Knowing the Right People | Building on an Island

So much lumber, hardware, tools~ and not a store on the island!

Buying land on an island is the easy part. Where do you go from there? No hardware store, no lumber store, no skilled workers waiting to take your check. And so much work that needs to be done to make your dream cottage reality! Now what?

Unless you really know what you are doing, and know other people who know what they are doing, that check you wrote for the property will be just the first of many, many checks. Oh yes, your check book is in for a workout!

That little cottage you planed to have up in no time can drag on and on, and come with a price sticker more inline with a royal palace.

That's one excellent reason that you should consider going with a place that is already built, like the one five-star builder Andrew Van Wersch is completing. None of the headaches, all of the pleasure.

Here is a sample of how Andrew manages things:

I got City Transfer to load the 53 foot flat bed and put it on a barge in Richmond, barge landed in Powel River and trucked to lund where I organized 3/5 ton trucks to off load flat deck and got a barge and tug boat to take the trucks across to Savary at high tide( you land on the beach). That is one big pile of building supplies when dumped on a freshly cleared property--looked like the first building supply store on Savary. I remember a huge load off my shoulders when the last truck unloaded, amazing wash of peace swept over me as I knew I could start building with absolutely no "waiting for material delays"

Brian, A friend of mine from Roberts Creek that runs an excavating business agreed to clear the two lots and put in 2 registered septic fields, it took very little enticing since he was curious about seeing Savary island while working--a paid holiday?

He was pleased to find the machine work was easy since there are no rocks on most of savary -- just like playing in a giant sand box, easy on the machine and quick to get anything done --- well drained--not mucky.

All the trees that needed to be cleared for building sites and septic areas were bucked into 12 to 20 foot lengths and decked into a huge pile. Just as Brian was pulling out Tony Tuba showed up with his woodmiser saw mill and cut 7000 board feet(12"x12"x1") of fir, hemlock, cedar and alder. Enough posts and beams to supply two cottages with all exposed beams and open rafters, clear fir for doors and windows and old growth clear cedar for trim and accents, some decking too. Tony did one heck a good milling job, cutting straight lumber that needed very little sanding later to get looking absolutely silky smooth.

Gulf Islands, Savary, What's Special?

Enjoy the sandy beaches ~ Savary Island is famous for them!

Andrew Van Wersch, the five-star woodworker (see his furniture portfolio) is completing the fabulous cottage on Savary Island that is for sale. Recently he sent me a note about what draws him back time after time to Savary Island.

Andrew could have built on any of the numerous Gulf Islands, but he has always chosen Savary. Here is what Andrew writes about his enjoyment of this sandy paradise:

Savary island is more than a place for me to satisfy my cottage building craving; it has many trails throughout for hiking and mountain biking. I love jumping on my Kona Cindercone and hitting the single track trails that lead to a variety of hidden and secluded beaches

The trails range from true single track winding through old growth forests and salal to beach esplanade with great views out across Georgia Straight to Desolation Sound and beyond. Sunset trail is one of my favorite esplanade trails with a rugged quality and all the beautiful character cottages to enjoy along the way. Even though there is not much elevation gain I can still get a great workout with the sandy trails and the steady up and down over the ancient dunes.

I love hopping on my bike and finding the perfect beach to enjoy moments of relaxation and catch up on some reading. On any given day you can find a beach out of the wind (or in the wind) with the perfect sun exposure~ the beauty of a small sandy island!

Gulf Islands, Water, Drinking

Until it is scarce, or every drop has to be boiled, water is something most people don't spend all that much time thinking about. On many Gulf Islands, there is a limited supply, and people do think and worry and struggle.

I recall with a shudder my experience on Thormanby Island. The place was beautiful, the cabin neat, and after hiking around and getting in at dusk I was very thirsty. No problem~ just turn the gravity flow tap on in the kitchen and drink away. Since it was already pretty dark, I couldn't see all that well with the kerosene lighting.

A little later that night I went out for a little air, and saw the giant barrel water reservoir. Like quite a few island cottages, this place made use of abundant winter rains to collect drinking water off the roof. However, this reservoir was totally exposed (no cover), and shining my flashlight down into the water I nearly lost my cookies. It was an absolute soup of mosquito larvae and other aquatic bugs! That's the stuff I had been guzzling in the kitchen.

On many island properties water is a real issue. All rock, or sand with brackish water, are not conducive to great, easy well drilling. So if you are considering a Gulf Island property, checking out the water supply should be high on your list.

Andrew has a sweet water deep well on his Savary Island property. For me, that is a real plus. I don't enjoy drinking bugs.

Back to Savary, BC Gulf Islands

Andrew Van Wersch, Master Builder, on site on Savary Island. Doesn't he look Happy? He takes enormous pleasure working up there on the cottage.

I was down the road visiting Andrew the other day. He's not home very often these days, as he spends as much time as he can up on Savary Island, doing what he loves: building. The funny thing is that even when he is home, it's not like he isn't working on the cottage.

See, Andrew has a huge workshop on his property here. I'm pretty sure it's larger than his residence. It's got all sorts of amazing tools. For years, it was his place of work where he crafted high-end furniture and cabinets for clients (see the Carousel image gallery). Now he is building cabinets, windows, doors etc. for the cottage.

But what he really loves is heading up to the Savary, his van overflowing with things ready to install, materials to build with.

This passion for his work is reflected in the finished product. Whether it's a cabinet, a door, or an entire cottage, only something built with such love and enthusiasm could look so good. There are not all that many people who get so much out of their job. A lucky man. A master.

Savary Island Cottage, Website Launch www.savarybc.com

I am pleased to launch the official website for the Andrew Van Wersch Savary Island cottage. The site has lots of pictures of the cottage, the island, and some of Andrew's outstanding furniture and cabinet work too! Visit the site by clicking Here.

I really enjoy making websites. It's a different sort of challenge from my usual line of work, which is making things with my hands. I find making a website demands extreme concentration. But maybe that is just me!

It's fascinating to me how a small color change, or size of font, dramatically changes the look of a site. This shade of blue, or that? It really matters!

For this new site, because of the beauty of Savary Island and of Andrew's work, it was relatively easy to have things look good. If you start with quality, it is much harder to go seriously wrong.

From my observations, there are not many places in mid-construction that look as good as the cottage Andrew is building. All around here there is a construction boom, but until the siding is on and the yard tidied, most look more like disaster zones than real estate. Even though Andrew's cottage does not yet have its cedar shingle siding, and the property is clearly a little cluttered with building materials, it still looks charming in the pictures.

Why not have a look? You never know, you may just fall in love with Savary and this cottage, and be the lucky new owner!

Gulf Islands | Building a Cottage

You got your land.

Now what?

How do you go from the above, to this?

Expert builder Andrew Van Wersch's first Savary Island Cottage

I recall with a shudder how naive my wife and I were back about fifteen years ago, when we decided more or less on a whim to buy a little piece of land on a Gulf Island. We went shopping, quickly found what seemed a very reasonably priced lot, and put in a low offer. How lucky we were that the offer was refused!

We knew absolutely nothing. Real city slickers. We knew ziltch about wells, electricity, septic systems, building and health permits, transportation and labor costs. We were a real estate agent's dream victims customers.

Ha! Look at the picture at the top of this. Unless you are an expert builder with experience in building on islands, or you are fortunate enough to know such an individual (rare!), unless you know about even a fraction of what will be involved, watch out!

Oh, it can be done. There are tons of places, and lots of nice ones, that have been built. But there are also tons of stories of people paying far, far more than they ever dreamed possible to achieve their dream. And even sadder stories of those who bought only to find that they could not get septic approval, or who ran into other serious glitches.

So unless you really know your stuff, or know someone who can lead you, buyer beware. It may be best to consider a place set to go. One that someone else has handled the nightmare challenges of building on an island.

Building on an Island

The back of a large load of building supplies being barged over to Savary Island.

Anyone who has ever built, or had someone build for them, knows that even under ideal conditions it's a challenge. Even with the lumber store just down the road, it's not easy.

I recently hired some pretty good builders, but I have to smile when I think of how often they forgot this or that, or ran out of something and had to dart off to the hardware store. If you are building on a small island where there is no hardware store, you just can't get away with that sort of sloppiness.

Any builder on an island is either super organized and really knows their stuff, or takes a very long (read expensive) time to build.

My friend Andrew Van Wersch knows his stuff. He's never going to be the guy who gets up on his building site on Savary and discovers he left his hammer at home. Here is the sort of shopping list a great builder like Andrew puts together to get going on a new island house. It all gets loaded onto a 45 foot trailer (see picture above), and barged over to the site.

sht 180 osb 4x8 7/16
pce 550 precut 8' studs
pce 100 2*4 14'
pce 100 2*4 16'
pce 40 1*4 14'
sht 82 5/8" t&g
2900 ft sq R12 15" insulation
1500 ft sq R 20 15" insulation
1300 ft sq R20 23" insulation
pce 30 2*8 18'
pce 46 2*8 16'
pce 72 2*10 12'
pce 92 2*10 16'
rol 10 hal tex 30 min
12 iso board 2.3"
7000 lin ft 1*6 v groove pine t&g 14' & 16'
12 rolls 550 ft sq Bakor low slope 2 ply roofing
2000 sq ft 25 yr cedar tone profile asphalt shingle
4 bundles square butt matching colour for ridge cap
pce 600 ft 10 mm rebar
pce 22 2*10 Pressure Treated 16'
pce 20 2*10 Pressure Treated 14'
pce 3 6*6 Pressure Treated 16'
pce 3 6*6 Pressure Treated 14'
2000 ft sq 8' 6mm poly non uv
1500 ft sq 10' 6mm poly non uv
pce 12 crawl space vent natural aluminum( not brown or white)
50 ft ridge vent (cheap and effective)
100 ft soffet 2 "vent aluminum(not brown or white)
100 ft drip cap aluminum or brown
pce 6 3/4" pressure treated plywood
rol 2 15lb plain roofing felt 36" *144
5/14' pt 2*4
60 pcs brown step flashing
12 6" concrete saddles