The Restoration of Casa Loma A Toronto Historic Landmark Sam Trigila Vice President Clifford Restoration Ltd. Casa Loma (Once upon a time) In the heart of Canada s largest city, high atop a hill, sits Sir Henry Pellatt s Castle. A 98 Room Castle with 25 fire places, 30 bathrooms, 3 bowling alleys, a 50-meter long shooting gallery, an indoor pool, and stables linked to the main castle by a 243- meter long tunnel. 1
Sir Henry Pellatt ( King of the Castle ) Henry Pellatt was born in Kingston, Ontario on January 6, 1859. After Henry graduated from the exclusive Upper Canada College, he embarked on a tour of Europe, at which point, his passion and love for art, antiquities and medieval castles flourished. Sir Henry Pellatt cont. ( King of the Castle ) Through Henry s many shrewd investments, and ability to envision and embrace the changing times, he amassed a large fortune. His investments included The Toronto Electric Company, Northwest Land Company, Canadian Pacific Railways and The Roman Stone Company. 2
Location, Location, Location Sir Henry acquired 25 estate lots on the top of Davenport Hill called Casa Loma ( house on the hill). He later bought more land to the north for the stables, staff quarters, barracks, greenhouses, heating plant and the famous tunnel. Build me a Castle Mr. Lennox Sir Henry sought out famed architect, E.J. Lennox, and the castle design began in 1909. A year later the foundation was laid. In all, it took 300 trades people (all personally selected by Henry) 3 years, at a cost of 3.5 million dollars. 3
Build me a Castle Mr. Lennox Only the finest building materials would do for such an undertaking. These included: Credit Valley Sandstone Spanish tiles Herring-bone Pattern floors Mahogany horse stalls with 18 karat gold lettering spelling each horse s name Cast stone (Roman stone) for surrounds, capstones, conical turrets, chimneys, etc Sir Henry s Reign The Pellatts took residence in 1914 with the interior not yet complete. This took shape quickly. Unfortunately the Pellatts only enjoyed their fairytale paradise for ten years. Nonetheless their time at Casa Loma was joyous. The castle was a modern medieval marvel with 5000 electric lights, central vacuum system, the first electrical elevator in a private residence in Toronto, and 52 telephones. 4
Sir Henry s Fall The Castle was the hungry child of Sir Henry, and consumed about $100,000.00 per year in maintenance alone including: Wages - $22,000.00 800 tons of coal - $15,000.00 Taxes - $12,000.00 By 1924 many of Henry Pellatt s business ventures had collapsed. Broken and penniless, Henry turned his beloved Casa Loma over to the City of Toronto for unpaid taxes. He spent his final years living with a former chauffeur in a small house in Toronto. He died in 1939 with cash assets of $185.00 and debts totaling $6,000.00. Casa Loma, (and the busy social calendar ) In 1937, the Kiwanis Club leased Casa Loma from the City and turned it into one of Canada s premier tourist attractions. Today, Casa Loma receives about 350,000 visitors annually. Casa Loma has also become a popular backdrop for weddings, business gatherings and popular film shoots. 5
The Ultimate Fixer-Upper Under the lease agreement the City maintained the exterior envelope. Through the many years, the castle underwent many repairs (patch jobs) and band aid solutions. Poorly maintained roofs, bad flashing details, and perhaps the largest mistake of all, the application of several types of coatings atop the Roman Stone, left the castle s exterior in need of stabilization and restoration. Planning a Successful Approach Many challenges confronted the project team during the planning and implementation of the historic restoration project. Up front identification planning, testing, and management would greatly minimize or eliminate these challenges. Testing, mock-ups, on-going dialogue with the user group and detailed scheduling would be essential. 6
Identify the major Obstacles On Site 1. +/- 350,000 visitors 2. Stabilization of various elements 3. Access for inspection 4. Coating removals Off Site 1. Roman stone analysis 2. Mortar analysis 3. Materials testing 4. Materials sourcing The Tourist vs. the Restoration The Castle has it s peak tourist season from the end of May to mid November; as well as Christmas and New Years. All work was to be scheduled around the castle s needs. This would involve enclosed scaffolding, heating, detailed scheduling and planning. 7
Stabilization and Inspection Every spring a two to three week inspection is conducted to remove loose materials, install netting/temporary supports and to monitor and up-date the condition survey. What is Roman Stone??? Roman Stone is an early version of today's face mix precast. Roman Stone was cast in sand moulds, using a dry tamped face mix, a concrete back-up and a steel reinforcing. The face mix is a blend of several exotic crushed stones, ranging from 3/8 to a 00 fine powder. 8
Roman Stone ( bond line failure ) Typical failure of Roman Stone Due to the application of coatings 9
New Roman Stone mix design. Break down the original mix design (Mr. Surendra Dattani P.Eng.) Sourcing of the aggregates. Pouring techniques. (original sand-mould technique vs. modern methods) West Loggia & Chimney (case study) The west loggia and the chimney directly above, were in extremely poor condition as are all of the chimneys at the Castle. The following is a brief overview of the process for documentation, dismantle and rebuild of the west loggia and the chimney. This is a small portion of this current phase. 10
Access and Protection The building face setback, chimneys location, (at one of the highest points of the castle), wind loads and engineering constraints, made the scaffolding and protection both challenging and creative. Documentation and Fabrication 11
Documentation and Fabrication Elevation drawings of all areas were prepared in-house. All individual pieces are numbered. Detailed information is recorded, such as course heights, slopes, off-sets and any special conditions. Documentation and Fabrication Sections are recorded during dismantle. The bonded masonry depths are key in the production of new units as well as providing excellent record information. 12
Documentation and Fabrication Production tickets for every individual piece are produced. The tickets are used for fabrication of the new moulds, as well as for record purposes. Dismantle 13
Re-assembly West Loggia: (before..after) 14
West Loggia: (before..after) Chimney: (before..after) 15
Chimney Cap: (before.after) Unicorn 16
Conclusion If we wish to be successful with our historic restoration project, we must first look to the history of the site. This look to the past may assist us to better understand the structure, materials, and original building techniques. Conclusion The risks and unknowns on heritage restoration projects are greater than on standard building rehabilitation projects. These projects have a reputation of being over budget, late on completion, difficulty in achieving the high quality to the original finishes. 17
Conclusion Prequalification of trades is essential (Sir Henry hand picked his team). Selection of materials to the original high standards. Conclusion Through up-front planning, testing, mockups and diligent selection of the expert project team, we can identify, analyze, and manage our resources. This also gives use the time to seek out specialty suppliers and trades beyond our geographical areas. 18
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