Field Notes from Rosseau
While construction takes place all year round, Spring, Summer, and Fall are the busiest time of year. The Brackenrig cottage on Lake Rosseau, Muskoka commenced work in spring of 2022, and has been a buzz with activity and trades showing progress at an incredible pace.
DEMOLITION AND SUBSTRUCTURE
With an existing cottage in place, and a desire to maintain the foundations and partial structure, design considerations and working documentation were prepared to suit these parameters. Unfortunately significant issues were discovered on site following selective demolition ranging from rot, mold, and insufficient structure. Sometimes I am surprised by how well an older building can remain largely intact and occupied with such drastic issues hidden behind the walls. This discovery caused an unanticipated setback, pivoting the focus toward corrective measures to reframe, replace, and rebuild sections of the dwelling that we planned to remain existing. While this work was underway, new piers and structural steel was fabricated and installed to make way for the framers.
FRAMING AND ROOF
Following the completion of corrective measures, the framing, weather resistive barrier, and roof installation were promptly completed. With an unexpected early delivery date of windows, the project is quickly approaching the dry-in stage where the exterior is enclosed and interior work can start. With the overall building mass in place, the project’s design intent starts to take visible shape.
In an effort to compliment this beautiful wooded lot on Lake Rosseau, we selected a weathered and charred wood siding called Ghostwood. Aptly named, Ghostwood is harvested from dead standing trees lost from an infestation of pine beetles. Once thought to be useless, pine beetle kill is being reclaimed and given a new life in various forms, in our case this gorgeous siding installed in both vertical and horizontal orientations.
Spending time on this site on the gorgeous Lake Rosseau has been nothing but inspiring. It’s nice to breath new life into older seasonal dwellings, and in this case, transform one part of an overall masterplan for cottage, boathouse, and garage.
