Chapter 3: Adirondack Cottage on the Lake Framing, Porches, Roofing

Adirondack Lake Cottage - view from across the lake

Great Room feature window bump out on toward lake

The Adirondack Cottage on the Lake I designed is now enclosed from the weather. The roof is on, the walls have their insulated sheathing and windows installed, and some temporary doors are installed. Porch and deck floors have been framed and one can really see the entire massing of the building and get the feeling for all the rooms - interior and exterior. It looks and feels fantastic!

I am pleased by how connected each room feels to the lake in particular, and the outdoors in general and how the balcony bridge and soaring feature window really make the interior unique the moment you step through the front door. My layout of windows, glass doors, transoms, and outdoor decks/porches, as well as the placement on the site, really maximized this water-front property. The house totally takes advantage of it's location.

View from Great Room back toward Kitchen and Balcony above

  Other than the master bedroom suite tucked to one side of the floor plan behind the fireplace, most of the first floor area is open. The great room is the focus with many, many windows reaching upward toward the roof, and fireplace, and a high ceiling with a balcony looking over into it. The kitchen and dining spaces are in view, and a first floor office/bedroom is also very visible, with glass French doors as it's entry.

Glass doors in Dining Room to the deck

Bridge Balcony 

The second floor rooms and balcony are tucked up into the roof. This helped the massing of the home fit in with its petite neighbors a bit better. Windows pop up in dormers from the roof and the bridge balcony allows one to be high up with views down into the foyer, the great room, and out the many lake side windows toward the water.

Front Porch - dormers above (temporary door)

View from Bridge Balcony down into Entry Foyer

Lake Side Elevation

Front/ Street view with protected existing tree

Glass doors/windows in Master Bedroom have small roof overhang

To read the previous post on this project click on the link below:
cwb-architect.blogspot.com/chapter2-adirondackcottageonlake

Adirondack Cottage on the Lake: Part 1

(Frozen) Lake View from Property

Let's call this project 'Adirondack Cottage on the Lake'. Construction began this winter after demolition of the existing 50s ranch home on the property. In future posts, I'll discuss the design- a refined Adirondack style featuring wood beams, stone details, and shingle siding that focuses toward the lake with a special glass feature in the double-height living room. We'll also get into how we decided to lay out the different indoor and outdoor "rooms" in relation to each other and the site, as well as the environmental review process, and the decisions that were made to remove the existing home from the property and start fresh and how the town was glad we did.

But for now let's just look at COLD weather, blue sky photos of the crew beginning to form the basic shape of this new one-and-a-half-story home aside the frozen lake.

Foundation and First Floor Framing - View from Lake

Foundation and First Floor Framing -View from Street

First Floor Exterior Wall Studs in Place (tree in front yard saved!)

Wall Sheathing and 2nd Floor Walls

Roof Rafters and Beams

Now that they are beginning to construct roofs, it will start looking more like the drawings soon...

Modern Farmhouse- Mechanicals & Roofing

Metal Roofing, Fascias, and Drip Edge being installed

Work continues at the New House After a Fire. Roof installation is underway along with the white fascia boards and drip edge all around the edge of the roof plane. (see the coils of metal?) The back deck - which is expansively large and accessed by 3 doors in 3 rooms - has been built, along with its railing and stair. The balconies have their decking, but don't yet have their railing. Check out the fantastic mountain view and you can see why we have these outdoor spaces.

Deck with mountain view

Balcony off back bedrooms toward view

Inside, the plumbers and electricians have been busy installing wiring, supply and drain pipes, and duct work for heating and cooling. Not pretty stuff, but we can all agree, super valuable! Some photos of their work before it all gets covered up by wall board:

Supply and Return Air Ducts and Boxes/Wiring

Bathroom Water Piping: Red/hot & Blue/cold Supply and White Drains

Air Sealing (Orange Spray Foam) around all holes

Framing for Fireplace & Hearth with Blocking for TV above

New House After a Fire - Framing

Tilting Up The Back Kitchen Wall

Framing is complete at The New House After a Fire including the front porch and the future room over the garage. Here are some photos of the progression of first floor deck framing and then first floor walls, then second floor deck framing, then second floor walls, and then trusses, roofs and dormer.

First Wall Up in Place at Gable End

Back view with 1st Floor Exterior Walls in Place

You can see the cantilevered balconies jutting out the back of 3 of the bedrooms on the southwest. The windows have been installed and you can see the higher ceiling dining room and kitchen has transoms above the glass door and kitchen sink feature window. They were framing the back deck yesterday - and then it will be time for interior and exterior finishes.

Front View now with Mud Room and Garage begun on left

Beautiful Exposed Trusses ready to be installed in Kitchen

Timber Trusses over Kitchen and Dining

Kitchen Sink Windows

Eating Nook Corner Windows

Two Car Attached Garage

Future Room Over the Garage

Lots of windows toward the back view from the Master Bathroom

View from Second Floor overlooking into Foyer Entry

Back (Southwest) View of House

Back View showing Garage and Mud Room Additions

Front View of House

Porches for the House on the Lake

The work at the family house on the lake is continuing with the framing inspection complete and now roofing and siding being applied and porch floors and roofs built.

Framed New Screened Porch

This house is all about the continuity of the family that has owned it and used it - first as a full time residence of grandparents starting in the 1920s - and now as a seasonal gathering place for extended families of multiple generations from throughout the country. Some aspects of the home that exist and have existed for as long as many can remember were not negotiable to change in the redesign. One of those elements is the green metal roof- which isn't that old, but lends real character to the home. Another is the white cedar siding which is very traditional and likely original to when it was first built before this family even owned it.

The other thing this house is about is gathering and enjoying the lake. This fact makes the back screened porch the most important "room" in the place. As the largest space, it is one of the few that can accommodate a large group- be it baby shower or marriage celebration or weekend reunion. It is literally the best place (other than sitting on the dock?) on the property to view the lake.

I changed the dimensions and orientation of the former screened porch, as well as how it connects to the house. I made it much deeper- before it was under a long continuation of the main roof and was limited to 9'-10" -way too narrow for comfortable outdoor furniture. I also increased the width by 2' and rotated the roof and removed any flat ceiling so the space is vaulted up to 12' tall at the center roof beam.

Framing of the New Screened Porch

Structural Ridge Beam allows for soaring high space

In addition, since I was giving the space it's own lake-facing-gable roof, not sharing the main roof, I could slide the whole space over a bit. This movement accomplished two things: One, even with the new porch 15' deep instead of 10', I could show the Town's Zoning Board that we hardly were building any closer to the edge of the water. This was important as the existing structure was already encroaching on the allowable 75' setback from the rear/lake. The other important gain of sliding the porch toward the east was that I could connect the kitchen to the screened porch. The old plan lacked this connection, so this will be a great change.

The home has a traditional street-side wrap-around front porch which remains and now ties into the new first floor bedroom with a glass door.

Door to Front Wrap-Around Porch from New Bedroom Addition

Wrap-Around Porch ties into new first floor bedroom addition

Lastly, there is a new small side porch that provides a way to get to the yard from the screened porch and from the yard into the kitchen/back of the house. When a porch is higher than 30" above the grade, the code requires a guard rail for safety. Since we don't want to obscure the lake view with a bunch of solid wood posts, I specified a cable railing system that becomes almost invisible and lends a sleek, nautical element on the mostly traditional exterior.

Side Porch connects house to yard and screened porch

Cable railing system

In addition to the functionality of these porches (outdoor rooms!) the site slopes down toward the lake, leaving lots of storage space under the almost 400SF screened porch. Some of this area will be tall and some low to store boats and other gear. The perimeter will have a traditional lattice treatment and a custom hinged door to easily access and keep hidden that storage space.

Lattice Detail (from another project)

Family House on the Lake - Framing of new Bedroom

New First Floor Bedroom Wall offers lovely view of the lake

I got a chance to stop by the construction a the Family House on the Lake this week. Poured concrete foundation walls are complete, the front porch roof is re-built and the framing for the new first floor bedroom addition has begun. Now one can stand in the new room and see how it will feel looking toward the lake view. (so nice! see pic above)

West Wall and Roofline of new Bedroom Addition

Existing LR - window to side of fireplace will become door to new bedroom

This small addition is doing so much all at once! Locating it was strategic- it is located so that an existing window in the Living Room can become the doorway into the new room. It was placed on the site to enjoy views and breezes to and from the lake and be a more private, quiet sleeping space  away from the kitchen and screened porch, which are the main large gathering spaces, and can therefore be noisy.

See new basement access door (on right) under new Bedroom addition

It is located on the site where the grade slopes down toward the water, and this allowed for a full-height basement space to be under the new room. This basement room will house the electric panel for easy power on-off when opening and closing the home for the season. Because of the full height walk-in door from the back yard, it will also provide much-needed storage space for off season lake toys like kayaks or floating dock parts.

Standing in old basement looking through old door, which is now the access to new basement room

In addition, by placing it on the west end of the home, it was within the side yard zoning setback, so no variance was required. And lastly, an area of crumbling stone foundation was covered by placing the new foundation over it, so that the old foundation can be repaired less expensively by using concrete block instead of stone. They even managed to tuck the forms for new walls perfectly under the timber sill plate of the existing house corner! (pic below)

New Conc. Foundation Wall supports timber framing. Old stone wall will need to be infilled

View from street - Brand new front porch roof!