Rideau Lakes & surrounding area
The alarm trips. A storm rolls through. The cameras go dark and you can’t tell if the Wi-Fi dropped or something’s wrong. You want someone who actually goes and looks — and shows you exactly what they found, with photos and video. That’s us: a trusted local team, one call away for your cottage. No chasing favours. No hoping a neighbour notices. Just handled.
When you’re away, we’re nearby.
Owning a place on the water is one of life’s great pleasures. Maintaining it from the city is not.
You shouldn’t have to line up five different contractors, wonder whether the work got done, or lie awake during a February storm hoping the pipes held. You need one local team you trust. That’s what we do.
Our signature service
The heart of what we do. On a schedule that fits your place — or any time you ask — we go out and lay eyes on your cottage: doors, windows, water, heat, storm damage, the crawlspace, the dock. You get photos and a short video, so you can see for yourself that all is well.
And if something’s off? We check in — and we handle it. We fix what we can on the spot, and for anything bigger we bring in the right trusted local trade and stay on it until it’s done. One call. That’s the whole idea.
On your schedule, after storms, or the moment you ask.
A real check, inside and out.
Photos & video, every visit.
Fix it, or bring in the right trade. One call.
What we do
Some things we do ourselves — property checks, small repairs, opening and closing, dock work. For everything else — plumbing, electrical, a tree down after a storm — we coordinate the right trusted local trade and stay on it until it’s done right. Either way, you make one phone call.
Water on, dock in, winter damage checked, and everything guest-ready for the season.
Arrive to a cottage that’s open, clean, and waiting. Repairs and projects handled between your visits.
Water drained, dock out, everything secured for winter — done right, so nothing freezes.
While it sits empty we check on it — after every storm, through the coldest months — and send you photos.
See it for yourself
After every visit you get photos — and, if you’d like, a short video walkthrough — so you can see with your own eyes that all is well. No wondering, no chasing an update: the proof lands in your inbox. It’s a small thing that means a lot when the place you love is three hours away.
Prefer photos only? Just say the word — the video is always your call.
Protect your coverage
Many insurance policies require regular checks on an unoccupied property — often weekly — and documented proof if you ever need to make a claim. Every visit we make is timestamped, photographed, and written up. Peace of mind for you, and exactly the record your insurer is looking for.
Requirements vary by policy — we’re glad to speak with your broker.
The Dewhirst Property Playbook™
Which breaker runs the dock. Where the hidden water shutoff is. Which valve to open first. Every cottage holds decades of knowledge — and almost none of it is written down. We preserve it in a living operating manual that’s yours to keep, and a genuine asset when you sell.
Why Dewhirst
We’re trusted with your keys and your codes. We take that seriously.
You’ll always know exactly who is looking after your place.
Photos, a short video if you like, and a clear report — before you have to ask.
We’re not chasing one job. We’re earning the next twenty years.
“As a cottage owner on the Upper Rideau, having a service like this available gives me real peace of mind. Having Eric and Torin available to assess a problem or damage and quickly report back to a homeowner makes me feel much more at ease. I encourage anyone who wants to keep a close eye on their summer investment to meet with Eric.”
“The branch over my driveway had got so low I was scraping my car every time I came in, and the propane truck couldn’t get down at all. Eric and Torin had it trimmed, cut up and hauled away in a couple of hours. They took every bit of it with them. They did a follow-up as well to make sure I was satisfied with the results, which I definitely was. They do the type of work that isn’t included in your regular lawn care.”
Meet the family
Dewhirst Cottage Care is a father-and-son business, run by Eric and Torin — who live right here in Newboro, full-time and year-round.
Eric has spent more than forty years with a family cottage — opening it each spring, closing it each fall, putting in the docks, and learning first-hand what it takes to care for a place on the water. That’s the experience he brings to every property he looks after here on the Rideau Lakes. Torin brings the work ethic and hands-on experience, with a background in lawn and property care, and is learning every corner of the trade alongside his dad.
Before this, Eric spent his career as an entrepreneur — starting, building, and selling companies. Dewhirst Cottage Care is a deliberate next chapter. In a world racing to automate everything, we set out to build the opposite: a business rooted in being here, in person, for people who can’t be. The same discipline that built those companies now goes into looking after your cottage — real systems, careful documentation, and showing up when it counts.
Eric is also a board member of the Newboro & Area Heritage Society — this community isn’t just where we work, it’s home. And we’re here in every season — including the deep-freeze months when your cottage sits empty and most needs looking after. We’re not hours away in the city; we’re right down the road.
We started Dewhirst for a simple reason: we know how hard it is to find someone local you can trust to look after a cottage — so we decided to be those people. We treat every property as if it were our own. For forty years, one was.
Membership
Looking after a cottage isn’t one job at a time — it’s a relationship across the year. Choose seasonal winter coverage or year-round care; either way you get regular documented visits, one number to call, and rapid response when something’s wrong.
Seasonal. Coverage for the months your cottage sits empty — regular checks through the freeze season, matched to what your insurer asks for, with one call and rapid response if anything’s wrong.
Eyes on your place every month — closer through the freeze, lighter in summer — with one call for anything, all year long.
Full-service care for larger properties, or owners who’d rather not think about any of it. Whatever you want at the lake, from a chef for a family dinner to the whole place ready for a house full of guests, we arrange it. Built around you.
Opening & closing, dock work, storm prep and projects are available any time as add-ons — members get preferred rates.
No lock-in. Memberships are billed monthly — cancel anytime. We’d rather earn your business every single visit than hold you to a signature.
Get started
For our first cottages this season, the assessment is on us. We’ll visit your cottage, document what matters, and give you a clear, honest picture of how we can help — no pressure, no obligation.
Prefer to talk? Call 343-800-5544.
Serving the Rideau Lakes and surrounding area. Fully insured.