Building The Love Shack

We did that drive up to see the Love Shack. How quiet it was to drive there. No cars of cottagers along the way. No fisher men. No trailers with boats. No farmers in the field.

We have not had much snow so far this year, so the road was clear and we were able to drive in. We seen only a few cars of other cottagers who were also checking on their Summer Houses. They waved as they drove by.

 

 

The silence of Winter was different that than the silence of Fall. You could hear the snow crushing under your feet as you walked. A beautiful white and black woodpecker had moved into the tree in front of the house.  Those where the only sounds that you could hear, the woodpecker pecking and the sound of crunching snow.

 

 

The lake was frozen quiet a ways out, so there was no sound of the waves breaking. The lake looked interesting. Definitely, missing its warm welcome.  Standing by the water, it was bitter cold. The wind that blew across it carried a chill that went to your bones.

 

 

 

We went inside to say hello and check on heat and the water pipes. The Cast Iron Stove came on right away, which was a good thing. That meant there was no build up of moister in the lines. The water pipes were dry and no signs of cracking  or leaking and no breakage. The new roof was doing well, there was no wet spots or signs of water damage.

We check on the refrigerator, and the water bottles inside of it had frozen, but the frig was running well. The hydro panel was good and dry.

All in all the lady was doing fine, BUT damn it was cold.

The cottage has only been insulated in the bedrooms and the Cast Iron Stove is only running its pilot light. So really she is an unheated and not insulated.

After spending a few minutes there, we decided to add-on some more work for ourselves. Not only will we be insulating the rest of the house as planned, but we have decided to insulated the underneath of the cottage.

She sits up on blocks about two feet off the ground. That allows the wind to blow underneath her. If we are going to use the cottage in Winter months, we need to add that extra insulation.

I met women a few days ago in the drug store. We were both waiting to pick up our prescriptions and got talking . She gave me some advise to heat up the cottage.  She shared the story with me that she was given this advise over forty years ago. She thought it sounded nuts but she tried it and it worked.

She told me when you get to the cottage and it’s cold outside, open the cottage for about ten minutes and let the outside air in . Then start-up the heat. It will heat it half the time. The reason she said, and it makes perfect sense to me is that the cottage closed up, the air inside is damp and it is easier to heat up cold than damp. I will try this next time.

We drooped off her gifts of DVD Players and bedroom shelves that we had brought up that we/she got for Christmas and headed on our way home. It was nice to check on her. She is standing fine and all the construction we did is holding well.

In six weeks I have to apply for the building permits. They should take about two weeks to come in.

If the weather in March is warmer we will start building those beds in bedroom two. Then the outside wall will get opened to put in the first gable on the front of the roof. I will need my Weekend Warriors that weekend.

The front wall will be opened too, so I will have to order the front door and windows soon.

Before that happens the ground in the front where the new cistern went it has to be leveled and the trees are in some serous need of pruning… And so the list gets bigger of what needs to be done.

The difference is this Spring, we are starting with running water, heat and hydro. And a bed…..

And so it begins…. The count down starts, the running around to get everything ordered and in on time. Back to work…. No rest for the wicked….