness of a cottage. Because of the distance great care most be taken when building a cottage so that it can survive without homeowner supervision for long periods of time and work perfectly when someone requires it.

Because of this hiring someone that doesn't know a lot about building custom cottages means that you could end up with a lot of problems months and years later that would not be covered under any warranty whether it is the builders warranty or Tarion which does not apply to a lot of cottages.

Great Lakes Custom Homes is not only a home building company it's also a tradition going back to the late 1970's of building quality custom homes and cottages. I am the second generation in the family to take up this business and have been in it and around it my entire life. The collective knowledge that is within Great Lakes Custom Homes allows us to have the answers, ideas, techniques and know how to build a great custom home or cottage.

If you are looking to build a custom home or cottage send me an email at

greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Bought Yourself a Cottage-Now Is The Time To Renovate

You've just bought your cottage, if your like most people you realize that the cottage is going to require some work, old cottages always need a helping hand.

What you should do is have anything major repaired right away that can't wait; roofs, foundations, water lines, toilets, sinks, well and septic system.

Having these things fixed will allow you to use the cottage over the summer if only briefly, this way you have a safe place to stay and you also get the chance to get a feel for what you want to do to the old cottage.

The best way to find out what needs to be done to your cottage is to use it and stay in it,this way you will know what works well for you and what doesn't work well for you.

Make a list of everything you want to change and everything you think will need repairs and start your planning and designing. This is when you should call your contractor, call them now so that come the fall and winter they can book you in to do the work. The summer season is the busiest time for contractors in cottage country and you don't want to have to try and hire one on short notice(it wouldn't happen). It's better to hire them to come and do the repairs and renovations in the fall and winter when you aren't using the place and they aren't that busy. Don't worry about not being there a good contractor can do most things over the phone or email with pictures and drawings.

If you retain a good contractor then you will be able to get them to come out and look at your cottage and give you advice on what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. Through email you guys can then hash out a plan and a price for the work that needs to be done in the fall.

This way the place is completed by the time you want to use it in the spring and you won't have to worry about living through the noise and dust of a renovation.

If your looking for renovations for your newly bought cottage send me an email and I will see if I can help you with it. The earlier you can schedule your renovations the better chance they will be ready for the spring.

greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Thermally Modified Decks And Docks For Your Cottage

One of the biggest pet peeves for cottagers is having to repair or replace the deck or the top of the dock because the boards have rotten and aren't safe to walk on anymore.

This replacing the entire deck or even the constant replacing of individual boards gets tiresome and somewhat expensive after awhile especially if you aren't very handy and have to hire a professional to do the work for you.

Cottagers are usually leary about installing composite decking because its not a natural product and can look fake, it also comes with it's own problems that natural products do not suffer from.

There is a product that has arisen in Canada that is perfect for our ever changing climate. It is called thermally modified wood.

What is thermally modified wood, it is wood that has been heat treated and compressed in a kiln until it collapses at a cellular level. The result is a piece of wood that is completely water impermeable. Because of the heating process the sugars are burn't out of the wood creating a brown colouring to the wood, if the decking is left untreated then it will simply fade to silver overtime like cedar does.

Since there is no way for water to penetrate the wood and there is no sugars left in the wood there is no way for the wood to rot and no food value for bugs to eat.

Thermally modified wood usually comes in Maple, Ash or Southern Yellow Pine.

Most thermally modified wood comes with a clip system that allows the decking to be installed without using face nails, leaving the decking free of nails or screws.

Thermally modified wood is becoming widely available in specialty decking stores and certain specialty contractors that work with the product.

If your looking for a deck that you will only have to install once then look at a thermally modified deck and spend your weekends at the cottage relaxing instead of working.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes

The Alternative To Cedar Siding On Your Cottage

A question I get asked a lot is "were do I find inexpensive cedar siding for my cottage, every were I call they either do not have any or it is ridiculously expensive".

The problem is finding cedar these days in any large size, this has become harder and harder, there just aren't overly large cedar trees anymore to create the siding sizes that people want. Because of this cedar has become a premium product and with a premium product comes a premium price tag.

There are a lot of alternatives to having to pay a premium price for cedar siding;

• Maibec/CapeCod. These are the two main manufactures in Ontario of pre-painted wood siding. The siding is actually Quebec pine and it comes painted in almost any colour you want. It also comes with a paint warranty that is long enough that you shouldn't have to worry about repainting the siding on your cottage for the next two or three decades. The installation is quiet simple and the end product looks wonderful. You don't have to stick with painted siding, they do offer a natural finish on their siding, the finishing products are usually UV resistant and as long as the siding is installed properly you shouldn't have any problems with rodents or bugs wanting to eat into the siding.
• Pine. If you are just looking for siding or board and batten that you can install and allow to go grey overtime then you could buy the rough sawn pine that is sold in very lumber yard in the province. As long as it is installed properly then it should last as long as cedar siding would and weather naturally like you want it too.
• Vinyl siding. Vinyl siding has come along way in look and in quality. Good quality vinyl siding lasts longer and looks closer to wood siding to the point were some people cant tell the difference. The price of vinyl siding is a lot less then wood. 

Whatever you do know that you have options now and you don't have to break the bank by buying cedar siding for your cottage. 

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Winter Damage To The Cottage-Get It Fixed Right Away

In the coming weeks people will be slowly moving up to their cottages to open them up and get them ready for the warmer weather and some fun by the water.

What a lot of people will find will be some wort of damage to their cottage from the long winter months. This could be a broken window, some damaged shingles or a deck that couldn't handle the weight of the snow.

When people find this they tend to have two different reactions;

1. They start calling around to local contractors to get it repaired immediately, not caring what the cost is and not caring about the company that is doing the repair;
2. They wait and do nothing with it thinking that they will repair it themselves or they will have it repaired in the fall when they are done using the cottage.

Both of these options come with obvious pitfalls, what you should do is combine these two reactions into one removing the parts that will get you in trouble.

You should never hire someone to do work on your cottage without taking the time to check them out and come to a mutual decision on the cost of the repair. On the other hand there are somethings that you should have fixed or repaired immediately so that they don't cause more damage like water leaks from damaged shingles on a roof.

If you wait to find a contractor in the fall you might find that they are all booked for the fall and winter seasons. You should start your search for a good contractor to do the repairs immediately, take your time to check them out and then firm up a proper price to do the work, Then you can talk about scheduling them in to do the actual repair.

Another thing to consider is getting you contractor to do any upgrades or remodeling while their onsite doing the repair. This helps cut down on the cost of these upgrades and repairs as there is a setup fee and clean up fee that can be saved when they are already there at your cottage.

Remember that waiting to repair winter damage to your cottage will only cost you more money in the long run.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Change Your Pierson Windows In Your Cottage

Most older cottages were built with Pierson windows.

Pierson windows are a brand/style of windows that were either one single pane of glass or two panes of glass that allowed cottages to add sliding windows for ventilation. There were also other options of fixed windows with small sliders below. The material that the frame of the window was made from was usually cedar.

At the time these windows were the most popular window installed in cottages and they lasted a long time. But as cottages aged so did the windows, the windows started to fail and leak not just water but leak air as well. This didn't just let water into the cottage but also cold drafts on those clean cold cottage nights, turning enjoyable evenings into battles to stay warm.

If you want to make it easier and cheaper to heat your cottage while making the place more enjoyable for you and your guests then you should be changing those Pierson windows. You don't have to break the bank buying new windows for your cottage, Vinyl windows will work just fine.

Vinyl windows have come along way in the past decade, they are now the standard window for all homes, they use to be the cheapest and poorest quality option but modern technology, styling and a growing market of vinyl window manufactures have brought a higher standard of vinyl window to the market.

Vinyl windows are usually a double pane window but if you have a heavily sealed and super insulated cottage already then you will want to lean towards the triple pane window option. Either way changing your old windows for new ones will help regulate the temperature in the cottage for heating and for cooling.

New windows offer a lot of advantages over older windows;

• They can cut the UV light coming through the window and save your curtains, paintings, furniture and rugs.
• They are much more secure then the older windows as they are hard to force open and even harder to break.
• New window seals do not leak water or air like old windows.
• They increase the resale value of your cottage.
• They have better sound damping for those nights when the neighbors parties go on just a little to long.
• New windows glass is clearer then older windows, giving you a much better view of the lake and those sun sets that you enjoy.
• In some jurisdictions there are rebates for retro-fitting your windows that will help pay for the insulation.
• They are much easier to open then the older side sliding windows.
• Newer bug screen technology allows a better view but still keeping the biting insects outside.

When you start to think about renovations to your cottage you should think about changing your windows before you change anything else on the exterior walls. Windows first and then everything else.

If you would like a quote on new windows for you cottage email me and lets talk.

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes

Shingles Blowing Off The Cottage-Its Time For A Steel Roof

Are you getting tired of replacing the shingles on your cottage or better yet getting tired of paying someone to come and replace them for you?

Well maybe you should start looking at getting a steel roof installed on your cottage.

Steel roofs aren't the same steel roofs as the old cabins or barns from way back when you would hear every drop of rain tinging on the roof. Modern steel roofs are insulated and installed in a way that you don't hear anything more then what you hear with an asphalt roof. The colour of steel roofs are usually good for a life time, no more repainting of steel roofs like they use to do with old barn roofs as the paint is applied in the same fashion as it is on a new car in the factory.

The styles of steel roofs have changed so much in the past couple of decades that you don't have to settle for the same look as old farm houses. The styles that you can get in steel roofs like standing seam can give your cottage a modern appealing look that will up help your cottage in many different ways;

•  A steel roof can make a boring cottage look more modern and sleek.
• Steel will help shed snow off the roof when there is no one around during the winter months, thus lessing the load on the roof and helping to prevent collapse.
• Steel has a very high wind resistance. Strong winds will not remove a properly installed steel roof.
• Steel helps heavy rains run off the cottage more efficiently, helping to prevent leaks.
• In the spring steel sheds ice from snow melt and freezing rain so that ice dams do not form.
• Steel protects against damage caused by swinging tree limps, animals or falling debris from trees.
• Steel is a forever product. You should never have to replace a steel roof when it is installed properly.

With the colours and styles available you should be able to find a steel roof that fits any style of cottage or home and one that will fit your personal preference.

If you would like a quote on a steel roof, email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes

The Most Important Thing You Should Be Looking For In A Custom Home Builder?

Whether it's a custom home you are going to build or a custom new cottage the most important thing you are going to have to decide on is who you want to actually build it.

Hiring your custom home builder or general contractor is more important then who draws the plans or designs the kitchen.

Most people, when they are thinking about hiring a builder to build their custom home tend to think of two things right away:

1. How much is the home builder going to charge me to build the home?
2. How good is the quality of the home that they build?

The sad thing is that it is usually in that order that people think, they think price first and quality second. Here's a little secret, when the house is built and you have paid all the bills almost all successful contractors end up costing you the same amount of money. Regardless of what you have been told at the start about what their fee is or how they will bill you the end cost of the entire project usually ends up about the same amount of money. The builders who are cheaper then all of their competition don't survive because they don't make enough money to cover their overhead, make a living and still give a warranty. They end up to far behind in debt and closeup shop to work for someone else.

Since the real cost of hiring contractors is basically the same then we should move on to the quality of the home. This is where the good builders and the not so good builders separate themselves. When you are a builder of custom homes you are more like a project manager. You pick the people and sub trades that are going to complete the project and then you management how much they get paid, how long it takes them to do their work and at what quality that they achieve the work with as little flaws as possible. If you can manage that then the end project should be a very high quality.

Its not hard to distinguish a quality custom home builder, you just have to see the pictures of some of the projects and that should tell you if they can complete your project to the standard that you expect. This just takes you asking the right questions and carefully looking at their past work.

Since the first two are actually fairly easy to figure out with a some due diligence there is one major thing that people tend to forget when prioritizing what to look for in a custom home builder and that is their attitude. 

A good sized cottage to construct should take anywhere from 6 months to a year depending on the when you start, the size of the home and the level of detail in the home. Your home builder is going to be the one person that you talk too, email, text or meet onsite for 6 to 12 months. A lot of times you are going to have to email back and forth 5 to 10 times a day, meeting on weekends and holidays, having phone meetings, discussing money, designs, plans, options, upgrades and problems when they arise. If you don't get along with your home builder then the wonderful experience of building a custom home or cottage will end up being the worst 6 to 12 months of your life.

Building a custom home or cottage is one of the biggest investments of your life and it should be one of the most exciting ones as well. If you don't get along with your contractor then you should be finding a different one. A rocky relationship between the homeowner the home builder will actually affect the project. When you don't get along with your contractor then you don't communicate well with and them with you, this starts to delay the project because decisions aren't made in a timely fashion and time slips away as the homeowner and the contractor try to ignore each other.

When building a custom home you need to be able to trust your contractor in a way that you can come to them with any idea you have for the home regardless of how crazy it is, their job is to tell you why it's crazy and impossible or if it isn't what the cost is and how it will affect the project as a whole. The whole point of a custom home is that it is custom to you the homeowner and nobody else, if you can't communicate your hopes and dreams for it to your contractor then it ceases to be a custom home for you the homeowner.

Take the time and meet with your contractor, get to know them. Get to know them at least enough to get a feeling of how they communicate and how the two of you get along in each other's company. 

In the last 17 years of building custom homes for people I have been able to get along with them so well that to this day if I see them on the street or in a restaurant we end up stopping and talking about life, family and the weather. We actually never talk about the house that I built them, by the end of the project I end up being more their friend then their builder.

Gone are the days with the rough, tough and gruff builder tells you what you are gonna get in your home and then hands you the bill and walks away. Custom home building today is a shared experience, it should be part learning experience for you the homeowner and part exciting and joyful as well as you see your dream come to life in your new custom home.

Remember that you want to enjoy building your custom home or cottage so take the time to find a builder that you can enjoy it with.

If you have any questions about custom home building or you would like to talk to me about building a custom home/cottage you can email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes

How Far From The Water Can I Build My Cottage?

This is one of the most important questions that you should be asking when you are looking to buy property to build a new waterfront cottage.

Every municipality has a different setback from the water for new construction.

Every municipality in Ontario works off the same location no matter how far back they are restricting the building of new cottages. That location is the historic high-water mark. The high-water mark is determined by what the historical level of high water is in your area. Every area can be different. If you are building on the great lakes you would have noticed that they tend to rise and fall up to 4 to 5 feet in less then a 5 year period. That means that sometimes your new cottage will be close to the water where other times (if your waterfront is shallow) the water could be a fair ways away. Every municipality has a different distance from that high water mark.

Finding the historic high-water mark can be done in two different ways depending on the municipality;

1. Hire a surveyor to come in and survey the property. They will be able to determine the high-water mark with the actual elevations and also be able to mark for you the location of the high-water mark and the point that is closest (to the water) that you can build a new cottage on paper or PDF to submit to the township.
2. Some municipalities do not require a survey as surveys can become costly to people, especially in certain remote cottage areas. If you can identify trees that are large enough to be older then the last time the water hit the high-water mark then you can use the ones that are closest to the water as your mark. You do all your measuring from those trees and the local building department will approve it once they either seen the drawing you have done or visited the site to see the stakes and take some measurements. 

There are municipalities in Northern Ontario that still allow you to build cottages within 50 feet of the high-water mark. Where other municipalities in southern Ontario require you to be 100 or even 150 ft from the high water mark.

These setbacks can greatly affect the amount of enjoyable space that you end up with around your cottage. If you cottage is pushed back 150 ft on your lot and you end up near the road then you are kind of defeating the purpose of having a waterfront cottage.

It is easy to find out this distance, either your real estate agent can find out for you or you can make the calls to the local municipalities yourself. The building and planning department will not only be able to tell you the setbacks on the piece of property, they will be able to tell you also what the restrictions are for the size, height and shape of the cottage you are allowed to build on are. That goes for any accessory buildings that you want to construct like garage's, bunkies or storage sheds.

The only way that you can build closer to the water then the municipal setbacks is to buy a piece of property that already has a cottage on it. Most municipalities will allow you to replace an older cottage with a new one and place it in the same place as the existing cottage even if it violates the setbacks from the high-water mark.

Before you make that offer make sure you do your due diligence.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes

Is Stone More Expensive Then Wood Siding?

The simple answer to that question is "yes".

There are several reasons that stone is more expensive then wood siding or any other exterior material that you want to put on your new home or cottage;

• The actual material is more expensive to buy then wood siding. Stone has to be quarried, that means that it can only be taken out of the ground once and it has to be done with explosives and or heavy equipment. Where wood siding is made from Quebec pine and can be re-harvested every 20 years or so and can be handled with smaller equipment. 
• Stone is labour intensive to work with as it is heavy and requires either a piece of equipment or several strong backs to move it around a jobsite.
• There is a shortage of good qualified stone masons in southern Ontario. This means that to find a mason that will do a high end superior job will cost you more money as they are usually in high demand, they usually have a waiting list.
• Most stone is not uniform. Stone is usually blended with different shapes, colours and types of stones to create a pattern or non pattern that is appealing to the eye. This takes time to layout on the ground before it can be installed, this process requires you to handle the stone more then once which costs more time.
• You have to prep the wall with either rain screen or wire mesh or both. These products and the time it takes to install them drive the price of the installation higher.
• Usually shipping of stone material is expensive as it is heavy and quarries are far away from most build sites.
• When installing stone you must use scaffolding whenever you get above or near the workers head height. The assembling of scaffolding is time consuming costly work.
• Stone is a forever product, as long as it is installed properly, you should have little to no maintenance going forward as stone does not rot and insects do not eat it like they do with wood products.

One thing about building a new home or cottage in the Bruce Peninsula is that the quarries for most of the stone that you will want on the outside of your home is located there. That will cut the shipping cost of the stone down to a minimum. 

In a world that wants you to buy local as much as possible, buying quarried stone for your home that is from the same area is a good thing for you and the local economy.

When setting your house budget if you are looking to have stone installed on the outside you will want to add some more monies so that you do not end up with sticker shock.

Rob Abbott

President

Great Lakes Custom Homes

Now's The Time To Start Planning Your New Cottage

You might look out the window and see snow banks, the radio is telling you about all the closures, your new cottage is probably the last thing that is on your mind. But now is the time to start the planning process, now is the time to start thinking about building it.

When the weather is ugly and the world is white that is the best time to start planning for your new cottage build. If you start your planning now you will be ready when the white stuff melts and cottagers start to return to cottage country.

If you start to talk to contractors now they will be able to direct you to the appropriate architect or draftsmen, your plans are the first thing you will need before you can do anything (as long as you already have a piece of property to put it on). 

Plans are important, plans are the only way for you to get a proper, accurate quote for your new cottage.

You don't have to wait until your plans are finished to find yourself a contractor, you can select your contractor before you have your plans finished. Selecting your contractor is actually more important then selecting the proper person to draw your new cottage. 

The most important thing about hiring a contractor is that you trust them. You are going to entrust this person with one of the biggest investments of your life and you are going to have to work closely with them, that means that the two of you better get along. Add in the distance, most people having a cottage built do not live near the build site so they have to rely on their contractor to send them updates and pictures as the project progresses.

You want to hire a contractor that you can trust, a contractor that knows what they are doing and has the ability to help you organize yourself. When building a new custom cottage you will have to make decisions all the time. Even if you have planned well there will always be things that the contractor will want your feedback on, that's what makes it custom. Your cottage should be as unique and special as you are and to get that means that you will have to make a lot of decisions. If your contractor is well organized then he will be able to ask you questions in advance of needing to know them. Some of the questions can be answered over the phone or via email and some of the questions you as the homeowner are going to have to come up to the build site and see for yourself. That means that the two of you will have to schedule meetings in advance so that there is as little pressure put on you to make a decision as possible.

When starting down that process of building a new cottage make sure that you get someone to draw you proper drawings and then find that right contractor. The earlier you can do that the better prepared everyone will be for the spring thaw when you want to start building.

You don't want to be that person that is calling contractors in the late spring trying to get them to meet you and price your project. A lot of contractors will be booked by then and you will have less variety of companies to choose from. The earlier you can start the better off you will be.

If you have any questions you can email me at greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott

Great Lakes Custom Homes

Up The Insulation To Save On Electricity In Your New Cottage

Most people don't think about insulation when they think about their cottage, but one of the most expensive things about having a cottage in Ontario is heating it.

It doesn't even matter if you don't heat your cottage throughout the winter you will be heating it in the spring and in the fall. Cottage electricity rates are higher then normal electricity rates so the cost to heat your cottage in the spring or fall is more expensive then you probably realize.

The electricity rates in Ontario have risen every year for the last 5 years and there doesn't seem to be any relief in sight. The only other way to heat most cottages is with propane, but propane is actually more expensive right now to heat with then electricity.

When you are planning to have a new cottage built you should be asking your contractor about how to increase the insulation value so that your heating and cooling costs will be lower. Spending a couple of thousands of dollars extra for added insulation will pay itself back within the first few years that you use the place.

If you are heating your cottage all year round then you really should be adding insulation into your new cottage budget. The added saving's from heating and cooling could be returned to you in as little as one heating season depending on the weather conditions and the price of electricity or propane.

When you start planning your new cottage talk to your contractor about the upgrades for insulation and the costs associated with them. If you have chosen a good reputable contractor then they will have no problem giving you advise on how to up the insulation value and the cost associated with it. If your contractor is reluctant to do this then maybe you should rethink your choose of contractors.

Don't get stuck on only one kind of insulation, there are many different types of insulation these days and even more ways to combine them. The best way to get the appropriate insulation in your home is too start planning your insulation when you start having the plans drawn for the cottage.

Don't be discouraged if you have already started building the cottage and you are now just thinking about more insulation, you have until the house is completely framed and the electrical is in to decide if you want to up the insulation in your home.

Except more from your custom home builder.

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.

Looking To Build A New Cottage On The Bruce Peninsula?

Are you looking to Build a new custom home or cottage on the Bruce Peninsula?

If you are one of the hardest things for you will be finding a custom home builder that will meet your standards.

Sure there are lots of custom home builders advertising they build great buildings, but do they really?

What you should be looking for is a custom home builder that is going to challenge you as the client to expect more from them! That's right you should expect more from your General Contractor.

We at Great Lakes Custom Homes do just that, we want clients that except more from their General Contractors. There is a certain standard of building that we believe in and that is uncompromising no matter what the home is to look like. It doesn't matter if it's a large home or a small cottage you deserve to have it build properly.

No matter if your cottage or future home is on the water or nowhere near the water you should expect an experienced and qualified contractor so that your vision of that dream cottage or retirement home ends up just that, a dream come true.

Great Lakes Custom Homes will exceed your expectations and leave you not just a satisfied customer but our greatest advertisement (a happy client).

If you are looking to build on the Bruce Peninsula email me and let's talk about how I can help you with your dream home,

greatlakescustomhomes@gmail.com

Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes