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.

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.

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.