The Building of a Cottage

- Week 1 - 

Camping in a trailer without plumbing suited me just fine.  We had great views that I never tired of, and the cooking and cleaning was minimal.  After all, I had 3 handy dishwashers!

 







After 10 years of this idyllic arrangement the city brought us sewer lines and we were given the opportunity to build a cottage with real plumbing.  The process began and after several months of applying for variances and permits we got the green light.

On May 22, 2012, Lane and his bobcat arrive.                               Herb, the framer, also arrives.

                                                           Now, the work begins!

                                 The trailer gets moved to the neighbor's orchard behind us.  

Our little storage shed gets rolled from the front of our property to the back overlooking the water's edge.  I am the flagger and communicator between the bobcat at the back of the shed and the two men bracing it at the front.  I am also video-taping at the same time and cause a great deal of confusion as the bobcat can't tell if I am waving him forward or simplyflailing my arms to keep my balance.  

 

Once the property is cleared the hole gets dug.  It must be 6' below the level of the road.  The little bobcat manages to pull itself out of the hole with not an inch to spare on the sides.  The hole fills the 'hole' property.

Long 2x6's outline the rough shape of our cottage.  In the foreground is the garage, then the loggia (an outdoor living room), and the house proper at the far end.   Meanwhile, I am forced to live without electricity or water as everything has been shut down.  Tim Horton's feeds us supper.

The next day Herb and Harry start building the footings.  It is painstaking work and at one point I wander too closely and get recruited to hold the transit stick.  Harry checks the levels against the stick which I can't seem to hold straight, and Herb adjusts the footings accordingly.   There is a great deal of shouting, "Marilyn, hold it straight!" and "Lower!" or "Higher!"  while I begin to worry that the house will be as crooked as the man who walked a crooked mile.    But later Harry hooks up my trailer with electricity and I am happy! 

When the footings are laid and perfectly leveled, the forms arrive. 

The men start setting up the double row of oily, stinky forms.  Everybody gets real dirty and we have to go to a campground to shower in the evening. 

 


Our neighbors think it is very 'cute' that we have a table and chairs set up in the hole.  "Are you checking if you have enough room for the furniture?"  they joke. 







As we began this project so dear to our hearts the Lord began to speak to me through 2 Samuel 7 where David wanted to build a temple for the living God.   God's well-known response was, "Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in?....I will build a house for you!"  God promised that the house he would build for David/Israel would be a 'home of their own' as well as a place of of security and rest from their enemies.  I"m claiming this promise for our little cottage;  may it be a place of rest and security where all who enter find peace and safety.