DIY Projects for 2011- The Master Plan

With careful planning, by the age of 35, my husband and I are hoping to own a waterfront cottage.  Our goal is to build a 800-900 square foot, open concept cabin for $50 000 and have this complete in the next 5 years.  The building bylaw for the municipality states the minimum square footage for a new build is 800 sq feet, which is more than enough space after having lived in a 600 sq ft condo in downtown Toronto for 6 years.  We're approaching this with the perspective that bigger is not necessarily better.  We want a low maintenance cabin close to home.  From doorstep to dock, the total drive to our property is an hour and a half. We want to waste as little time on the road, with the other thousands of cottagers migrating from the hustle and bustle of the city, as possible.

This cottage season we are focusing on the following:


Building a 10 x 16 Cedar floating dock: We'll need a place to dock our new (used) pontoon boat and a place to unload our building supplies in the future!

Landscaping: Clearing the brush for the cottage will make a huge visual change in the interim.  Most of the work can be done with a chainsaw with the help of a back hoe to excavate the trunks and smooth out the land.  Every year, we are also trying to plant a few seedings.  I love evergreens and these are a good choice for our property as they are less appealing to the beavers who seem to thrive on birch and other softwoods!  I loved beavers until we purchased the property and than I soon realized, they can quickly chew their way through a forest!

The Beaver Dam

The Beaver Tree

Running water- We are currently researching which Jet pump with tank to choose.  We are also considering an outdoor shower (what a luxury!)


Photo wall for outhouse- This is my project! The photo wall will display all our progress to date!

This is enough to keep us busy for the entire season.  It's been go go go to get to this point and we also want to build in some time to relax and enjoy the property and lake.  I hope this post will give you an idea of what to expect for future blog posts and hopefully a reason to check back in on our progress!