kettle river article in cottage magazine

8/13/2019 Kettle River Article in Cottage Magazine

1/10COTTAGE PLANNING GUIDE 20148

Nelson Island

REALIZINGAN ISLANDDREAM

By Peter A. Robson

One couple proves that you cango small and have it all

D O M K O R I C


2/10www.cottagemagazine.com9

HEN BRIAN AND JANINE went looking for their dreamproperty, they had four musts: itmust be oceanfront; it must havegreat views of the sunset; it must be remote; and it must be within

three hours travel time from Vancouver. Five yearslater, they not only had their piece of paradisetheyd built a cabin that was an architectural masterpiece.

In 2007, after looking at and rejecting several proper-ties, the couple (weve omitted their last names for pri-vacy) began to wonder if they would ever nd that veryspecial place. However, one day their realtor phonedthem about a property that had just come up for sale, but wasnt yet listed. It was on Nelson Island (threehours north of Vancouver) and the realtor claimed it re-ally did meet all their demands.

Excited by the prospect, they visited the boat-access-only site with the realtor the next day and according to Janine, It was stunning. It was 41 acres in size with1,000 feet of semi-protected oceanfront. The propertywas rocky, steep and forested, but it faced west for thesunsets and had a couple of at areas that could workas building sites. It was remote: all the adjacent proper-ties were similar in size and heavily forested. None had been developed. The couple decided to buy the prop-erty then and there. Two weeks later they held the title.

Wed been looking for a long time and we knew ifthis went on the market, Janine says, it would begone in a heartbeat. Brian adds, We had no ideaabout practicalitywater or anythingbut it didntmatter, wed gure it out.

Camping OutThat was ve years ago. The rst step was a boat thatwould get them back and forth from the nearest commu-nity, Pender Harbour. To this end, they moved their Mac-Gregor 26 sailboat from under the Burrard Street bridgein Vancouver to its new home in Pender. The MacGregorcould make the 10-mile trip quickly, motoring on planewith its 70-hp outboard motor, or take its time with thesails up. It also served as their living space while tied to

W

Local wood, local stone andplenty of glass highlight thisbeautiful waterfront cabin.



the mooring buoy in front of their property.

The second step came a year later whenthe couple managed to nd a second-hand concrete oat, which they anchored behind a small island fronting their prop-erty. It provided more secure moorageand a bit of at space to spread out. How-ever, they still had to scramble up anddown slippery and barnacle-encrustedrocks to get ashore.

The following year they got seriousabout being able to stay on dry land.They built two large decks on at rocks.The lower deck became the outdoor liv-ing space for cooking and lounging andenjoying a wood-red hot tub. To getfresh water, they ran hoses several hun-dred feet up a gully to a at, marshy areaon the property. Drinking water, how-ever, had to be lugged up in bottles fromtheir boat. The upper deck served as theplatform for a canvas cabin tent. Behindthat they built an outhouse with a com-posting toilet. Finally the couple couldmove ashore.

The real game changer came two yearsago when Brian and Janine had a properdock and ramp system fabricated and in-stalled. This meant no more scramblingup the rocks to get from the boat to the

property. Now the MacGregor, or the new

commuter boat (a 16-foot Boston Whaler),could be tied to the dock and the couplecould simply walk ashore.

Many times, owners rush to build acabin, then when its too late, they realizethey should have thought things throughmore carefully. Not so with Brian and Ja-nine. By gradually chipping away at vari-ous projects over the years, the two wereable to take our time to gure out wherewe wanted our cabin to be and how wewanted it to look, Janine explains.

In 2012, the couple decided it was timeto start planning a permanent cabin. Theprocess was sped up a little bit after a black bear tore a chunk out of their tent.That was my excuse, Janine says. For-tunately, by this time, both Janine andBrian had a pretty good idea of whatthey wanted. They were inspired in part by several small 400-sq-ft timber-framecabins that had been built in a nearby bay. They liked the style and the size andthe owners had nothing but good thingsto say about the builder, Kettle RiverTimberworks. Brian and Janine con-tacted the company, liked what they hadto say, and decided to have them buildtheir cabin.

The Design

The design process began in the fall of 2012.Our original plans were quite a bit moremodest, Janine says. Then when we weregetting into it, we began to think differently.The original idea was to build a couple ofone-storey structures around the property, but in the end we were convinced wed be better off going with a single building withtwo storeys. That way thered only be oneroof and one foundation and twice as muchspaceplus wed have a better view overthe water and better sunsets.

Dave Petrina is owner of Kettle RiverTimberworks. During the design process,he showed Janine and Brian the plans fora two-storey, 1,000-sq-ft timber-frame cab-in hed designed but never built on SaltSpring Island. The couple liked the de-sign and decided to use it as the basis fortheir cabin. Working together, the designprocess took up much of the winter. (Seeplans on page 61.)

Kettle Rivers engineer, Joe Miller, waspassionate about traditional timber-frameconstruction. Hed built his own timber-frame home in Michigan, did his PhDanalyzing the failure modes of traditionalmortise and tenon joinery and is consid-ered top in his eld in North America.

(Clockwise from top right). Building the deck that will serve as the cabins foundation/deck and the landing where the helicopter can drop the constructionmaterials. Owners Brian and Janine admire the view from their future bedroom deck. A portable hoist is used to lift one of the timber frame bents intoplace. Its hard to believe that the cabin is only 1,000 sq. ft. wi th another 150 sq. ft. each for the covered balcony and main-oor deck.


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We modelled the cabin in 3D CAD aswe always do, Dave explains. Joe usedour model and performed analyses tosee how the cabin would behave in highwinds or earthquakes. This was impor-tant because of the height of the cabin, itsexposed location on a tall hilltop and thelarge expanses of glass that would replacenormal structural walls that better resistlateral loading from wind and seismic.

The BuildIn early 2013 Kettle River hired a localsawmill in Maple Ridge to cut the timberswhile the prefab SIPs (structural insulatedpanels) were prepared on Richmonds An-nacis Island. Once the timber-frame com-ponents were nished, the next step wasto gather all the nishing materials suchas the roong, window glass, replace,water tank and so on.

The cabin was to be built on a shelf about80 feet up from the water, along what wasessentially a game trail. As such, every sin-gle piece of lumber, the roong, windowsand other pieces would have to be carried,dragged or somehow lifted to the worksite.The most practical way of doing so would be to use a helicopter. Because of this, ev-erything had to be packaged so that eachhelicopter load (sling) weighed between1,800 and 2,200 pounds, depending on theamount of fuel in the helicopters tanks atany given time. As a helicopter burns fuel,its lifting capacity increases, so the heavi-est loads needed to be lifted last. The liftsalso had to be arranged so that the mate-rials needed rst were the handiest. An-other consideration was that the heaviest

materials would need to be closest at handto facilitate moving them on site. To savetime, lifting straps were attached to eachhelicopter load ahead of time.

However, prior to moving the materialsonto the steep site, there had to be a levelarea where the helicopter could drop the building materials. To solve the problem,they decided to build the cabins deck/foundation. The downside was it meant

loading the construction materials on a barge, towing the barge to the site, thenunloading the barge and hauling the ma-terials up to the building site by hand. For-tunately, the foundation did not requiremuch concrete. The structure was built en-tirely on pressure-treated posts mountedon small concrete piers pinned (epoxied)to the exposed rock. This eliminated therequirement to haul a signicant amountof concrete up the hill.

After project leader Matthew Woodingand his crew built the platform, the as-sembled building materials (26 tons), hadto be trucked from Squamish via ferry tothe Sunshine Coast. At Egmont, the ma-terials were ofoaded from the trucks toa barge, then towed to the building site.Once there, the helicopter would lift thematerials off the barge and onto the newplatformas well as every nearby at

piece of rock.With the barge in position, it took lessthan three hourstwo and a half minutesper loadfor the helicopter to transfer the52 lifts to the site. We were all more thana bit excited about it, Brian says, be-cause it was just very cool.

The entire secondoor is given over tothe bedroom. Notethe full-width foldingglass doors.

Note the complex detail in the roof framing, thebed (which is on rollers and can be wheeled ontothe deck) and the impressive stand-alone tub.



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We were really proud of the way it allwent, Dave says. The helicopter crewsaid we nailed it. Theyd never seen a liftplanned out so well. And the ability ofthose helicopter pilots is amazingespe-cially when it comes to avoiding the many big old trees at the site. In the end, nothing

was damaged, no one was hurt.With all the materials on site, the crew began to assemble the timber frame. Itwasnt practical for the six crewmembersto commute daily, so they camped in tents

on site, ate out of coolers and cooked ona Coleman stove. All the food had to beplanned out carefully. Without refrigera-tion, the perishables had to be eaten rst,then the boxed and canned food. All told,the crew was on site for about three of thesix months it took to nish the cabin. They

usually worked 12-hour days for about 10days, then returned home for four days before starting the cycle again. My wifewould joke that I was heading off to mancamp, Dave says. She equated it all with

a vacation. It was work, but it was fun togo out with a group of guys you get alongwith, camp together and work hard. Ittakes a special crew to do that. Not onlydid they have to be good workers, theyhad to share tents throughout the fall.The crew was phenomenal and there was

a very good sense of camaraderie.Despite the long hours and days, thecrew managed the occasional beer or twoaround the re before collapsing into theirtents. However, there were a few otherperks. When it was hot, the crew couldtake a dip at the end of the day, and onetime a pod of killer whales swam rightinto their bay. Weather was always a fac-tor, and while it was mostly good, a coupleof times the crew was weathered in andcouldnt get to or from the jobsite. Severaltimes, Matthew Wooding brought up his34-foot sailboat to the jobsite to providea break from tent living. Overall, Davesays, the crew had a ball. It was a very in-teresting project and a good adventure forall. Brian and Janine were very hands-onthroughout the process and theyd comeup most weekends to check on progressand help out when they could.

The Kettle River Timberworks crew waspretty well done by late fall 2012, but inthe summer of 2013, Brian and Janine werestill putting on the nishing and personal

Pebble-tiled wallsand a striking set of

cantilevered stairshighlight the dining

area and kitchen.

A folding window in the kitchen (left) allows for afunky outdoor nook. Note also the 15-foot foldingglass doors that open the cabin to the outdoors.



touches, such as the interior painting anddecorating, installing handrails and otherdetails.

The TourWalking up from the dock, one is struck by the sturdy, golden, clear-coated timberframes and shingled trimand by thevast expanses of glass. Had the engineer-ing been feasible, Janine would have likedto have glass walls on all four sides. Withall that glass, its hard to believe that thecabin is only 1,000 square feet with an-other 150 square feet each for the covered balcony and main-oor deck.

The open-concept main oor is fronted by a series of sturdy folding glass doorsthat can be congured as a single openingdoor or folded back so that the entire 15-foot entrance to the main oor is open tothe deck. This gives the cabin much moreliving space.

The ooring on the main level is a com- bination of black slate and light-colouredhardwood, while the second oor is acombination of pebble tile and hardwood.A large offset circle is a feature of both

oors. Inside the circle is laminate ooringwhile outside is either slate or tiles. Whensomeone comes in from outside to thekitchen or bathroom, or when someonecomes in from the upstairs balcony, theyare walking on the more durable surfaceinstead of the hardwood. Fitting the woodand stone to a circular edge was tricky, butas Janine (who designed it) puts it, Everytime we suggested something that might be a little crazy, the guys said cool, andthey found a way to do it.

The downstairs replace facing is builtof granite quarried on nearby Hardy Is-land. The stonemason who did the workmade joints so tight that no mortar was vis-ible. As an added bonus, the granite usedin the replace matches the granite of therocks that surround the cabin. The insertis a low-emission Renaissance Rumford, awood replace with a few extras. A hide-away glass guillotine door allows the re to be enjoyed and viewed fully with the doorclosedand makes the replace muchmore efcient by preventing heat from es-caping out the front. The replace also cir-culates heated outside air around the re-

box and vents it into the bedroom above.The kitchen features a small wood-

burning Bakers Oven stove with an ovenunderneath. It can put out enough heat towarm the entire cabin. The countertopsare granite and a propane-powered re-frigerator keeps things cool. Most of thecooking is now done on a barbecue orColeman-type gas stove, but the couplehas plans to build an island on wheelsthat incorporates a gas cooktop that willallow them to cook inside or outside.

Another of the striking features of thecabin is a set of cantilevered stairs. Theyare a bit of an engineering marvel, built by sandwiching the stair treads betweentwo heavy parallel stringers set on thewall on the same angle as the stairs. Notonly are they sturdy, but because they arenot enclosed, they dont take away fromthe rooms open concept. The pebble-tiledwall behind the stairs is impressive andit does a wonderful job of tying the slate,granite, glass and wood elements together.

As per the main oor, the upstairs isopen concept with full-width foldingglass doors that open to integrate the

Please call 1.855.893.3564 or email [email protected] to receive our free planning guide



bedroom and master ensuite with the balcony and the spectacular ocean views.Only the composting toilet is enclosed.

At the outset, Janine wanted to be ableto sleep under the stars. At one point, Ket-tle River offered to put the bed on tracks;however, in the end it was put on rollers.Teak chairs make the balcony a perfectperch to watch those beautiful sunsets.And when open to the outside, bugs arekept out while sleeping by a functionaland stylish white gauze bed net. A beau-tiful white enamel stand-alone tub sits infront of one of the big windows and be-cause there arent any neighbours, thereare no privacy issues. Another large win-dow in the back wall provides views intothe forest behind and, at night, illuminatesthe scene via a powerful LED oodlight.

The SystemsAs with any off-grid property, specialattention must be paid to the electrical

and other systems that most of us whoare connected to the grid take for granted.And because the cabin is built on rock,there were also special septic systemconsiderations. This is where Brian did agreat deal of advance research, guringand planning.

The electrical system is powered by four80-watt solar panels that provide 12-voltDC power for the entire house through a bank of four lead-acid batteries. A Hondagas generator is available to charge bat-teries if required. The 30 or so 12-voltlights in the cabin are all dimmable LEDs,whichwhen all of them are ondrawonly 120 watts, the equivalent of two 60-watt incandescent bulbs. A small, por-table 110-volt inverter is plugged into 12-volt outlets when required to charge cellphones and laptops.

The capacity of the electrical system isdesigned around the need to supply theelectric fans in the Envirolet composting

ush toilet system year round. These low-water-use units drain to a central com-posting unit under the cabin where theliquid goes to a small septic eld whileaerobic digestion breaks down the solids.For aerobic bacteria to work, they requirea constant source of airin this case pro-vided 24/7 by the two fans. The compost-

ing toilets in the original outhouse and thenew cabin work well with the site, whichis on bare granite, terrain that makes itnearly impossible to have regular ushtoilets and a full-sized septic system. Onthe plus side, because the compostingtoilets produce so little liquid the couplewas able to install a small 10- by 30-footsand-mound septic system, in which theseptic pipes are buried in a two-foot-highmound of clean, engineered sand.

For fresh water, Brian and Janine wentwith a rainwater collection system. Wa-ter is collected in the roof gutters, passesthrough leaf diverters on the down-spouts, then past a rst-ush diverterand through a biosand lter into a collec-tion tank. Once that tank is full, water ispumped up to a 2,500-gallon tank severalhundred feet away, on the top of a nearbyhill. The water is then gravity fed backto the house. The system uses electricityonly when the small tanks pump is on.When the big tank is full, it uses no elec-tricity. Hot water is provided by a Boschon-demand propane heater, which workswithout external power. Instead waterpressure turns a small internal paddlethat generates start-up electricity. Brian

The lower deck is home to a wood-red hottub. The gantry and cable system for thecantilevered dock allows it to be lifted freeof the dock when not in use.

The walk up from the dockshows off the sturdy, golden,

clear-coated timber framesand shingle siding.


10/10i 17

says, Even though our solar systemis small, it has turned out to be morethan adequate. Even in the middleof winter, theres always 100 percentavailability.

Reecting BackNow that the cabin is nished, thecouple says they wouldnt changeanything if they had to do it all overagain. This is largely because they hadplenty of time to plan out what theywanted for their property, and becausethey were hands-on with decisions.Brian says, Normally, Kettle Riverdoesnt do projects from start to nish,however, with ours I think they reallyliked the location and were inspired totake on our project. There arent thatmany people willing to live with sixguys in tents while they build a place.They were so easy to work with. Ithink they were quite thrilled that wewere willing to go a little bit more up-scale than normal so they could havesome fun with that. Throughout thewhole process they were very goodabout going back and forth and deal-ing with our ideas on the y. If we hadsomething we wanted, they made itwork. Theyre pretty big on doingthings right and that approach suitedus very well.

Dave Petrina feels much the sameabout the project. It was really a plea-surable process for me and my guys.Brian and Janine are fun people andwere very welcoming to the crew.They paid a lot of money for their cab-in, but what made this project differentwas that the crew felt a real sense ofownership, largely because the own-ers were very involved in the wholeprocess. The crew felt really connectedand it showed in their attention to de-tail. They had their hearts into it andin the end, Janine and Brian made itfeel like it was everyones creation, not just theirs. The crew took a lot of pridein what they built. And of course therewas also the whole adventure aspectof itbuilding on a remote locationand the challenge of getting materi-als and the neat design detailsthatmade it really interesting. Wed muchrather work with people like Brianand Janine who build small and planout the small details than build hugeplaces where we simply cant pay asmuch attention to detail. All thesethings made it special for the guysworking on it.

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kettle river article in cottage magazine

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