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.