Turn a seasonal Geneva Lake cottage into a comfortable year-round home, or simply protect it through the winter months. Free quotes.
Lake Geneva has been a summer retreat for Chicago and Milwaukee families for well over a century, and a lot of that housing stock reflects it — older lakefront cottages built for warm-weather use, with thin walls and little or no insulation. As more owners want to use these properties year-round, or simply protect them better through the off-season, insulation upgrades have become one of the most common projects we handle in the area.
Spray foam is applied to walls, crawl spaces, and attics much like a standard home, but older cottage framing often means more irregular gaps and access challenges — exactly where spray foam's expanding fill has an advantage over rigid board or batt insulation. Depending on the cottage, this might mean opening up walls during a broader renovation, or working through more limited access points if the structure is staying largely as-is.
Full winterization for year-round use typically also involves protecting plumbing from freezing and confirming the heating system can handle sustained winter use, not just occasional weekend visits. Insulation is usually the largest piece of that project, but it's worth planning for the full scope if the goal is true year-round living.
Cottage size, how much of the structure needs insulation (a full retrofit vs. filling gaps in an already-partially-insulated space), and accessibility all factor into price. Older, more unusual framing can add time compared to a standard modern home.
In most cases, yes. Insulation is usually the biggest piece of that conversion, since many older cottages around the lake were built for summer use only, with little or no insulation in the walls, floors, or attic.
Older cottages often have unusual framing, additions built over time, and less accessible crawl spaces or foundations than a typical home built to modern standards. Spray foam's ability to seal irregular spaces is particularly useful in these older structures.
Often yes — pipes in an uninsulated cottage are typically not protected against freezing the way a year-round home's plumbing is. Insulation is a major piece of winterizing, but ask us about the full scope if you're planning to use the cottage through winter.
Even without converting to full year-round use, insulation reduces heating costs during shoulder-season use (spring and fall) and helps protect the structure from moisture and temperature swings during the winter months when it sits empty.
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