gables, and decorative “gingerbread” trim – to wood-framed and sided buildings. Layer Cake Hall is one of the few examples of the style in Ontario. After the Loyalist Township assumed ownership of the building in 2019, they determined that an extensive restoration of the original building was necessary to stabilize the structure and protect the architecture. The $545,000 project was funded in part by the federal and provincial governments, it was awarded to Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group, and the work took place in 2022. When Ecclesiastical Refinishing Group got involved, the building had no proper foundation and was sitting on deteriorating cedar sills, and the scope of the restoration was correspondingly ambitious. The company shored up the structure, removed and replaced two-thirds of the original cedar sills with new British Columbia kiln-dried cedar, rebuilt the gravel and cementitious base beneath them, and then lowered the building back into place. When an engineering assessment revealed that two of the building’s four gables were beginning to splay outward, the team also ran a steel rod between them to arrest any further movement – a job that required dismantling sections of the interior to gain access. Once the structural work was complete, the exterior was stripped of paint using a product called Peel Away, a paste-based stripper that, when covered with a special paper and left for 24 to 48 hours, can pull off up to 30 layers of paint at once. The windows were then reglazed with a linseed oil-based putty, a traditional product “which your grandfather might have used.” That product was unavailable through domestic suppliers, requiring Mark to source it from the United States, but he strongly believes the effort paid off: “That linseed oil-based glazing will probably have longevity for a lifetime,” he says, “where the glazing you see today on most of these windows will probably last 10 years, if that.” According to Mark, Loyalist Township was enthusiastic and deeply engaged throughout the process, and then very satisfied with the end result. They even received an award for the project from the Frontenac Heritage Foundation – “so they were very satisfied,” Mark reports. Personally, Mark was also very satisfied with the finished product. He says it’s “quite a marvellous little building” and he enjoys seeing it every time he drives past. THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE CANADA
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