Last week we completed two door openings on two different houses in the east end of Toronto. House #1 was a red brick semi in Riverdale built c.1920, house #2 was a bungalow in East York, built with very dense wire-cut brick in the 1950’s. Though the projects themselves were quite similar we had to tackle each job with a different approach to ensure that our new work would be compatible with the existing bricks and mortar. Though the houses were built only 30 years apart, duing that time there were huge changes in construciton technology which led to the use of very different masonry products. The home in Riverdale was built with relatively soft red bricks, the walls were 2 layers, or “wythes” thick and it was built with lime mortar. We turned a 3′ wide door opening into a 10′ wide door opening to accomodate a beautiful set of maple and glass sliding doors with accent windows. In order to create such a large opening and to prevent the 20 feet of brick wall above the doorway from falling we structurally supported the wall above the opening height and then removed all of the bricks below. We then rebuilt the door jambs and installed 2 steel lintels to support the weight of the wall above the door, 1 lintel for each of the 2 wythes of the brick wall. We used a Natural Hydraulic lime 3.5 mortar which will ensure that there is sufficient compressive strength while at the same time will be similar in density and porosity to the original bricks and mortar. At the East York bungalow we converted a 3′ door opening to a 5′ sliding door opening. This home was built with very dense bricks and a less porous, cement based mortar. This home was also built with 2 masonry wythes, so much the same as the Riverdale house we reinforced the wall above the opening and installed 2 steel lintels to provide structural strength. However, in contrast to the soft, lime mortar that we used in Riverdale, this project required the use of a cememnt based mortar to match the original. So we used lime and type N cement to create a less porous and more dense composite mortar. At both houses our experience and education in masonry construction allowed us quickly identify the unique materials that were necessary for each project. In both projects the need to match new to old was a top priority, improper repairs and restoration often cause greater problems than they solve. Without the experience and knowledge necessary to diagnose and properly restore masonry structures, the work is often little more than a band aid, hiding a woresening problem underneath. Johnson Playfair understands the way Toronto’s homes and buildings were made, and we understand the materials they were made with. It’s not just bricks and mortar stacked together, its a construction technology that has served us well for 100’s of years. When your home needs some TLC trust the professionals at Johnson Playfair brick and stone masonry.
