We purchase the lot using Tom Navratil of Salt Spring Realty - Royal Le Page as our agent on September 9, 2003.
We have spectacular views to the south down Saanich Inlet towards Brentwood Bay, Sansum Narrows to the North West, and Musgrave Inlet right in in front.
From Victoria, we can drive about thirty kilometres to the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, wait for the Salt Spring Island ferry to take us to Fulford Harbour, then drive from Fulford Harbour over the saddle between Mt Tuam and Mt Bruce to Musgrave Landing. This journey takes about two hours with the ferry leaving about every two hours and the road is an improved logging road, improved by enterprising people carrying a chainsaw and shovels, clearing fallen trees and filling holes with rock. It is about eighteen kilometers from Musgrave Landing to Fulford harbour, most of it on gravel, the last few kilometers on brand new asphalt. It takes us about thirty minutes in good conditons and driving quickly to go from Musgrave to Fulford Harbour.
From Victoria, we drive about forty-five kilometres to Cherry Point Marina, just past Mill Bay, cross Cowichan Bay and the entrance to Sansum Narrows to our dock at Musgrave Landing, then walk the three hundred metres of access road to our house that sits on the peninsular twenty metres above sea level. This journey only takes one hour, forty five minutes by road, ten minutes by boat and a leisurely five minute stroll from the dock to our house and is our preferred method of access. Our power boat is called Myst, a seventeen foot Double Eagle.
We engaged William Peereboom of Victoria Design Ltd. to custom design our new home. Will calls the design "Rustic Contemporary" and it features a lower floor with a garage workshop and gym, the main floor with a guest bedroom and bathroom, an office/den and an open kitchen, dining room and great room overlooked by a balconied loft on the upper floor. From the dining room and also from the great room, we can walk out onto our deck and into the courtyard. On the upper floor is the master bedroom, master bathroom and ensuite. Outside the master bathroom is a balcony to enjoy the sun to the south and inside the house there is a circular window that features a design which is an amalgamation of the sun, moon and the earth.
We engaged Henry Leier, a licenced builder living on Salt Spring Island to build our home. Henry has built some 23 homes on the island over the last 15 years and we toured some of them to see his craftsmanship and inovations. Henry arranged for Pat to excavate the site, Ty and Mike to fall the trees and for Dave's Blasting to remove the rock for the garage and gym.
The footings are made by building forms to hold the liquid concrete mix, tying the footings to the bedrock using rebar drilled into the rock and rebar in the trenches. The whole structure needs to be strong to withstand the pressure of the poured concrete. Later the walls go up to support the main floor, then drain tile, water, sewer, electrical and telecommunications are put in the ground and the basement is filled with rock and compactable fill. Next, the slab is poured and then wood is used to frame the house folowied by the installaton of the roof, windows and doors. Finally stucco and siding is put on toe bring the house to lock-up and inside is completed with insulation, drywall, tiles, flooring and cabinets put in place.
