Alpha avenue in Cabbagetown is a small cul de sac with petite Victorian row houses lining each side. They are all identical in style with their mansard roofs and polychromatic brick facades. Half of the facades are painted. We were fortunate to be able to put the polychromatic brickwork back on show on no.14 this past week. But why were these facades painted in the first place?
Well, in the early 70’s you could buy one of these for $30k. That’s $200k in today’s money. The people who owned them fixed them themselves. The cost of a tin of paint was a lot more forgiving than the cost of hiring a company or attempting the masonry work yourself. By all accounts -Cabbagetown was rough and ready back then and Heritage preservation was not as highly regarded as preservation of your family.
For this facade we dismantled all the brickwork, reclaimed 60-70% of the original brick and incorporated with new heritage style brick in the rebuild. Halfway through the project we realised all the buff heritage style brick were completely sold out in the city. Had we not been able to source some we would have been unable to finish. Multiple masonry companies reached out offering us brick. This was a heritage grant project. If you own a heritage designated property in Toronto you can apply for a grant which will help fund the costs associated with restoration. In order to receive the grant the work must be completed to the heritage committees standards and must follow their guidelines. That’s why hiring an experienced heritage masonry company is crucial.
