The Fusco: A Dream 10 Years in the Making Comes True

There is absolutely nothing better than a Timber Block wall installation. Well, except when it’s a wall installation that is happening after nearly a decade of planning, dreaming, and making the perfect changes to build the perfect home.

Let’s tell you the story of The Fusco. (Note: Rosie and Gabe Fusco – along with the Timber Block team – have appropriately named this specific home “The Fusco”, considering how unique, special, and fun this project has been right from the start. It really does deserve its own name!)

Meet Rosie. Rosie and Gabe knew from the time they became a couple that they shared the same vision – they would one day build the home of their dreams. They realized that to get to that point, they had to work hard, and so off they went! Both went on to have very successful careers, and before they knew it, they started scouting out builders, attending home shows, and searching for the land to build this forever home.

So, 10 years ago, the pair walked into the Cottage Life Show and ended up meeting with members of Team Ontario at the Timber Block Booth. This is when they picked up their very first plan book and spent time looking through the models and weeding out things they wanted and things they didn’t. The Dakota certainly caught their eye, and they thought it might be “The One”. So, they packed up the car and made the (snowy) trip to visit the Dakota model at Timber Block’s Granby, Quebec location. Immediately, however, they realized the Dakota was not nearly big enough for what they wanted. So, they put their snow boots and winter coats back on and slid over to visit the Denver model at Timber Block’s Mirabel location. They fell absolutely in love with the Denver and were excited to start visualizing what their dream home might look like.

They didn’t stop there. Thinking back to why they were interested in Timber Block, they turned around and made the trip to Mascouche, Quebec, where the Timber Block Factory is located. She said they had a private tour of the factory, and they knew right then and there, Timber Block was the right choice for them. “My husband is a mechanical engineer and has a ton of knowledge – he and I were so impressed with the actual technology of the wall system, it really blew us away. It was very important for us to see the factory firsthand.”

There’s another little part to this story. The Fuscos’ had land at the time. It was on a different lake, but after deciding what their dream home was going to look like, they decided that lot was way too small so they moved on and found a 5-acre private lakefront lot on a different lake. This was needed because after Rosie and Gabe made the changes they wanted, their home is going to end up being a whopping 5700 square feet!

“One of the biggest changes we made was to the ‘sunroom’,” says Rosie. “In short we added space on top of the sunroom, so it’s no longer open to above, and created an additional ‘lounge’ room. I could picture this special area to be more of a crash space that my kids and future grandkids could enjoy.” Rosie says they also wanted to move the stairs to open up the view. “Instead of walking in and seeing the staircase first thing, we shifted it to the right, and so now when you walk in the front door, you have a clear view right to the lake.

In addition, another major change to the plan came from a photo she saw on Timber Block’s Instagram page, where one client added the garage space in the basement area. “We loved the look of that,” says Rosie. “We had never seen a garage design like that before, and so instead of the original plan to have an “L” shape garage beside the house, it’s actually below and takes up about a third of the basement.”

The Fusco’s are certainly having fun with their project, because right now, they have a home already on this property, so they are – literally – watching it being built! “We’re excited to be able to be hands-on, and able to see the progress, and we’re happy to have the extra home later to use as a guest house,” says Rosie.

We asked Rosie why she ultimately chose to build a Timber Block home. “The technology behind the wall system and the style of home Timber Block offered was perfect for us. Plus, we are in Canada, so the high insulation value provided by the Timber Block wall design in combination with using ICF for the foundation was important to us. In addition, we had so many changes, so having the ability to customize our plans along the way was absolutely necessary.”

Rosie says it’s not just about the technology, and the house itself, it was also about the people they met along the way. “Greg (Bruce) has been with us from Day 1. He even came with us when we were buying the property to make sure it was the right fit. The entire Timber Block team has been nothing but great to us!”

Now that the home is getting to the dry-in stage, what’s the next step? Well, Rosie says it will be a while until we get the next update! “For 2023, we will have the home dried in, and the roof and windows fully complete by November. Then we head to Florida for the winter, where I’ll be adding all sorts of interior ideas to my Pinterest board!” Rosie says 2024 will be all about the inside. “We want this house to feel like home. We want it to feel casual and comfortable. The beautiful pine on the interior walls brings so much warmth to the home – we want a design that will complement them. We are really looking forward to having our friends and family come and stay with us. We have 2 daughters, and we already know this place will be the wedding venue for at least one of them!”

Now that the wall raising is complete, we asked Rosie what it felt like that day. “We worked so hard to get where we are. This dream was there for so long – 27 years! To see that vision come to life is just too hard to put into words.”

Let’s take a look at that very special day….

 

Now, sit back and enjoy this time-lapse of the installation….

If you would like to follow the Fusco’s Journey to their dream home, you can follow on Instagram at @sugarlakedream_timberblock.

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