The Project

Overview

Over the last 121 years, the brick facade of the bell tower, consisting of kiln-fired soft clay bricks and lime-based mortar, has withstood extreme temperature variations and the powerful winds off Lake Ontario. The wind-driven snow and rain have infiltrated deep into the tower walls, causing the mortar to deteriorate and the clay bricks to expand, chip, and break. Past repairs with impermeable Portland cement prevented moisture from escaping. Over time, this caused cement to fall out, leading to even more moisture penetration and damage.

In addition, the belfry floor is damaged. Continuous thermal expansion and contraction of the steel supporting the floor has resulted in the cracking of the concrete topping slab and the failure of the bitumen membrane. Water has infiltrated the cracked topping and brick arched slab beneath, resulting in corrosion of the structural steel support beams and deterioration of the brick around the steel connections.

To stop deterioration, repair existing damage, and prevent future structural failure, significant mitigation work by an experienced masonry restoration contractor and structural engineer is required.

Today our Tower is still safe for visitors and bell-ringers, but if the weathering is allowed to continue unabated, there will be a day when it is not safe. Work that was done in 2020 repaired the highest priority items, including the decorative features (corbells) along the top of each floor, but more work remains to be done.

Progress Reports

August 2020

Initial work to stabilize the Tower began. Lupini Construction (lupiniconstruction.com) completed restoration of the west side of level 4 by replacing deteriorated and previously repaired brick with matching brick and deeply repointing all mortar joints with lime-based mortar to a minimal depth of 2”. They also rebuilt an area on the east side over the entrance door in the same manner. All elevations and sides had new flashing systems installed at the brick corbell belt courses with a new freedom grey flashing system with an integrated drip edge. This installation required a saw cut in the first course of brick to accept the flashing.

October 2020

During the 2020 season, inspection of the bell-level roof discovered additional damage. This needed to be inspected by a structural engineer for repair recommendations before continuing planned restoration of the belfry roof. Lupini construction contacted Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt (khhpc.com), a structural engineering company, to assess the current condition and recommend a solution.

Klepper, Hahn and Hyatt inspected the tower in late summer of 2020. Even though there is no visual evidence of the system approaching structural failure, they recommended the following course of action: remove the current topping slab and clean corrosion from the existing beams, coat them to prevent further corrosion, and replace the existing topping slab with a new waterproof roofing system; provide new I-beams in the clock/console room to reinforce the existing I-beams; replace the existing windows, adjacent to the clock faces, with storm-resistant louvers to allow ventilation of the space and limit future moisture damage in the space. This work is planned to be completed in the 2021 season.

Fall 2021 – July 1, 2022

Although not visible from the street, Lupini Construction is working inside the bell tower at the level of the village clocks, removing and replacing loose mortar, removing brick around the pockets where the steel beams are located, then cleaning and coating the steel beams with an anti-corrosion material. The brick around the pockets will then be replaced and re-pointed.  Steel compression struts will be installed across the slot where the rods run through to connect the bell clappers to the console.  The entire barrel vaulted ceiling at the console level will be completely repaired and re-pointed.  At the bell level, portions of the concrete deck will be removed to allow the application of an anti-corrosion material to the steel beams and channels embedded in the masonry wall.  The concrete deck will then be repaired and a new EPDM roofing membrane installed.  Louvered widows will be installed at the console level. We also had the three buttresses repaired and re-pointed prior to the June 8, 2022 public campaign kick-off event.

As the weather permits, the lower corbel band repairs and flashing installation will be completed and some additional brick and mortar repairs done.

Summer 2023

For August and September 2023 work continues on the exterior of the west side of the tower. Continued replacement and repair of the damaged brick as well as replacement of brick previously installed that was not of the same structural make up as the original brick and grout as the original materials. Some of the brick repair that had been accomplished over the years does not react to the wind, snow and freezing and thawing as the materials used in 1899-1900. The softer brick and mortar adapts to the expansion and contraction caused by changing conditions mush better than some of today’s harder brick and mortar. We are fortunate that Lupini specializes in this kind of restoration work.

Along with continued masonry work this summer, The exterior perimeter of the windows will be caulked and the three windows in most danger of failing will be repaired so that they will temporarily protect the tower interior until custom-built replacements can be purchased and installed. The current plan is to replace the three most seriously in need in 2024 along with continued masonry work.

What Still Needs to be Done

Broad construction goals for the Tower are to repair all deteriorating brick and mortar, replace flashing, and re-caulk around all windows, doors, and clock faces. The granite steps leading to the front doors will be re-caulked. Brick work will progress from the top floors down, according to what has taken the most weathering. Additional flashing and caulking will coincide with the brick work, to make the best use of the aerial lift. We have also determined that most of the windows need to be replaced due to failure of much of the original wood framing. At this point, Lupini Construction has generalized that “the majority of the failure is at the veneer brick,” so we hope to discover few areas of deeper damage.