Spring/Summer 2014

Backyard makeover

Summer was as it should be: busy and beautiful, with no time for messing on the computer!

One of the projects we worked on was helping this Hamilton resident to revamp his backyard.  He was looking to create a shady area for relaxing beside his beloved vegetable garden.  This pergola does the trick while adding some visual interest to the backyard's design.

Johnny's Secret Garden Patio

Voila! The new back garden patio at Johnny's Coffee is open, as of the last weekend in April. Even the table tops are custom-built. The funky design touches of the café's owner really make it pop. Swing by to Hamilton's Locke Street South neighbourhood for a latte, and let us know what you think of our work.

Finishing touches on the deck

The custom-cut lumber we're using on this deck job is simply stunning.  Everyone keeps thinking it must be Western Red Cedar, but nope, it's Eastern White Cedar from our partner mill on Manitoulin Island.

Just doing the final bits now. Staining the walls, finishing the benches, the pergolas, gates. Almost ready for the big reveal....

Patio season, anyone?

Happy spring!

All winter we've been enjoying our lattes inside by the fire... now that the days are getting longer though, it's time to take our drinks outdoors again (wooHOO!).

To that end, we're about to break ground on a fabulous cedar deck for a certain happenin' new café on Locke Street.  And as soon as it's finished, we look forward to enjoying a coffee on the new patio along with everyone else.

Super psyched that the spring building season is upon us. New season, new growth, new projects. Our schedule is starting to fill up — feel free to get in touch if you're dreaming up ideas for home improvements any time soon.

Shady bench

Here's a sweet option for creating a private little nook.  We designed and built this small pergola bench out of cedar for a Burlington backyard.  The addition of a few throw cushions turned it into the perfect spot to cozy up with a book and a cool drink on a hot summer's day.  Accent lighting makes it glow at night.  Some beefy planters to flank the sides would be a nice finishing touch.

The finished pergola

We just put the finishing touches on this pergola in Dundas.  Our clients are telling us they are already enjoying their new shady nook.

So here are the specs: it's a Custom Cedar Pergola with true 6x8 Beams and 6x6 posts, using custom-made steel plates for fastening, from our local Hamilton steel fabricators.
  

The other key design features include moving wooden blinds, custom lattice, a metal railing and see-through weather-tight roofing, making this Pergola both functional and unique.

What a great way to start the summer, eh?  Happy Canada Day long weekend!

Ooh-la-PERGO-la!

Pergolas are all the rage.  It's easy to understand why — who wouldn't want to create a whole new area of outdoor living space, with the addition of what is effectively a piece of wooden sculpture?

Currently we are building this pergola for a new client in Dundas, Ontario who was looking to create a shady oasis in their backyard. It's custom-designed cedar and is shaping up beautifully.

The design website Apartment Therapy featured similar "Shady Style" in a recent post... check it out for some gorgeous landscape photography. 

   

Spring is Blooming!

We are currently setting up a second shop, in Hamilton, Ontario just a couple hundred kilometres straight south on Highway 6 :)

It'll be a great fit, enabling us to connect southern clients with our sources of exemplary materials on Manitoulin Island.  (This way we get to explore both ends of the stunning Niagara Escarpment, a world biosphere reserve.)  Stay tuned for details.

Rustic Furniture using salvaged lumber

Over the winter we were experimenting with furniture design, using some of the sweet lumber we've salvaged on Manitoulin Island.

We're pretty excited about the results, and so are our clients!  We built a queen-sized bed frame for one.   The daybed/shelving unit pictured here was designed for another client on Lake Manitou.  There are so many interesting possibilities for working with this kind of unique material — we can't wait to tackle more projects like this.

Bunking in style

This bunkie was designed with a 2nd-storey loft for extra sleeping space.  The use of Manitoulin cedar, along with refurbished doors and windows, gives the building a warm, unique character as though it's already experienced an interesting history.

Storage doesn't have to be boring

Our latest project was this charming storage building for a client on Honora Bay.

The design is a 12x8 foot garden shed with a gabled roof.  It is constructed of Manitoulin cedar, and features beveled siding, board-and-batten gables, and refurbished windows.

Cedar cabana

Check out the new design we're currently working on.  It's a cabin with a Holland Gable roof, board-and-batten siding, and refurbished windows and double doors.  If you look closely, the central ridge beam is one of the pieces we reclaimed recently from the Kagawong barn, dating back to the 1890s.  This style of building has endless possibilities: it would function great as a cabana, studio, or bunkie.

Reclaiming buildings

Recently an old livery barn was torn down on the historic waterfront of our town, Kagawong.  The gorgeous building dated to about 1890.  Its new owners were hoping to save the exterior structure for their new cottage.  It proved unsalvageable as a whole, but they were able to save some intact pieces to use in the new construction.  Luckily we happened to walk by after the demolition, and the owner let us take a bunch of dismantled timbers including posts, beams, and one bent.  We are already daydreaming about how to incorporate this historical wood (douglas fir, pine and eastern white cedar) into some new projects. 

Salvaging old building materials is something we're so excited about!  Sadly we don't have a picture of the Kagawong barn while it was still standing.  The photo above is typical of the intriguing, weathered buildings that dot the island.  We admired this one on a recent weekend drive near Tehkummah.

Manitoulin Market Place

We just finished building the kiosk office for the Manitoulin Market Place, the new cooperative of artisans and cottage industries housed on Gore Bay's waterfront.  The cabin fits perfectly with the rustic style of the surrounding building, the impressive Red Roof Pavilion.

Stop by to check it out, while you visit the Farmer's Market (friday mornings) or grab a treat at the Ooh Deer! ice cream parlour inside.

2011 Building Season: packages + cedar!

Now that the island has finally thawed after a long winter, we are ramping up for the coming building season.  Please contact us for information about shed and cabin designs/pricing for 2011.

Exciting news for this year — we will now be distributing the cedar products of Manitoulin Cedar Fence, from a mill on Wikwemikong.  They offer high quality decking, fencing and panelling, with custom cuts available.

Our shed packages will also be available through Castle in M'Chigeeng.

Bird observation blind

This winter we built an observation blind at the Gore Bay Airport for the Friends of Misery Bay.  It was designed for use by naturalists who visit the island every April to view the Sharp-tailed Grouse, a fascinating bird species that breeds here.  

 

photo: Royal Alberta Museum

At dawn, birders hike out to witness the mating displays at a "lek", a mating arena in the grassy vegetation where males dance and compete for female attention.

 

 photo: Dave Millsom

This project was especially exciting for us because we built it entirely from recycled/left over materials.  A double win for conservation!

Keeping cozy

For this coming winter, we are in the process of building a wood shed for a client on Lake Kagawong.  Here's the framing in progress.

North Channel vistas

This summer we built a cedar deck to finish a new bunkie on Barrie Island, providing a great vantage point to the North Channel.  We used what we call “eco-lumber”, selectively harvested and milled on Manitoulin.

 

Shed design packages

Thanks to the staff at Castle Building Centre in M’Chigeeng for carrying our garden shed designs.  These storage products are available as packages that we install on your site, or as do-it-yourself kits.