Restoration Register

Heritage carpentry and joinery in Toronto and the GTA

The front porch is the first thing to go on an Ontario Victorian, and the first thing a bad rebuild ruins. Turned posts, sawn brackets, bargeboard and spindled railings are all reproducible, but only by someone who will copy the profile rather than substitute the nearest thing available pre-made.

Heritage carpentry in the GTA means porch and verandah reconstruction, replicating turned and sawn ornament, scarf-jointing new wood into sound old wood instead of replacing whole members, and matching species and grain to old-growth material that no lumberyard sells. Good practice is to remove one original element, use it as the pattern, and put back everything that is sound. Modern pressure-treated stock and stock-profile railings are the giveaway of a rebuild that will look wrong from the street forever. Where the original ornament is gone entirely, insurance photographs, city archives and neighbouring houses by the same builder are the usual evidence.

What to ask before you hire

  1. Will you replicate the existing profiles, or use stock mouldings and rail sections? Ask specifically. This is the difference between a restoration and a new porch.
  2. How much of the existing structure are you keeping? A carpenter who proposes a full tear-off before investigating what is sound is pricing the easy version.
  3. What species will you use, and how will you treat exposed end grain? The substitute for old-growth stock and the end-grain detailing decide how long the rebuild lasts.
Grant funding

Porch and verandah restoration is eligible under Toronto's program at 50% to $10,000 residential, and under the Oakville, Markham and Caledon programs. Work visible from the street is usually the easiest case to make to a heritage committee.

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