Andrew Glover

Cabin Kings Partners with Jamaica Cottage Shop to Showcase Sugar Shack

Jamaica Cottage Shop will supply them with a cabin kit that has traditional mortise and tenon joinery making the post and beam house plan extremely durable.

The sugar shack is based on the design of a traditional New England cabin that is still used today to boil maple syrup. It can be used as a working sugar house, workshop and even a man cave. The Cabin Kings will showcase how it can meet multiple needs.
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“We’re excited about the opportunity to partner with the Cabin Kings on this project,” Domenic Mangano, owner, Jamaica Cottage Shop, says. “And, while it’s not the first show we have appeared on, it’s the first one with the National Geographic network.”

Other shows that Jamaica Cottage Shop have appeared on include the FYI Network for “Tiny House Nation” and the DIY Network. “Building Wild” will be their third reality TV appearance.

For a full schedule of the “Building Wild” series: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/building-wild/.

For more information about Jamaica Cottage Shop: http://www.JamaicaCottageShop.com/.

About Jamaica Cottage Shop, Inc.:
In business for 20 years, The “Jamaica Cottage Shop” name derives from the tiny New England town of Jamaica, Vermont where the company had its humble beginnings in 1995. Today, the company is based in Londonderry and produces a full line of outdoor storage shed kits, tiny houses, outhouses and green living cabins. Hand-crafted by Vermont artisans, these buildings are as durable as they are attractive and are built in the post and beam tradition.

– Photo for media: Send2Press.com/wire/images/15-0313-16x20sugarshack-300dpi.jpg .
– Photo Caption: 20 x 30 Vermont Cottage (Sugar Shack).

News issued by: Jamaica Cottage Shop, Inc.

Jamaica Cottage Shop, Inc.

If you don’t live in New England, you might never have even heard of this extra season. I spent the first 50+ years of my life “enjoying” the pros and cons of this short time, where it falls in between winter & spring. It’s a curious time of t-shirt days, often snowy nights, and rushing rivers. The earth smells amazing as it starts to awaken, and the sun is strong enough to coax the very first signs that spring is coming - laying bare south slopes, rocky outcroppings and widening the circle of grass and earth around tree bases. As the temperatures swing wildly about, hundreds of miles of back dirt roads become impassable if you have anything with a lower ride then a 4 wheel drive ½ ton pick up, and even driveways become only passable with your wellies. I remember once, in the 80s, getting stuck so bad during mud season, that I had to leave my vintage Land Rover stuck were it was for a full week, while the mud became less impossible to work in. I never tried driving “in” as we used to call it, in April again.
Out of curiosity, I went to wiki to see if it was even a “thing”.

Mud season is a period in northern New England in late winter/early spring when dirt paths such as roads and hiking trails become muddy from melting snow and rain.[1]

Mud season occurs only in places where the ground freezes deeply in winter, is covered by snow, and thaws in spring. Dirt roads and paths become muddy because the deeply frozen ground thaws from the surface down as the air temperature warms above freezing. The snow melts but the frozen lower layers of ground prevent water from percolating into the soil so the surface layers of soil become saturated with water and turn to mud.

That sort of explains it. You have to experience it for real, to fully appreciate its diversity. At least it is recognized as a real season.

Mud season is also is a time of some serious planning about tiny homes for New England summers. Those long winter months were great for the dreaming part, mud season is for the actual planning part. Summer is so close, you can almost touch it, but there is still spring before summer, so there is time for plans to become reality.

Most mud seasons for me, were spent planning another adventure. Traveling was always high on the list – these days, I would be thinking about these road legal glamping (Urban Dictionary defined as glamorous camping. When you’re glamping in a tiny house for travel, there’s no tent to pitch, no sleeping bag to unroll, and no fire to build. Jamaica Cottage Shop has the edge on these structures, of course, since they are where one can buy a tiny house on wheels.

Road legal prefab tiny house on wheels being built this week at Jamaica Cottage Shops 70,000 sq. ft . factory

In my opinion, these custom buildings on trailers define an intention that hasn’t been seen since Airstream was a thing.

Look forward to more information on this new wave of exciting tiny houses for travel. Jamaica Cottage Shop is in mud season mode with extended hours (Monday-Friday 9-5pm, Saturday 9-4pm, Sundays by chance or appointment) a toll free number (1-866-297-3760) of in house staff (including a design team, client care team, and tech support team) while the factory is also open for touring the facility and seeing some of this new work as it becomes available.
My guess is that Jamaica Cottage Shop will not only soon be where to buy tiny houses on wheels regularly, but will have the kits and plans so you can make them too.

I wondered how many companies make sugar shack buildings. A quick google search didn’t answer my question. Is there really only one company selling a comprehensive selection of this classic building? Seems so.

Jamaica Cottage Shop, in picturesque Southern Vermont, has quietly been building an extensive inventory of homesteading buildings for 20 plus years now. The sugar shacks they have available, are no exception. I counted no less than eight sizes for their Do It Yourself building plans (which are available for the modest price of only $50), eleven sizes for their prefabricated kits (with a multitude of options available) which, by the way, are shipped free (What? FREE?) (yes indeed.). Eleven sizes for fully assembled buildings (with a similar amazing shipping plan), and looked at a number of wonderful pics that showed custom sugar house design is something they also do on a regular basis too.

Clearly the sugaring industry is thriving and well.

Add Color with Inexpensive Metal Roofing Options (to Dramatically Change a Basic Model) - By Kim Rak

Every time I am immersed in the Jamaica Cottage Shop’s photo albums (50,000 plus pics to eventually glean), methodically organizing them by categories, I start to see sub-categories that I really want to show off. Hence, the article on metal shed roofing options. It is a simple way to change a basic design, and it’s only a nominal difference in price (see select an option for pricing examples) to change from the standard evergreen to an interesting (beautiful) autumn red, matte black, or any of the other 12 colors available.

Domenic Mangano’s (Jamaica Cottage Shop’s founder) initial aesthetic 20 years ago, had a folky, rugged quality, with plenty of artsy details, and dramatic spots of color. As his designs became more refined and streamlined over the years, I noticed the color and artistic details remained, giving his designs (which already fall into the unique category with the prefabricated kits and extensive line for tiny cottage living) an artisan edge, which many companies fall short of. I noticed that often, the simplest addition, a burgundy roof,  a tudor brown roof, or even a mix of two colors really changes the whole outcome.

When I wrote about the Greenhouse last week, I made several notes to explore the many inexpensive roofing options and more that make this tiny house company so unique, and easy to use. In the coming weeks, I will be continuing to share the way some simple changes from the standard, can optimize your landscape. Look forward to reading more about the other shed roofing options you can choose from, the selection of hand forged iron hinges (from local artisans), and how amazing their cedar flower boxes can make your home look.

When I submitted this article for review, Domenic suggested I add some more educational/resource information to further help with roofing questions. Good idea!

So, here’s some more important information about inexpensive roofing options. The screws used to mount the metal panels, have rubber gaskets (that are made in the USA) that create a self sealing finish in combination with the metal threads. The paint on these roofing screws match the panels.

Another important difference in shed roofing options he wanted me to point out, is between the standing seam roof and the corrugated roof.

• Via Wikipedia –
• Standing Seam Metal. This is a metal product that comes in rolled form and in various widths. The material is "seamed" together using a special seaming tool that is run vertically up the panel to seal the joints and prevent water intrusion.
• Corrugated galvanized steel. This describes the original product that was wrought iron–steel sheet coated with zinc and then roll formed into corrugated sheets. This product is still used today in most areas. The newer push of modern architecture and "green" products has brought these products back to the foreground.

Let’s face it, these handcrafted buildings are not the everyday shed you see at your local box store, yet they are often more affordable, and note: this company is all in-house staff, guaranteed to make your experience a good one.

Add Color with Inexpensive Metal Roofing Options (to Dramatically Change a Basic Model) - By Kim Rak