Blank slate--how would you renovate a beach house?

Enyar wrote: How about a doorlock with a keypad so you can grant access to your GRM brethren....this place sounds awesome. But seriously, might be a good idea for when people are out on the boat or someone arrives before the bearer of the key. But more seriously....the GRM brethren.

The combo shall be the firing pattern of a 1938 Buick Straight 8!

Haha, we've all been locked out of grandpa's place at least once and had to use this. We'll all have keys, and there will be one locked away somewhere with a combo lock.

Just found out that the garage has a heated floor. So we got that goin for us. Which is nice.

Since my cottage is only about four hours north on Lake Michigan I will declare myself the resident expert on Lake Michigan cottages.
You need to think about natural light and air movement. Seeing the lake from everywhere should be the goal of any beach house. However, all of that glass will heat up the house in a serious hurry for that six weeks a year we call summer. If you don't have AC you need fairly effective curtains for the middle three hours of the day. On top of that, as much glass should open as possible to let air flow through the building. You really want it to be comfortable during those peak summer days.
Make sure the porch railing is good for hanging towels and bathing suits.
Imagine a six year old in a wet bathing suit sitting down on every piece of furniture. Did you freak out? That is not good beach house furniture.
Make sure the pipes drain well for winter if you're going to shut it down for the season. Get to know all of the drains and and traps and what needs to be done to keep from breaking pipes. Nothing ruins a vacation like water spraying in the walls.
The less crap you have to steal the less you have to worry about the place while you're away. Make friends with any full time neighbors, they're your best security system.

beach house in the UP is usable from june 15-august 30, the rest is winter right?

I'm sorry, but when we go to the "beach", there is salt water involved.

Wood floors everywhere except where you have tile or linoleum. Scatter rugs only. Cabins and beach houses need to be swept with broom.

Bamboo floors with a good mold resistant underlayment, if any drywall work is done use the mold resistant drywall. The idea is if you might freak if it gets wet, its the wrong material.

I was about to suggest tile floors until I saw where you were. Go sealed hardwoods then. Carpet in a vacation house is insane to keep clean.

My in-laws tiled the entire house they inherited on Jekyll Island. Best decision of the whole renovation project. They have carpet in the owner's suite (it is a rental) but that is a shoes-off area. The entire rental part of the house is tile with beadboard walls to combat rowdy renters.

mazdeuce wrote: Since my cottage is only about four hours north on Lake Michigan I will declare myself the resident expert on Lake Michigan cottages. You need to think about natural light and air movement. Seeing the lake from everywhere should be the goal of any beach house. However, all of that glass will heat up the house in a serious hurry for that six weeks a year we call summer. If you don't have AC you need fairly effective curtains for the middle three hours of the day. On top of that, as much glass should open as possible to let air flow through the building. You really want it to be comfortable during those peak summer days. Make sure the porch railing is good for hanging towels and bathing suits. Imagine a six year old in a wet bathing suit sitting down on every piece of furniture. Did you freak out? That is not good beach house furniture. Make sure the pipes drain well for winter if you're going to shut it down for the season. Get to know all of the drains and and traps and what needs to be done to keep from breaking pipes. Nothing ruins a vacation like water spraying in the walls. The less crap you have to steal the less you have to worry about the place while you're away. Make friends with any full time neighbors, they're your best security system.

AC is in there already--and also not a worry. Due to the tree cover, we really don't need it. The lighting? Yeah, that is something to think about. We're also not all that concerned about the view to the water--we have one in the kitchen, then we'll be putting in a screened in porch with some nice sitting furniture that was bought at an estate sale and can get wet!

Porch railing is a good point. We had that at Grandpas, due to the screened in porch we won't have it here. Clothes lines will be necessary. Or maybe a permanent clothes rack.

For the pipes, nothing has burst yet, so we're assuming they drain well. It was used as a vacation home for about half of its 40 year old life; before that it was owned (and built) by the guy who owned either all of the appliance stores or one of the hardware stores, or similar. So it was very well built back in 1968. And we do know the neighbors up and down the beach already.

As for the stuff that is going in it? Other than a new tv ($300?) and beds, everything will be hand me down or estate sale sourced. No reason to have expensive stuff up there.

patgizz wrote: beach house in the UP is usable from june 15-august 30, the rest is winter right?

Hey, don't sell it short! We get at least from the first of June!

spitfirebill wrote: I'm sorry, but when we go to the "beach", there is salt water involved.

Yeah, cause this looks nothing like a beach

The salt-free part of it is half of why its better!

In reply to mtn:

Yea, that looks just like one of our lakes

Pshaw, there is not a single lake in in Carolina that you can't look across and see the other side--nor is there a single lake in Carolina that has waves like this on a somewhat regular basis--and this isn't even the worst of them, by far!:

In reply to mtn:

A big lake down here may have 1,000 miles or shoreline. We have no concept how big the Great Lakes are. At least you don't have sharks.

In reply to spitfirebill:

The biggest lake in SC only has 312 miles of shoreline

Metal roof

fritzsch wrote: In reply to spitfirebill: The biggest lake in SC only has 312 miles of shoreline

Google says Lake Hartwell has 962 miles. That rounds up to 1000.

Beach house- ocean

Lake house - other than ocean

In reply to spitfirebill:

Ahh I looked up "Largest lake in SC," which, according to Google, probably meant fully contained in the state, whereas Lake Hartwell is in multiple states. I was just surprised by the 1000 miles of shoreline.

My friends and I have been going to lake house on the Rideau of Ontario every year for the last 10 years. The only place more peaceful and relaxing that I've been is a condo in the Florida Keys. Lake houses are certainly worth the effort.

I didn't read the thread and don't know your exact layout or needs. This is just my dream home layout...

Get rid of as many walls parallel to the beach inside. The ultimate would be one long 20 ft wide corridor from exterior land-side wall to floor-to-ceiling beach-side windows (or better, sliding doors). In this tube, if you had the kitchen land-side, a dining table in the middle, and a couch and wall-mount TV (perpendicular) beach-side, you'll have easy ability to break out folding tables and chairs for 30 and just as easy of a time whipping out air mattresses for 6-10. No matter what, you'll see the water cooking, eating, and relaxing and this is especially handy if you're working inside but supervising those outside. If there's almost no furniture and the floor is a darker wood, you'll also have a super-clean modern design and only need a vacuum to clean.

I love open air but hate screen doors (especially since they're hard to see and easy to break). If you're able to have a rail around an inch off the floor, I'd use floor-to-ceiling sheers wrapped around both floor and above-door rods. It'd be less bug-resistant than screen doors but give you that "drapes flying in the wind" feeling without a crazy infestation. You can also use sheers instead of walls.

Something like this:

I'm not joking about screen doors. They put my great uncle in the hospital because he walked into one and fell. If you have dogs running in and out, you'll want the doors open anyways.

Your living-room-to-outside doorway should open three body widths wide. Kids are going to run in and out. You're going to carry BBQ and grillin' stuff in and out. People are going to mingle. Make it big! If only my local HyVee did the same thing...

The only furniture you should have are beds, small bedside tables, chairs, tables, bathroom shelving, a place to store board games, and a couch. NO DRAWERS EXCEPT IN THE KITCHEN! The bedrooms should have a closet, a bedside table with an alarm clock, something to set a suitcase on, a lamp, a chair, and nothing else. Spare bedding should be folded in the closet. You aren't storing other clothes there so don't bother with dressers. The bathroom(s) should have an ungodly number of towel racks (put pegs in the hall for good measure). Otherwise, open exposed shelving for people to stash toiletries and not forget them! The only cabinet should be under the sink to hide cleaning supplies and toilet paper. You'll need a linen closet stuffed with a TON of both beach and normal-size towels. If there's room, you'll want all your family games and a vacuum. Otherwise, the only "stuff" left goes in the kitchen (cleaning supplies under the sink, a drawer for normal tools, and a goodly amount of dishes, a stack of paper plates, and a triple-set of silverware because you'll run out FAST and plastic forks suck).

If it's hidden, it won't get used or it'll get forgotten. Keep the clutter down so you can hit everything FAST with a damp cloth or a vacuum.

That's my minimal lifestyle prescription.

This sounds like the kind of place that could potentially attract in-laws. I'd consider adding a moat and land mines.

Woody wrote: This sounds like the kind of place that could potentially attract in-laws. I'd consider adding a moat and land mines.

I'd love for my FIL to come up, any time he wanted. MIL won't come up, because it isn't Door County--which is exactly why I love it.

Look for tile that has a bit of grit built into it for slip resistance. My friends parents have that in the entry/common area at their lake house.

Where in Green Bay Wisconsin are any hills of that size with a beach at the foot of them? The tallest thing in Green Bay is probably UW-GB men's starting center.

And why would anyone want to swim in salt water compared to fresh water?

RossD wrote: Look for tile that has a bit of grit built into it for slip resistance. My friends parents have that in the entry/common area at their lake house. Where in Green Bay Wisconsin are any hills of that size with a beach at the foot of them? The tallest thing in Green Bay is probably UW-GB men's starting center. And why would anyone want to swim in salt water compared to fresh water?

That was actually the Michiana Dune area. But for Green-Bay area hills, I'd suggest looking in Door County.

I think a decent sized washer/dryer for doing loads of towels would be good to incorporate.