In March, we sent a group of our newer carpenters to Whippletree Timber Framing in Peterborough for a timber framing joinery workshop to learn a bit about this historic craft. Some of our other team members had previously taken the course and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 

As members of the Timber Framers Guild we were looking for a way to implement our timber framing skills, so we had a team building day raising a timber frame woodshed just outside of St. Marys.
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We have had a number of requests recently regarding wood windows and doors, particularly restoration of existing older units, and new units built in a sympathetic style for older buildings. In the past, we have spent many hours in convincing our clients with original wood windows to restore them or replace them with new wood windows. And we were excited to see that Shannon Kyles, a professor of architecture at Mohawk College, experimented on old windows to prove that they are as efficient and more environmentally friendly than new vinyl.

One of our clients in Hamilton, has a 1913 Tudor Revival home which sustained much water damage after a fire. This client wanted windows and doors to match the originals which needed to be replaced. We built and installed new wood windows and doors, and even had some of the original leaded glass restored.

Recently, a Stratford client, with a heritage designated home, had their wood windows refinished and restored. Matching storm windows were also built for winter protection and extra insulation.

The first day of summer seems like the perfect day for a spring newsletter... travel back in time (to yesterday) and visit some of our client's beautiful new spaces from the last few months (including spring!)

An Arts & Crafts cottage with a modern update, a "real" farmhouse kitchen in an actual farmhouse, and a newly revived Tudor Revival are waiting for you with a click!

There is our little red schoolhouse on the cover of Saturday's National Post Homes Section. The story goes that we took a decommissioned, converted schoolhouse that had once been a one-room schoolhouse and restored it back to its glory as a one-room schoolhouse; with double entries and a bell tower; sans hoards of school children.

Give the article a read to get the whole story or, if you prefer, just take a gander at the photos. 

And if you live in a unique house, we would love to hear about it!

Two of our favourite clients and friends, artist Janet Hill and of Fanfare Books, John Woodward, were featured in The Globe & Mail, a showcase of  the lovely addition we built on their Ontario Cottage. 

We designed the space with a California cottage feel, yet paying homage to the finishing details of the original home. An electic, relaxing living room to read, listen to records and watch classic movies with their delightful dog, Finnigan, was the resulting hybrid. 

Read more about this great space in The Globe & Mail exclusive.

One of the great things about the restoration work we do is getting to uncover the details of old structures that have been covered over through the years. Such was the case with this dormer from a prominent downtown St Marys building. The elements had taken their toll on the wooden windows and exterior details. Much had been covered over with tin and aluminum (on the left) and removing it (right side) revealed the pleasingly detailed woodwork. 

We saved the original structure and replicated all of the exterior mouldings and claddings. The windows were copied and reinstalled. The numerous layers of roofing were removed and a copper roof was fabricated and installed. Here the restored dormer is "flown" back into its rightful place - to set off this great building for another 100+ years.

Rory McDonnell is a General Contractor, Licensed Carpenter and Architectural Designer with Build, a construction firm in Stratford, Ontario, specializing in new custom home builds and renovations.

The doors at St. James Anglican Church in Stratford are coming down for restoration today. The church built in the late 1860s was designed in the Decorated Gothic Revival style by Toronto architect's Gundry and Langley. The exterior of the building is protected by an Ontario Heritage Trust conservation easement (1985) and is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. 

Reading that Perth County Council in all their supposed wisdom is even considering tearing down the former Land Registry Office / Archives building was enough to cause a sharp intake of breath followed by a rise in blood pressure and overall shaking of my head in disbelief.

To reflect on the shortcomings of the new building housing our archives whilst being told the original may be demolished is truly dismaying. I am no great fan of moving heritage structures from their native locations, but was this even considered before the rush to design the building which passes now as an acceptable home to our treasured collection of historical items?

I cannot fathom where we as a society have gone astray in our seeming disregard for the physical built elements of our past. They are, with few exceptions, wonderful examples of the determination of an earlier generation - of their desire to build for the future while at the same time leaving a tangible example of their craftsmanship and ingenuity. These buildings have lasted the test of time in a way few more recently built structures will, and yet some consider them disposable. We need these links to our past. Its that age old adage thing again - about knowing where you've been - a prime example of something we should cherish and hold onto. 

The Perth County Courthouse is a sister building to the old Land Registry Office - sharing elements and style, let alone location, with this wonderful building. If this ones goes, is it not logical to worry about the fate of the courthouse next to it? To have three significant heritage structures next to each other, including the jail, is rare indeed, in this day and age. This needs to be nipped in the bud. Fingers crossed that the residents of Stratford, and their elected representatives, show more concern for this building than the residents of Perth County are demonstrating thru the public statements of their politicians. ​

This is simply wrong. There are innumerable examples of thoughtful and imaginative ways to repurpose and honour old buildings such as this...

, …a wonderfully crafted example of how we have strayed off the path of sustainable and thoughtful building, of proper proportion/scale, detailing and style. It is simply wrongheaded and shortsighted. Something to consider for "Heritage Day" on February 15th.
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Rory McDonnell is a General Contractor, Licensed Carpenter and Architectural Designer with Build, a construction firm in Stratford, Ontario, specializing in new custom home builds and renovations.