I ended the last post by stating that I would start talking about the house design in the next post, but plans have changed a bit.  Developing the site plan and coordinating the site preparation work has taken up a lot of our client’s time and focus, putting house design on the back burner until very recently.   I want to get you up to speed on the site work before talking about the home design, so here goes!

Site Design and Planning

Our clients, John and Julie, wanted to get a head start on the site work by starting it this past summer/fall, putting us in a better position to start building in the Spring of 2014.  To do this, we needed to develop a site plan with locations of the house, outbuildings, the pond, driveways and utilities.  I made a trip up to the site with John in June to stake out the location of the house and the pond.  We had a preliminary floor plan and used that as a basis to pound some corner stakes in the ground.

Pounding stakes is when the house begins to take on a life

House and Pond Layout

We chose a site in the north-central part of the property that has nice proximity to the treed area to the north and west for the house. Next we staked out the shape of the pond.  John, who happens to be a geologist and has a sense of humor, chose to make the pond in the shape of a dinosaur track.  It’s not the easiest thing in the world to make an outline of a gigantic dinosaur paw on the ground, but after a few attempts we felt we had a pretty accurate lay out.

Big enough for a dinosaur paw?

Sam the Pond Man

During our visit in June we met with Sam, the go-to guy for pond construction on the Island.  We walked the home site and he toured us around the island to show us some examples of his work.  Much to our surprise, this would be his first dinosaur track shaped pond :).  John and Sam talked about rough budgets and schedule- and Sam hinted at some of the difficulties involved with excavating the shape of dinosaur toes.  Being a bit of a free spirited guy himself, Sam was undeterred and up to the challenge.    Late August was discussed as the targeted start date for the pond work.

John and Sam get the lay of the land

At the end of the day a great dinner and a beautiful sunset.  I think I could get used to this!

View from Bay Cafe

Next Up…Pond Construction Begins and Moving a House Before It’s Built