How we learned to construct family cottages in Muskoka.

Looking ahead for surprises turns out to be an essential skill in cottage construction!

Freezing ground, mile long driveways, seasonal floods and turtle survival… CedarCoast anticipates surprises, then moves heaven and earth to mitigate their impact on project plans.

Just as every family cottage is unique, so are the challenges we confront as we build them.

Whether cliffside, lakeside, countryside or on the islands of Georgian Bay, we've built there!

Construction planning and management must begin with a thorough knowledge of the Muskoka region.

Bert and Patrick Bongers, our Partners, have encountered obstacles of every sort, in every season, building spectacular homes in a variety of environments.

Rocky lakeside terrains, water flow and drainage, icy winter roads and island passages all contribute to their specialized grasp of settings, materials and contractor scheduling when forecasting completely custom cottage builds.

Our partners field a variety of questions posed by potential cottage owners, from project financing to solar power, on their video blogs. Start here: Home and Cottage Design & Construction, from November, 2021.

Protecting our Environment includes Turtles!

With Spring’s arrival, at risk freshwater turtles are emerging in Central Ontario. Recently, one cottage construction plan mitigated the possibly harmful effects on the nesting of turtles by installing below grade, silt fencing around the site.

You can find out more by clicking the button above for the S.T.A.R.T. Facebook page or by visiting The Canadian Wildlife Federation's web page: Help Freshwater Turtles.

Because of the remoteness of this site, cement trucks and other large vehicles had difficulty accessing it and turning around in the long, narrow driveway. Fire & rescue trucks too would have to be made aware of these issues. In addition, a complete sprinkler system was installed.