Constructing a glass and steel cottage ... Westlakebridge

10-10-10

2010-10-10T04:10:00.002-04:00

... Westlakebridge construction now considered completed.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving (in Canada).

:-)

Leaves

2010-10-03T04:01:00.000-04:00

... on the roof

Green

2010-09-13T15:58:00.001-04:00

Just green ... and glass and water.

End of summer

2010-09-12T15:52:00.001-04:00

Quite a while since I've posted something.

Stairs

2010-04-05T03:30:00.001-04:00

From behind the stairs that is.

Easter cupcakes

2010-04-04T03:13:00.000-04:00

Looks like Martha Stewart found her way to Westlakebridge also ;-)

One more week ...

2010-03-28T16:38:00.002-04:00

... to the long Easter weekend.

The daffodils are blooming already.

Lateral view

2010-02-21T11:08:00.001-05:00

... of the front garden.

Landscaping

2010-01-25T16:47:00.003-05:00

We've started laying out the front garden.

If it doesn't start freezing again, works will continue this week.

By next weekend things should have moved forward quite a bit.

Season's greetings

2010-01-03T16:06:00.002-05:00

Spent our first New Year's eve at Westlakebridge in excellent company.

Snow at sunset

2009-12-20T05:11:00.003-05:00

... and expecting more snow to fall over the next 48 hours.

Corten in the snow

2009-12-19T05:18:00.001-05:00

If (ever) Google streetview would pass by, this is what it would find.

Pines reflected

2009-11-22T08:10:00.001-05:00

... and a view of our newly installed stairs.

Assorted colors

2009-11-08T15:14:00.002-05:00

Mushrooms, ferns and Cor-ten steel

Yellow and rust

2009-11-02T16:07:00.005-05:00

Beeches turned canary yellow.

Makes up for a nice backdrop for the Cor-ten walls.

Still waiting for the stairs to be delivered.

On a misty morning

2009-10-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

First signs of automn.

Flowers ...

2009-10-10T06:54:00.003-04:00

... on the dinner table. The curtains are hanging and the sofa has arrived as well.

After the rain

2009-10-09T07:06:00.002-04:00

The driest summer in 27 years is over.

Had some 50mm of rain over the past 24h.

In between rainshowers, the sun broke through and created some pretty shadow bands.

Green

2009-08-30T16:21:00.002-04:00

Another productive weekend.

Stripes

2009-08-19T17:12:00.003-04:00

Hope to have the terrace finished this week and the curtains delivered before the end of the month.

Sleeping ...

2009-07-27T01:37:00.003-04:00

... in the "master bedroom" just feels like sleeping outdoors.

Interior view 2

2009-06-22T17:18:00.005-04:00

Finished painting. Finally. Thought we would never get there.

And of course we need to put another dining table and chairs.

Mirror

2009-06-21T17:00:00.001-04:00

On a windless night, the water of the pond acts as a perfect mirror.

The lawn

2009-06-19T16:47:00.003-04:00

Looks like most of the grass seed did germinate, despite the dry weather.

Noticed the ducks ?

My wife's colleagues thought we needed some more wildlife in the pond. Thanks guys.

Wallpaper

2009-06-11T15:37:00.002-04:00

Spent two entire weekends already covering the walls and painting.

More to go.

Upstairs

2009-05-18T16:34:00.002-04:00

Just had a marmoleum flooring done on the mezzanine.

Cor-ten steel - one year later

2009-05-11T16:47:00.004-04:00

The Cor-ten steel façade is just over one year old now. To see how the weathering has evolved, have a look at day 1 and day 23.

Meanwhile we're still waiting for the grass seed to germinate. Need some rain followed by a few warm days.

Sowing grass seed

2009-05-03T07:19:00.004-04:00

Spent another weekend pulverizing, levelling, raking, sowing, raking again and rolling.

Canadian breakfast at Westlakebridge

2009-04-26T13:55:00.004-04:00

Second weekend of groundworks - the edge of the pond has been completely stabilized, involving two truckloads of soil and several tons of lava.

Saturday we kicked off with a real nice Canadian breakfast.

The edge

2009-04-21T15:42:00.005-04:00

Stabilizing the edge of the pond : rolling out HDPE nets (Geocells) and filling these up with soil and lava. We had one side done by an excavator. The other sides had to be done by hand using wheelbarrows. A hell of a job.

Reflections 2

2009-04-11T15:57:00.003-04:00

Blooming June berries reflect in the newly installed kitchen back panel.

Daylight saving time

2009-03-29T15:10:00.006-04:00

Switched to DST today.

Making plans for levelling the terrain and doing a bit of landscaping

Light ...

2009-02-15T14:14:00.003-05:00

... at the end of the tunnel.

Spots have been installed.

We also have a kitchen now.

And a pretty steep stairway.

Even a shower and a toilet.

It's really starting to look like a house to live in.

Winter Wonderland

2009-01-13T18:02:00.001-05:00

The snow has gone and it started raining again.
Just trying to hold on to the real winter feeling for a short while.

It stopped freezing ...

2009-01-12T17:12:00.005-05:00

... yet here's another winter landscape.

Click on the picture to zoom in.

Interior view

2009-01-11T17:51:00.000-05:00

Partition walls have been constructed. Awaiting a layer of paint.

Corten steel in the snow

2009-01-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

Next week the kitchen will be installed.
Meanwhile we're enjoying a few days of Canadian-like winter.
Hope our water conducts aren't frozen.

Constructing the partition walls

2008-12-07T12:43:00.005-05:00

Partition walls are being constructed to create small alcoves for kitchen, bathroom and storage, making the most of each square meter.

Vibrant colors

2008-10-11T13:19:00.002-04:00

Thought I'd let you enjoy a fall color view.

Little progress to report - just a couple of small things, nothing worth mentioning really.

Three pipes

2008-09-21T16:31:00.002-04:00

Three cable pipes have been installed for water, power and telecom.

Sewage treatment

2008-09-20T16:21:00.001-04:00

As there is no sewage network in the area, we need to take care of full sewage treatment ourselves. And being located close to a nature reserve and with the pond close-by, this is to be taken seriously.

Preliminary acceptance

2008-09-19T16:15:00.002-04:00

Friday we signed for preliminary acceptance. The steel construction has finally been completed, - except for some minor details -.

It's now three months ...

2008-07-06T16:30:00.003-04:00

... since the Cor-ten steel plates were mounted.

Meanwhile the rainwater tank and the domestic sewage treatment plant have been installed.

Just waiting for some final details to be sorted out, before we shift focus to the interior.

It took a while ...

2008-06-16T14:30:00.005-04:00

... but the Cor-ten steel walls (and doors) are finished.

Next step : the installation of a domestice sewage treatment plant.

Cor-ten steel (day 57)

2008-05-31T15:41:00.006-04:00

Almost 2 months now, since the first Cor-ten steel plates were mounted.

To see how the weathering evolves, have a look at day 1 and day 23.

Or for the latest views, you can start here.

A view from the bridge

2008-05-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

While we're still waiting for the Cor-Ten steel walls to be finished, here's a fish-eye view from inside out (stitched using 15 pictures)

Cornered

2008-05-25T05:07:00.001-04:00

That's about the overall feeling the last few weeks while waiting for the next load of Cor-ten steel to arrive.

This coming week things should be moving again.

One year

2008-05-14T01:00:00.000-04:00

Exactly one year ago, groundworks kicked off. We're definitely not going to win the prize for the fastest construction ever.

Meanwhile, we're glad that the fifth and final door was finally installed last Friday. Our cottage is now windproof and doors are locked - finally.

Inside, the screed floor was covered with a Bolidtop flooring system and the fireplace was installed.

Orange

2008-04-28T16:22:00.006-04:00

The Cor-ten steel wall - 23 days old - glows with orange tones in sunlight.

Remember what the wall looked like, just three weeks ago .

Cor-ten steel (day 23)

2008-04-27T16:15:00.006-04:00

Some of you asked for more recent pictures of the Cor-ten steel wall, to follow the effects of weathering over time.

You may want to compare this picture with the situation on day one .

Or the view one month later.

And for the latest views, browse thru here.

Royal ferns unrolling their stems

2008-04-26T16:32:00.000-04:00

While in the back, preparations are being made to apply a two component flooring system inside.

Shower with no water

2008-04-21T14:49:00.004-04:00

Gradually starting with the interior furnishing, although we're still waiting for the outside to be finished.

Mid April

2008-04-14T15:32:00.004-04:00

The inside unit of our air-to-water heat pump has been installed last week. (No decent picture taken yet.) Just need to test the system one of these days.

Further on, it's waiting again until the next load of Cor-ten steel arrives to finish the outer wall covering.

Cor-ten steel (day three)

2008-04-06T15:08:00.001-04:00

Sunday late afternoon.

Two days of weekend and two full days of rusting already.

Passer-by

2008-04-05T15:54:00.005-04:00

Passer-by (interested): What will you guys be putting against these plates ?

Me: Nothing.

P-b (still interested): I see ... What colour will you then paint it ?

Me: We're not painting it. It stays like this.

P-b (worried now): I see ... Won't it then rust quickly ?

Me: It's Cor-ten steel. It's supposed to rust.

P-b (in disbelief): Ah ... Interesting.

Cor-ten steel (day one)

2008-04-04T15:30:00.004-04:00

Also known as “weathering steel” was originally developed from a group of alloy steels which eliminate the need for finishing or painting. The product develops a thin skin of rust which actually protects the inner layers of steel from the elements. This skin continues to rust and weather over time and achieves different appearances depending on the environment, location and exposure.

Let the weathering begin.

Working hard ...

2008-04-03T15:48:00.003-04:00

... to get the second row of Cor-ten steel plates in place.
Two more rows to go.

Another Christo project ?

2008-04-02T03:24:00.000-04:00

Or just an air and vapour barrier.

Blank wall - insulated

2008-03-31T16:25:00.002-04:00

Lots of action today.

And now you know where all the rockwool goes.

Blank wall

2008-03-30T14:38:00.000-04:00

Have not shown a lot of pictures of the façade yet. But here's one showing the blank wall, as it was up to this weekend.

Rockwool

2008-03-29T14:26:00.001-04:00

With all that rockwool that was delivered last Friday, our cottage looks more like a distribution depot for insulation materials.

On-site engineering

2008-03-28T15:03:00.005-04:00

Today rain-pipes were attached to the front wall. And seen the amount of rain we received last few weeks, it clearly required quite some maths.

Waiting for the Corten-steel

2008-03-24T16:44:00.005-04:00

Hopefully the last view before the Corten-steel sheets arrive.

Stay tuned for further updates by this coming weekend.

Glass, steel and wood anemone

2008-03-23T16:25:00.000-04:00

Wood anemones are blooming.

June Berries in March

2008-03-21T15:59:00.002-04:00

Steely rain, snow, a sunray or two and some signs that spring is in the air. But no progress other than that.

Sand-cement screed

2008-03-08T07:06:00.001-05:00

And here's the result of the screeding.

The floor now needs to rest and dry for several weeks.

Screeding in progress

2008-03-07T07:01:00.002-05:00

This Friday, the floor heating tubes got burried under a sand-cement screed.

The Slow Home

2008-03-02T15:44:00.009-05:00

While waiting for the works to continue, I ran into The Slow Home. Next to an interesting philosophy to stay away from cookie cutter houses, it provides some nice views of what modern architecture has to offer - especially in the area of residential housing.

And of course : Any resemblance of the title of this blogpost with existing situations is pure coincidence and exists only in the imagination of the reader.

Red 'n Blue

2008-02-23T15:55:00.001-05:00

Self-explanatory I would say.

Nature reserve

2008-02-11T16:56:00.004-05:00

Temperatures reaching an all-time high of 14°C for early Feb.

Ideal weather for another walk in the nature reserve close to our cottage-to-be.

More pictures here

Air to water heat pump

2008-01-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

This is where all 16 tubes come together to get connected to the air to water heat pump.

Warm in winter

2008-01-19T15:20:00.000-05:00

The Polyurethane foam has been covered by several hundreds of meters of tube that make out the warm water underfloor heating system.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T15:35:00.006-05:00

Jan 2008 :

We went to order the kitchen.

No progress other than that.

Jan 2009 :

Lots of things have changed since.

Corten-steel has been applied to the exterior.

Interior partition walls have been finished.

Even the kitchen has finally been installed.

Take a look for yourself : Westlakebridge now

Merry Xmas ...

2007-12-22T12:16:00.000-05:00

... and hopefully a finished cabin in 2008.

Man on the moon

2007-12-08T11:22:00.002-05:00

Spraying layers of polyurethane foam to insulate the floor.

First cables

2007-12-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

... have been installed.
And indeed, it was a last minute decision to plan for 2 extra sockets in the floor.

Let the sun shine in ...

2007-12-04T15:29:00.001-05:00

Spent part of Saturday cleaning up, in anticipation of the insulation works.

Saturday at noon

2007-12-02T15:04:00.001-05:00

Looks almost finished now.
But there's still a lot more to do.
Thumbs up for more progress before Xmas.

Glass, glass, glass

2007-12-01T14:30:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week - after almost 6 weeks of no progress at all - the windows were mounted. Finally.

And yes, all pictures so far were made with this little Sony compact camera.

Doors Open Westlakebridge

2007-10-18T12:36:00.000-04:00

Drove by today, while they were mounting one of the doors.

Height worker

2007-10-15T16:10:00.001-04:00

Notice the height worker appearing just above the roof.
This week the glass curtain walls will also be prepared.
In the mean time, just enjoy another fall colour view.

And some progress there is ...

2007-10-15T15:16:00.000-04:00

The aluminium profiles were mounted against the steel frames on the roof.

Goor-Asbroek

2007-10-14T15:16:00.001-04:00

Went for a nice automn walk in the nearby nature reserve.

Through the roof

2007-10-07T03:06:00.000-04:00

We've been promised major progress for next week. Stay tuned.

Fall colour report

2007-10-05T02:59:00.002-04:00

The north-western region of the province is offering some wonderful colour with an 80% colour change in the Kenora region featuring subdued colours of yellow and orange with some pockets of vibrant red. (From the Ontario "Yours to Discover"
Fall Colour Report - Oct 5, 2007) - It's just that this isn't Kenora.

Fly agaric

2007-10-04T03:18:00.000-04:00

More signs of automn.

June Berries

2007-09-30T13:31:00.001-04:00

Only the fall colours of the June Berries in the back really progressed nicely this week.

Pump and circumstances

2007-09-23T11:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend the pond was emptied once more to remove the pump.
Here's what the pump looked like after a six month stay in the mud at the bottom of the pond.

The roof

2007-09-22T16:20:00.000-04:00

The roof has been completed now with insulation, roofing and everything.

Orange

2007-09-20T11:59:00.000-04:00

Ran into these tiny little mushrooms, popping up from nowhere. No idea what they are called.

More steeldeck

2007-09-14T17:20:00.000-04:00

No progress this week.
Hope to see things moving again next week.

Steeldeck roof

2007-09-06T15:29:00.001-04:00

Today the steeldeck roof was installed and the walls were finished.

Climbing the wall

2007-09-05T16:37:00.000-04:00

It took just one day to attach the steeldeck shell (I think that's what it's called) to the frame.

Bridge or ... ?

2007-09-01T16:03:00.001-04:00

Is it a bridge or a tunnel ?
Hard to tell from this picture.

Noticed the first leaves have fallen. Automn is approaching.

Time for the construction works to continue as I'm running out of pictures again.

Purple

2007-08-27T16:45:00.000-04:00

Aquatic plants are growing at a fast pace since the pond was cleansed and filled again.

The old and the new

2007-08-26T15:26:00.000-04:00

One week now since the concrete slab was poured.
Next steps: the walls and the windows.

Stitched 18 pictures together to create this 180° panoramic view.

Concrete

2007-08-18T09:11:00.000-04:00

Holidays are over. Last week the concrete slab was finished.

Reflections

2007-08-11T16:19:00.001-04:00

A sunny Saturday.
The pond has cleared up thanks to the heavy rainfall of last week.

Had a meeting with our architect today, to discuss status and next steps.

To be continued ...

2007-08-04T07:09:00.000-04:00

Waiting for the construction works to re-start after the summer holidays.

The South face

2007-07-28T14:05:00.001-04:00

A view at the South side. Stitched 10 pictures together.

Next week, works will continue.