One lake, eight towns
Winnipesaukee is about 21 miles long, with roughly 288 miles of shoreline and more than 250 islands. Eight towns touch it. Going clockwise from the south end they are Alton, Gilford, Laconia, Meredith, Center Harbor, Moultonborough, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro.
Kevin works out of Ossipee, northeast of the lake. Wolfeboro, Tuftonboro and Moultonborough are the closest. The Belknap County side, from Alton around to Center Harbor, is a longer drive, and Kevin works there too.
What lake living asks of a foundation
A lake house gets seen from two sides, the road and the water. On a lot that drops to the shore, the water side is the tall side, with the most concrete showing, the most wind and the most sun. That is the wall boats go past all summer.
Natural stone veneer on that wall has to be built for it: flashing at the top, a drainage edge at the bottom, joints filled solid, and a first course kept up out of the wet ground. Get those right and the stone handles Winnipesaukee winters. Skip them and water gets behind the stone, freezes, and starts pushing it off.
Stone that looks like the lake
The natural stone people see every day around Winnipesaukee is ledge at the waterline and old fieldstone walls back in the woods. Veneer that picks up those grays, browns and rusty tones looks right from a boat. Bright, uniform manufactured stone usually does not, and it shows its concrete core where it chips.
Town by town
Each town page covers what is different about that town's houses, roads and shoreline.
- Wolfeboro: the bay village, Lake Wentworth and Wolfeboro Falls
- Tuftonboro: Melvin Bay, Route 109 and 27 of the lake's islands
- Moultonborough: the Neck, Long Island and Moultonborough Bay
- Center Harbor: a small harbor town that also fronts Squam
- Meredith: Meredith Bay, the Neck and Lake Waukewan
- Laconia: Lakeport, downtown and the Weirs
- Gilford: Glendale, Governors Island and Gunstock
- Alton: Alton Bay and the west shore under Mount Major
Beyond veneer
Lake lots come with slopes, docks and paths, so a veneer job around Winnipesaukee often sits next to other stone work: a retaining wall holding the lawn above the shore, flagstone down to the dock, steps between levels, a patio facing the water. Kevin builds all of those and does interior and exterior painting, so one call can cover the lot.
