Lofty Expectations

So now that we know where the next question is what to build?  While we want something with a rustic look and feel I’m not that into the log exteriors.  I am more of a maintenance free exterior guy but I do LOVE the feel of the inside of a cabin.  I also love lofts.  There is something about a big open loft overlooking a cathedral ceiling family area that just says “vacation”!

Denise and I have been to Log and Timber Homes shows gathering ideas and while the convenience of buying a “package” from one of these companies sounds appealing I have reservations.  It is just too easy to bury excess costs and overhead in a package deal.  I want to control and know ALL the costs that go into this.  That is the only way I have a chance of keeping this on budget (which we will discuss in future blogs). 

Before you buy a piece of property you need to make sure you are aware of all the restrictions, rules and covenants.  In our case a one story residence needs to be at least 1000 square feet.  If you have a second floor you can reduce the first floor to 800 square feet as long as you have at least 200 sf above.  My plan is to try keep the design as simple as possible to hold down construction costs but not to eliminate the things that give a place character.    

After looking at hundreds of house plans on-line we have decided on roughly 1000 sf on the main level and a loft of about another 400 sf. 

Teamwork

In all my years at Deere one of the most significant things I learned was what a powerful tool brainstorming can be with the right group of people.  Watching ideas get suggested that in turn fuel a better idea and so on is exciting.   

A friend from Waterloo, “Tiffin”, currently works for John Deere but was an architect in her former life.  I showed her some of my drawings and we “brainstormed”.  The unfortunate result is that Tiffin’s ideas and sketches are going to add some costs to this project!  Her ideas were great and she convinced me that the additional costs would be worth the added investment.  It was kind of like when I took my son Joe with me to buy a couple of flatscreen TV’s.  I would have been very happy with a Visio but he managed to talk me into the Samsung at a higher price! 

So with sketches in hand it is time to meet with the draftsman and get this party started.