From dream to reality | Metamorphosis of a log cabin

Any renovation requires a good deal of planning. We present projects of various sizes, which could give ideas.

Diane Lambert and her two brothers were fortunate to have a visionary father, who bought a vast property belonging to the Sulpicians, in La Conception, in 1970. Caressing the dream of having his family around him, he gave land to his children, who each had a log cabin built, according to the same plan. It was 40 years ago. In 2021, Mr.^me Lambert and her husband decided to renovate theirs and double its surface area, while retaining its character.

“My brothers had already extended their chalet,” says Ms.^me Lambert. I took the plan from one of my brothers, which has a large open space, and we did some things differently. He doesn’t have, for example, a bathroom adjoining his bedroom, whereas I wanted to. Downstairs, on the ground floor, we added a bedroom with a small dormitory next to it, for the children. And we replaced the wood fireplace with a propane gas fireplace. Heating with wood is a lot of work. It took four cords per winter. The kitchen is also very different. But the structure of the enlargement, as such, is the same. »

The plans were professionally tailored to match what the couple was looking for. It has been carefully prepared to meet the requirements of the municipality. A new septic tank and a smaller septic field had to be installed elsewhere to be able to plant the required percentage of trees. This resulted in an additional expense of $20,000.

A growing budget

“We left with a budget of $200,000 and we spent around $500,000, because of the price of materials, reveals M^me Lambert. It cost as much to renovate the old part as it did to extend it, to bring it up to standard. We replaced the windows, the electrical system and the plumbing, and had the insulation of the roof redone. We kept the wood inside, but there is no longer any trace of the round wood outside. Urethane has been sprayed on and a CanExel coating, gray wolf, covers everything. »

Before the extension of the chalet was undertaken, the kitchen was partially renovated in October 2021. “We had been recommended to do this and that’s kind of what saved us,” says Ms.^me Lambert.

The old cottage, which measured 28 ft by 28 ft (8.5 m by 8.5 m), contained a bathroom, kitchen, living room and two bedrooms, on the ground floor. On the ground floor there was, among other things, a bedroom. The expansion has doubled the living area on both levels.

Welcome additions

The kitchen now has a large island. The old living room has been replaced by a dining room. The former master bedroom has become a laundry room. In the new space, on the ground floor, there is now a spacious living room as well as the master bedroom and its adjoining bathroom. The staircase has meanwhile been moved to the new section, thus facilitating circulation in the dining room. On the ground floor, a very large bedroom with a small adjoining dormitory is intended for the couple’s children and grandchildren. An old bedroom is now used as a wardrobe (very useful for storing all the sports equipment). When the snow melts, a pool table will take up residence in the window-lined room on the garden level, which will become an entertainment room.

Diane Lambert and her husband, who live in Terrebonne, hired local workers. M^me Lambert is full of praise for entrepreneur Nicolas Trudeau, head of Via Terra Concept, based in Mont-Tremblant. “He was very available and there was no delay,” she says. We arrived on Friday morning, the workers were there, we could discuss with them. If necessary, Nicolas came to meet us. »

The couple transformed their chalet to one day make it their main property. “I like having my family over,” says Ms.^me Lambert. It was important that there was room for everyone. She and her husband think, in turn, about the well-being of the next generation. “It’s a legacy we want to leave to our children,” says Ms.^me Lambert, happy to pursue her father’s dream.