Restoring or repairing a heritage property comes with a host of paradoxes; how do you recreate a structure where its very age helps define it ? We take the approach that unique buildings or those with heritage designations are restored as sympathetically as possible to look like the original, with the same quality of finishes and details. Although traditional building materials like stone, lead, and oak will be used to replace what existed before, we recognize that these will not necessarily be faithful replicas of the materials they’ll replace.
For example, in the case of stone, it is likely to be freshly quarried, and in the case of timber, it won’t be from the same historical period. For small repairs, second-hand or reclaimed materials in sufficient quantities might be available and would be used to successfully blend-in with the remaining structure.
We also anticipate that allied to traditional craft skills, modern construction methods will be used in the repairs and may be required to comply with building by-laws and regulations. The use of modern construction methods and the philosophy behind them are fully understood and accepted by the various heritage bodies in Canada.