Completed in his spare time from 2002 to 2012, this chalet was my Dad’s pre-retirement project. It came from his wish to really appreciate the “exceptional” view of the Fjord, revel in the silence and showcase our local resources like timber and granite, so he could welcome his whole family for our traditional moose hunt on his private enclave.
This chalet’s authentic artisanal design is both original and unique: picture two sweet “old fellas” with a mean age hovering around seventy, working away to offer you the following:
100% of all the lumber (beams and planks) was sourced locally (spruce, red and white pine, cedar, aspen and tamarack). Milled on a portable sawmill, it was later dried, hand-planed and cut to size in Dad’s workshop.
100% of all the stone used to build the massive fireplace, exterior steps and lower-level staircase was hand-picked along the roads built by Hydro-Québec, Québec’s Ministry of Transport (MTQ) and Boisaco Inc. This translated into 35 pickup-loads full of rock, and 150 sacks of cement.
100% of the espagnolette-mounted windows and wood doors were recycled from an old convent in St-Damien de Bellechasse. They were treated with natural resin oil after being stripped and their panes resealed, a task representing about 500 hours of painstaking work.
The kitchen counter and tabletop are made of mica-rich granite, cut and polished at the former Graniber plant, in Bergeronnes.
The 2-seat ‘outhouse’ – with 1 for kids – is anchored into the rock overlooking the Fjord. Many guests have commented that it’s the outhouse with the finest view in the world.
Its location was chosen to maximize on the warmth and luminosity of the sun, and to offer protection from the high winds that are whipped up in the natural channel formed by the Fjord. As well, rock removed from the basement now entraps extra heat in the outhouse, so appreciated on cold wintry nights.
My father hopes that like him, you will revel in the peacefulness and untouched, rustic beauty of this property. He also hopes you will adjust quickly to the few constraints tied to the site’s natural remoteness, and he wishes you an unforgettable stay.