The owners had spent two decades looking at mid-century cottages in the Kawarthas and decided they wanted to build one rather than restore one. The brief was specific: flat roofs, generous glazing on three elevations, a single-loaded plan that put every habitable room on the lake side.
A modern cottage kawartha lakes builds on flat roofs is a structural and waterproofing problem before it is an aesthetic one. We worked with the engineer on a Douglas fir post-and-beam structure with a deep low-slope EPDM membrane assembly; the membrane has a 30-year manufacturer warranty and a tapered insulation package to ensure positive drainage. The post-and-beam frame is exposed throughout the interior, every connection is hand-cut, every plate is letter-stamped by the timber framer.
Materials were specified for durability and provenance. Locally milled cedar siding. Bluestone hearth. Continuous concrete floors poured over hydronic tubing. Cabinetry in white oak, finished on site. The lighting designer's brief asked for the lake to read brighter than the rooms after sunset; we ran that against the glazing schedule for two months.
The cottage is now in its third season. Owners are full-time five months of the year and weekend the rest. Build came in on schedule and inside budget, the budget itself was tracked weekly and shared in full.
This is the build we send people to when they ask whether a modern cottage works on a Kawartha lot.
Spec.
- 01Douglas fir post-and-beam timber frame
- 02Cedar siding (locally milled)
- 03EPDM low-slope membrane roof
- 04White oak cabinetry
- 05Polished concrete floors with hydronic heat
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On site, on the lake.
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