As a consultant on the City of Hamilton’s Heritage Building Roster since 2010, George Robb Architect (GRA) was retained to oversee two phases of repair for Ancaster Old Town Hall. Phase I was the repair of the original stone foundation walls. All foundations, on three sides, excluding the rear recent addition, were excavated full height and repointed 100 percent. The original building had no basement but instead had a very restricted crawl space. All floor joist ends were examined and repaired as needed. These repairs were required due to rot in the portion of the joists buried in the stone foundation walls. Existing floors were lifted to facilitate these repairs and later replaced. A new contemporary hardwood floor was installed over the original wood floor to provide a serviceable surface for the high-volume community facility.

Phase II occurred in 2015 and consisted of the restoration of the original wood windows, front doors, and transom. The windows were removed and restored off-site to allow for a higher degree of control and care. The wood frames were repaired and deteriorated curved members were replaced by steam bending. The glazing was re-puttied. Damaged glass was replaced with salvaged heritage glass. The stone surrounding the windows was also repointed. The damaged window and door hardware was replaced with both salvaged and new operable hardware. The windows and doors were painted with a linseed oil paint and the new colours selected were based on a paint colour investigation conducted in 2010 by the owners.

Peter Stewart

Sam Trigila

Francine Antoniou