Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/785220
FEBRUA RY 2017 | 19 Restoration Products & Services stone products coming from Canada, the U.S. and as far afield as China and India. Several reasons are driving this demand, one being that thin products don't require a bridge ledge; without the ledge, designers have hundreds of choices for cladding and can choose their finishes up to the last minute, more like paint. Unfortunately, the thin masonry industry has gotten a bad reputation because the effectiveness of the installation systems have been problematic; however, with the evolution of complete Thin Masonry Veneer Installation Systems, there is now a strong argument for looking at the movement to thin adhered veneers. Arriscraft's ARRIS.clip system comes in both a sealed or open back-drained and ventilated rain- screen system. The company's reasons for venturing into this arena of construction had to do with the fact that full-bed masonry could not be used in a curtain wall type assembly, and this limited the applications for its units. Arriscraft has worked successfully on high-rise applications with these back-drained and ventilated rain- screens, and on projects where hanging the material from the substrate is really the only viable option. Of course, a busy 2016 also gave restorers plenty of opportunities to exhibit their skill in repairing historic edifices, as Ed Humphries, project manager for Colonial Building Restoration, can attest. Colonial's motto is "preserving the past for Canada's future," and it has completed projects from $5,000 in value to $8 mil- lion, including the Library of Parliament (which required stone preservation, stone consolidation, documentation, repointing and Dutchmen repair); Toronto Old City Hall (stone preservation, masonry cleaning, cutting out and repointing); and also the award-winning 51 Division Police Station (extensive brick and wood work, plus sandblasting and epoxy painting of the roof trusses). Colonial spent most of 2016 involved in rehabilitating the exterior facade of the art deco Paul Martin Building in downtown Windsor, a $3-million project that required replacing, repointing, re-anchoring and repair of various masonry compo- nents; moreover, elements of the Tyndall limestone facade had to be sourced from a specific quarry in Manitoba. Humphries calls the project "very satisfying but also very challenging," referring to the fact that some of the exterior stones that had to be removed and inspected weighed anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds; for this and other reasons, the entire six floors of the building had to be surrounded by protective scaffolding, for the safety of pedestrians. Humphries echoes the sentiments of many of his colleagues in the restoration sector when he says, "We love what we do, and 2016 was very busy for us. By all counts, 2017 will be equally intense." A Colonial Building Restoration's exterior facade rehabilitation at the Paul Martin Building, Windsor, ON. 12:54 PM