So - almost a decade ago - I was given the opportunity to design this project, make various plans and suggestions. And then after approval transformed them into reality...
An, at that time, almost 100 year old cabin, and one of the oldest buildings in the whole region, originally built as a hay barn, then re-located in the 70's and re-functioned to a B&B cabin.
A new owner from Germany planned to use it as a vaccation residence, and now wanted a large livingroom added to it, as well as a larger and outward extending bathroom.
Furthermore the whole interior of the cabin was to be re-designed and renovated, and also to be equipped with new windows plus a new tin roof.
Over the period of one winter, I completed this project almost completely alone. Only for some of the heavy lifting (i.e. beams and drywall sheets) I had some helpers. Also the windows were manufactured and installed from a company, as well the final tin cover of the roof. And a licensed electrician and plumber finished and approved the pre-installation I did. Everything else was basically done by
me alone.
During the course of work, the owner made a few changes on the design, like the front windows and eliminating the originally planned open view of the beams inside.
This was my very first complete construction project...
The bathroom addition, as well as different sized new windows in the old cabin, made it necessary to partially re-pattern the old siding boards, to have a seamless integration of the changes.
Later that year, together with the owner and a friend, we added another addition on the other side, consisting of a carport and a bedroom in between.
The gable side windows - now due to the changes the owner made, large instead of segmented - made it impossible to have weight bearing posts between them for longitudinal roof beams, as I had it originally designed. Therefore I had to adapt the whole roof structure to receive its strength by the rafters instead. This unfortunately also required a slim steel post to support the ridge beam better.
... And finally completed, furnished, and a happy owner living here - well, as often as he came to Canada.