2018-2019 - John Valente Bracebridge Build
My buddy John Valente decided to build on his cottage property in Bracebridge. Previously, John had a trailer on his property but decided it was time to build a more permanent cottage. His build is more of a high-end house than a cottage build. During the build he delt with a significant flood of the Muskoka river (see some of the photos below). John's portion of the river is a "controlled" by dams at either end of a relatively short section of the Muskoka river. While these dams can control the level of the water in the river, this flood underscored the importance of making sure his build was raised from grade (or river edge) to avoid any future flooding as you cannot simply rely on the control dams that manage the river levels.
On occasion, Johnny invited me up north to help out to "close in" the build as there is always a race against the weather which can get nasty in Bracebridge as you get nearer the end of the year. There is a short video showing the early construction followed by a video of Johnny and I racing to get the front roof installed prior to an incoming storm. Unfortunately, we awoke to several inches of snow that made working on the pitched plywood roof very treacherous.
Sept - Dec 2018
Dec 24 - 28 2018
Johnny "hung up his skates" in order to focus all his time on finishing his cottage. So the hockey guys made him a tribute video to make sure that he knew that we were thinking of him - but of course still having a drink or two to celebrate his efforts.
Jan 16 2019
Here are a couple of John's walkthrough videos during the drywalling stage of the build.
Feb 3 2021
March 23 2021
Oct 29 2024 - Building Closed-in Walkaround
A Special Video message to Johnny from south of the border - From Mr. Trump himself. But in typical Trump fashion gets Johnny's wife's name incorrect - calls Kathie - Rosie?? At least he got the fact that Johnny is a "great carpenter" right!!
All Photos from Bracebridge
Click here to see the photos