When plaster fell from the roof of St. Peter's Anglican Church in 2018, the Church decided it was time to close the sanctuary. The 170-year-old heritage building needed a critical restoration and selected The Dalton Company as Construction Manager in collaboration with Architect Charles Sopher and Structural Consultant Jokinen Engineering/Technology.
After four years of further exploratory analysis, engineering investigations and pre-construction planning, construction of the St. Peter's Church Roof and Bell Tower Restoration project began in Summer 2022.
The Dalton team used their diverse heritage restoration and religious sector experience to ensure this detailed $3 million project was completed to the highest quality. Projects like Bata Shoe Factory Lofts, Wychwood Barns, Little Trinity Church, St. James Cathedral, and Young Centre are exceptional examples of Dalton's experience restoring iconic heritage buildings.
Despite multiple challenges and unknown variables that often arise with restoration projects, Dalton delivered an exceptional result to the Client— a church that will stand the test of time.
Interior Plaster Consolidation
The deterioration of the ceiling plaster was significant and after years of inspections, the team decided it was more economical to reinforce the existing plaster ceiling through consolidation rather than to replaster it.
Plaster consolidation involves drilling three-eighths-inch injection holes into the plaster in rows spaced 16 inches apart, then inserting an application wand to apply the consolidation product.
A platform was built on top of scaffolding throughout the Church interior to provide a safe and efficient means of work. Once completed, the sanctuary was restored to its original state and reopened to the public.
Bell Tower Restoration
The bell tower parapet walls were in poor condition and required a complete replacement. The existing bricks and coping stones were catalogued before replacement so they could be reused and skilled masons carefully built the new parapet walls using bricks sourced to match the colour variation of the existing bricks.
Along with the parapets, construction included a new bell tower roof, access hatch and repairs to the buttresses and louvers. Scaffolding was erected around the entire bell tower requiring extensive coordination to allow the Church to remain operational.
Roof Restoration
To restore the roof, a new roof structure was built on top of the existing one. The engineering team conducted an exploratory analysis by opening the roof, eaves and gutters revealing the Church needed structural reinforcement to support the additional load of the proposed new roof structure.
Dalton's Senior Site Manager, Matthew Myszkowski says, "The Cintec Anchor System was used to provide structural reinforcement to the new eaves steel structure, a common method used for heritage building restorations."
Once the structural reinforcement was completed with the anchors, engineered eaves, and tie rods, the existing roof was prepared for the new structure, including the removal of the old shingles, eaves, and flashing and the addition of new plywood and a permeable membrane.
The new roof structure has nine main components including the structural steel assembly, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) installation, insulation, plywood, a waterproof membrane, steel shingles, downspouts, gutters and flashing.
Key Project Subcontractors:
Inter-Provincial Painting
Ste-Alco