We started prepping the cottage for raising on July 2; Heneault et Gosselin arrived the following week to perform the work. They are scheduled to return tomorrow, August 19, to lower it back down. A great deal of work has been done during that time. As you read in a previous blog post, Robbie Dean spent many hours excavating and shaping the land – the entire property has come up about 3-4 feet before the new foundation was poured.
A couple of noisy days in our neighbourhood
Kevin Munn poured the foundation and it sat to cure for a couple of weeks (with a well-deserved week’s vacation for the crew after that). Now, the final, one-foot knee-wall has been constructed and the Blue Skin applied and we await the arrival of the Quebec team in the morning.
When lowered, the house will only come down a couple more inches.
The crawl space has been prepared for support posts/beams under the house. Yes, we have had some cracks in our drywall as the process has gone on, and we expect with settling we may have some more, but the house will now be level (for the first time in its life) and the cracks will be easily fixed with a skim of fill and paint.
After the cottage is lowered, phase two begins: the septic must be evaluated, the water and sewer and gas for the generator and fireplace reconnected, the berm and armour stone wall engineered and constructed, the large deck built, the siding replaced and some attempt at landscaping made before the snow flies.
At this point, I have to admit, I feel more than a little overwhelmed. This project is not for the faint of heart. It is complicated, it is costly and it is long. This is the second full summer that we have been disrupted and unable to relax. Although we have had a wonderful summer and have made the most of city living, we want to be here, in the country. I look around and I am simply overcome by the disruption, inside and out – dirt everywhere, piles of debris, overgrown lawns and beach, dying plants and the inside of a house that looks like moving day.
A small ray of hope – our first apple!
Oh Man! Haven’t I done this before?
Sigh. Will we EVER have a garden again?
Despite all this, it has gone well. Maybe it’s just the grey day, or maybe it’s just getting back from a perfect weekend in Charlottetown and deciding to ‘check the house’ that threw it into start contrast with PEI’s rolling green hills, but, right now, dirt is not my friend! I have hit the point of ‘Are we there YET?!’ I can feel the summer winding down and I am ready, yes, so ready to lay sod and call it a day. But there are still many more days to come 😉. Stay tuned.
High Water Cottage 