Building Our Lake House – Part One
I’ve been keeping a secret since last fall and I’ve been about to burst to let the cat out of the bag. If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that we have property at Smith Mountain Lake. After planning, planning, and some more planning, we are now in the process of building a lake house!
I don’t think I’ve shared pictures of our property other than shots taken from our dock. Let’s take a short tour so that you can see what it looked like pre-construction.
This picture taken in March shows the view of the lake near the top of the driveway. Look carefully and you can just barely make out our boat house. 
Our lot is completely wooded. This is the view from the dock. The area to the right of our vehicle is approximately the house site.
You can get a better idea of the future house site from this picture. Again, the area to the right of the vehicle is where the house will be built. Do you see Sherman swimming toward the shore? That dog loves the water!
After waiting and waiting and then waiting some more, excavation finally started in mid-May.
On May 30 the view from the top of the driveway looks much different. You can now see the lake and house site even with the leaves on the trees. We both were glad to have trees removed from either side of the driveway.
We both were surprised at how much bigger the lot appears after removing the trees.
Footers had been poured by the end of May.
Our house will be very close to the lake which we are really excited about. Many SML homes have a long flight of stairs leading to the lake. We are lucky that our walk to and from the dock will be very short.
The mound of soil that you see on the left side of the picture is approximately where the deck will be.
We both look forward to relaxing on our deck while admiring the beauty of SML.
It rained most of this past week which hindered any house progress. Darn.
In my next update I will share more about the home we are building.
Sharing With:
Between Naps on the Porch, Concord Cottage, Stone Gable, Sand and Sisal, Yesterday on Tuesday, A Stroll Thru Life, Savvy Southern Style, Just a Girl and Her Blog, Common Ground, Imparting Grace, The Bold Abode
O, it’s going to be sooo nice. What fun you and hubby will have and how exciting to think of decorating it…:)
Thanks, bj! I am excited about decorating it but to tell you the truth, we are going to have to make due for a while. 🙂
Paula
That’s so exciting! You must be so happy. Y’all will get so much enjoyment from this house. Congrats!!
Thanks, Angie!! We are really excited! It will be fun to enjoy the lake in all seasons, not just when it is warm enough to use the dock.
Paula
Your lot looks beautiful. You have a great location. That walk up and down the hill gets really old after the fourth time. (I counted when we were there Memorial Day.) Enjoy all the excitement and work.
Thank you! You’ll have to let me know where you are on the lake. We aren’t far from Crystal Shores Marina.
Paula
oh my gosh, how exciting! can’t wait to see all the progress!
b
Thank you! We are so excited about this project. I hope that things move quickly so that I will have a lot to share.
Paula
AHHHH! WHAT?!?!?! That is SO exciting!!!! Hurray! Congratulations! How much fun will that be for you?! I cannot wait to watch this process unfold! Do you have an estimated finish date?
Thanks, Megan! Now you know why Mr. SP was in your office that day! 🙂 We are hoping to be finished by October but in the back of my mind I’m thinking it could be more like November or December. There isn’t a lot of parking which means only one subcontractor can work at a time which will make progress slow.
Paula
So happy for you! I love SML! It reminds me so much of Lake Lure where I spent my summers growing up! Can’t wait to follow along!
Thanks, Angela! I’m hoping to have more to share next week. It will really be exciting after it is framed and I can finally really visualize the house on our lot.
Paula
Great news! Looks like a perfect setting for a wonderful house at SML. May it stay dry enough for construction to proceed without delay!
Thanks, Peggy! Things should have rocked and rolled this week. We’ll see when we get there tomorrow.
Paula
Sooooo exciting ! Can’t wait to see it go up! Always wanted the lake house like 9On Golden Pond!
Thanks, Cindy! We are super excited about this project.
Paula
I’d say “Welcome to the Lake” but you’ve been there! Finally getting that house will be so exciting — a place for all those beautiful pieces of furniture and decor you’ve been working on. Can’t wait to see more. In fact, we might just have to boat by this weekend, so if you see a pontoon full of people gawking, it’ll probably be us.
Please come by this weekend, Wendy! We should be at the lake both days. (At least I hope we are!)
Paula
How exciting! Can’t wait to see the progress over the summer 🙂
Thanks, Vicki! We are really excited, especially since neither of us has ever gone through the process of building a home. We’re hoping to see some progress when we arrive at the lake tomorrow.
Paula
OH how completely exciting Paula!!! I can NOT wait to follow along on the progress!
xo
Nancy
Thanks, Nancy! I hope when we go to the lake this weekend that we see some progress. It is exciting and a bit scary all at the same time!
Paula
I love, love, love SML! My parents just left the lake after 13 years. Breaks my heart! We had a ton of memories over the years! Enjoy your time there!!! SML is truly a special place!
Thanks, Rachel! I can only imagine the memories you have after enjoying SML for 13 years. I am eager to get up there this weekend to see what progress has been made. Thanks so much for commenting and I hope you’ll follow along with our house building adventure!
Paula
Oh wow! That is so exciting! Congratulations and may I say, I’m a little jealous. Your site is beautiful. I can’t wait to read about the progress.
Thank you, Kathleen! The progress has been slow. I’m hoping to have more to share soon.
Paula
This is SO exciting, Paula!! What a beautiful retreat this will be! XO
We are super excited about it, Christy. It hopefully will get framed this week.
Paula