Photos of the lot
Posted on | September 1, 2008 |
Yesterday, we took a trip out to the lot to think about siting the house. As expected, this is going to be a very difficult decision. We walked up on the ridge and had a look around. Even from ground level on the ridge, you can see the lake. From a second floor perspective, the view would be amazing. It’s too bad that it is so close to the neighbour’s house.
From further back on the lot, in the lower position, I don’t think you’d see the lake, even from the second floor, but probably from the third floor.
One of the main reasons we bought the lot was the potential for a view of the lake. Now that we’re considering moving the house down lower, it feels different to me. The ridge is where my heart wants to put the house, the lower post is where my head says to put it. I think once we get to the next stage, we’ll want to get the architect out to walk it with us again.
Here are a few photos to give you a sense of what the lot looks like.
The view from the ridge at ground level (first floor) Seven months of the year, we would have a great view of the lake.
Looking up onto the ridge from a clearing in the lot.
Survey line looking towards the road on the right side of the lot.
Survey line looking backwards. See how close the neighbour's house is?
The lower part of the lot. Lots of young birches here.
Some of the geological features of the lot--lots of HUGE boulders.
The left side survey line viewed from the road.
The road frontage. A very interesting mix of trees. Behind the car is where the driveway will likely go in.
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2 Responses to “Photos of the lot”
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September 1st, 2008 @ 7:53 am
Hmm…tough decision.
In your previous post you said something about if the house goes on the ridge, you will need to have stairs to get to it. To me that seems like a big negative to placing the house on the ridge. I’ve lived in a ton of apartments for the last 10+ years, and I hate stairs. Not that I’m lazy, but it is just a huge pain in the ass carrying an armful of anything up stairs. Even going for a bike weekend trip requires multiple trips up and down, and I can only imagine how that will expand once we have kids. Oddly enough, part of the reason why we decided on our current apartment is because of the 3rd story view! The view is great (and so is the breeze), but those stairs make me never want to leave.
Anyways, I’m sure you get my point, and I guess it matters how many/what rise of stairs you were planning. It just seems to me that going on the ridge means that you are going to deal with the hassle of stairs (especially in the winter) multiple times every day for as long as you live there (which sounds like a long time). For me that would be a deal breaker, especially if you can get the lake view from another location (rooftop patio anyone?).
Great blog!
Pete
September 1st, 2008 @ 8:11 am
Hey Pete, thanks for the comments. I agree, I hate stairs too, but I don’t think we’d be talking about a lot of them, just 8-10, and they could be done in slate or something nice and meander up the hill a bit.
It’s so hard to know what’s right for this house until we see it. Another potential issue is that placing the house down low limits the amount of solar gain in the early hours because the ridge will block sunlight if we get too close to it, but going the other way means getting further and further from the lake.
I think we also need to speak with our engineer and get his sense of how much blasting/excavating would be required to get up on that hill. If it’s too much, then the cost could make it unfeasible as well.