Crude Cape Cod 3

Quickly messed around with the dimensions of the plan – made the overall structure wider and shortened the length by a few feet. As well, added some dormers to help make up for lost space, as well as kept the roofline low over the porch in order to avoid a ‘salt-box’ face. Looks like a typical cottage...

Sidings

Conscious of the fact that architectural forms can be undermined by their materials, we decided to look into the cost of exterior finishes and create a cost-comparison. At this stage we have no idea what sort of cottage we’re going to build, just that the cost has to be kept to a minimum, and since we are trying to minimise cost, it makes sense to determine what affordable and base our design on these findings.

There wasn’t a whole lot of information online about siding materials and their costs; many sites have information dedicated to only one particular finish, so in terms of a complete comparison there were really no resources available. Despite this, we managed to find enough information to compile the following list. These projected costs include labour (which we don’t have to consider as we are doing the work ourselves) so they’re not accurate for bottom line price comparison.

Aluminium: $1.50 - 3.00 sq.ft.
Brick: $5.00 - 10.00 sq.ft.
Cedar Shingles: $2.40 - 3.00 sq.ft.
Stone: $18.00 - 30.00 sq.ft.
Stucco: $5.00 - 9.00 sq.ft.
Vinyl: $1.50 - 3.00 sq.ft.
Wood Clapboard / Board and Baton: $1.50 - 4.00 sq.ft.

Aluminium and vinyl are the cheapest sidings available, and have the advantage of being relatively easy to install. Unfortunately, despite the great product improvements these two industries have made in the recent years, we simply do not like the look of either of these sidings. Ideally, we would sheath our cottage in cedar shingles. Our finding indicated that cedar is more expensive; however it’s also more difficult to install which undoubtedly adds to its cost.

Crude Cape Cod 2

We decided to improve upon the crude Cape Cod design, dressing up the exterior with some period architectural elements. The result doesn’t look very Cape-Cod-like – just cottage like. We did catch ourselves falling into a bit of a trap; we weren’t thinking about the cost of the features we were adding. The larger widows, and cedar shake siding may look nice, but they both cost more.

Time to get some hard numbers on the costs of different siding materials…

The Crude Cape Cod

A few days of holiday proved to be the perfect catalyst for drawing a rough draft of a possible cottage design. The floor plan is pretty much identical to the original taken from coolhouseplans.com, however we changed the exterior styling extensively. Most notably, we changed to the plan from 2 to 1 ½ stories, and tried to create a Cape Cod inspired exterior. As we didn’t have any reference materials handy, our rendition of the Cape Cod style is a bit off. However, the essence is there and we are fairly happy with this rough draft.

Reading the results

With a number of plans to draw inspiration from, we needed to set some criteria for how we would categorically short-list the results. Our first condition was how the exterior structure looked. We wanted our cottage to blend somewhat with the surroundings – we wanted it to match buildings in the area, meaning that the architectural style would need to echo the aesthetics of the early to late Victorian era, the Colonial era, or perhaps the ‘cape cod’ style. While some of these options may not seem very ‘cottage-like’, the reality was that as we were looking to now build a home and not a ‘cottage’, we might as well go for a style that we liked and echoed our neighbor’s designs.

Our second criterion was floor plan. Ideally we wanted to have the bedrooms on the second story of the house, and we wanted a kitchen that allowed for some form of entertaining. We get together with friends often, and the ability to casually entertain without disturbing sleeping children is a big priority. As well, we cook a lot, and the kitchen is a focal point of our current home, and we wanted to preserve this focus in the new building.

Finally, we wanted to ensure that the design allowed for efficient building practice, and was cost effective. An example of this is found in a plan that has a first and second floor with similar square footage. A second floor that has same footprint as the first means that the foundation has the smallest possible perimeter and the roof’s overall area is reduced. Likewise, plans that include many knock-outs or extravagant window arrangements add to overall cost, so those designs that gained little in function at the expense of form were deemed unfavorable.

In the end, we decided that plan #79-122 was the most appropriate for our needs. It’s not perfect, however it does offer some exciting possibilities, and we felt that it would be a good staring point.

(Out of respect to the copyright statutes placed on the images at coolhouseplans.com, I haven’t included the image here, but I will do so once I have redrawn it.)

I am not an architect

Over the years I have had the opportunity to help others with their additions, as well as having renovated my own home extensively. This has given me great insight into basic construction, design considerations, building codes, and architectural trends. With that, I must say, the current state of architecture is poor. This is not a slight on architects; this is a slight on builders. There was a time where architects 'designed' and builders 'built'. Nowadays, current land development trends have created a market wherein builders design houses based on cost, and consumers pick the design they hate the least.

The current designs offered by developers are a mish-mash of varying architectural styles augmented with ‘classy’ features such as space eating foyers, reading nooks, and anything else that suggests opulence at the expense of function. The present-day multi-level, multi-roofed designs are like the flats from a western movie with over-designed faces, and afterthought backs. The biggest drawback to these designs is their wasted space. I live in a 120+ year old house and there isn’t a wasted inch. Our previous home, which was designed by a builder, had maddening space inefficiencies. The design may have looked good on paper, but when you tried to actually live in the space, you quickly realized the vast shortcomings of the layout.

This doesn’t mean I have all the answers. I’ve tried to design a house several times and have quit in frustration. I simply haven’t the experience know how to design what I want.

However, all is not lost…

There are a number of websites online that offer an endless supply of databased designs that are searchable by feature and square-footage. So with a virtual smorgasborg of options available to me, I set out our wish list:

• 1 ½ - 2 stories
• 1000+ square feet
• 3 bedrooms
• 1 ½ bathrooms
  

The first site I visited, www.globalhouseplans.com, returned 127 results... More to come!

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…

About a year ago we got a tip on a property and decided to research it more thoroughly. In a matter of minutes, we learned enough to dissuade us from entertaining a purchase, while learning some hard facts that outlined what we could and could not do with a vacant lot if we decided to purchase.

We learned that purchasing a lot did not necessarily guarantee that we could build a structure (due to environmental limitations etc.), and that it was ‘illegal’ to camp on a vacant lot. In order to camp or park a trailer on a lot, lot owners need a valid building permit, and in order to obtain a valid building permit the lot needed a well. As well, a building permit will only be issued for a structure that satisfies the provincial building code, as well as local municipal bylaw which stipulated that no residential structure could be less then 1000 square feet.

In essence, what this meant is that we would need to design a ‘home’ that was 1000 square feet or more, included a half or full basement, was fully serviced with a well and septic bed, and satisfied the local building code – meaning that there could be no cost-saving short-cuts in the construction. As well, this meant that any offer we put on a lot would have to be conditional on a building permit, which would mean that we would need to have blueprints ready for submission, and would need to be ready to build shortly after purchasing the lot – or risk allowing the permit to expire and perhaps lose the chance to build.

This hurdle is really the kill-joy of the entire dream.

I guess we imagined that if we were able to purchase a lot, we could camp on it for a few years while we saved up the money to build the ‘bunkie’, and over the years, via renovation and addition, slowly create the ultimate cottage – just as our forefathers did for previous generations. The reality is that there is no-such-thing as a cottage, only a new home, so we best change our mind-set and deal with the reality.

Givens and Druthers

All projects need a wish list – that magical set of priorities that help shape the decision making process, temper our resolve, and remind us as to why we started this process in the first place…

The Givens and Druthers is the list of things that contrast what we would like, with what we are willing to live with.

The Givens

• We would like to design / build a cottage
• We would like it to have a waterfront view
• We would like to the cottage to be within three hours of our home
• We don’t want to drive through the city to reach our cottage
• We want enough bedrooms for each of the kids
  

The Druthers

• We have (very) limited finances
• We would buy an existing cottage if it proved to be the only option
• We would be willing to travel 15 min to reach water or consider a remote cabin-in-the-woods setting
• Would settle for shared sleeping quarters
  

The essence of each of the lists illustrate that our biggest hurdle is finances. The hope is that through careful research and planning we will be able to significantly reduce the overall cost of the project, which in turn will give us a greater ability to accomplish the goals set-out in the ‘givens’ list.

Planning our cottage

For the last few years, we have often talked of building a cottage. We have been fortunate enough to make use of a family cottage, and every year for one week we have always enjoyed the ability to annually escape our day to day lives and embrace a simpler lifestyle. However, in time the cottage will no longer be in our family and we will be looking for an alternate vacationing spot.

The truth is, we likely can’t afford a cottage – we haven’t an extravagant household income, and times are changing. Gone are the days of building a bunkie on a remote lot; cottages are now becoming a vogue symbol of wealth among the elite. As a result, those families with large incomes are buying up the remaining cottages / lots, tearing down the existing dwellings and building fantasy homes. In turn, the local municipalities are much more vigilant about permits and building codes, and local contractors are cashing in on the boom, charging (a deserved) premium for new construction. The end result is that the average family simply cannot afford the cottage of old.

So why consider it?

Despite these hurdles, we feel that until we have exhausted all of our options we shouldn’t give up on our dream. We really don’t know what it costs to build a cottage – only what others estimate. There is no cost in planning or researching, and if an opportunity did arise – be it a cheap lot or some unexpected monies etc., we want to be ready. Likewise, it’s fun to dream. Call it a hobby or a blind obsession, but either way, until the dream is dead we will enjoy trying to eek out a way to make our plans a reality.

Therefore, we’ve started this site to document our research. It’s far easier to keep all our notes in one place, and if others can offer suggestions, or gain any insight into their own goals via our writings, all the better.

Thanks for your time.