Introduction to Lime Wall Plastering

July 14, 2019 / edificemedia / Leave a comment

Sunday August 11th, 2019

10:30 am – 4:00 pm One Day Intensive Workshop

This one-day course will teach you how to select the correct materials for your job and mix them to the correct consistency. How to repair failing, cracked or bulged flat wall plaster. A practical demonstration will be given followed by the opportunity to have a go at it yourself.

The aim of the course is to give participants the confidence to carry out small or even large repairs to their own homes plaster walls and ceilings.

Our approach is to create a relaxed environment on where you will enjoy learning, with ample opportunity for discussions about your own issues with your lime plaster walls during the lunch break.

Course content

Why and when to use lime;
How to assess common problems;
The do’s and don’ts;
Choosing the right materials;
Wall preparation, including lath repair;
Creating the perfect mix;
How to repair cracks and bulges;
Practical application of lime plaster;
How to finish your repair work;
Looking after your plaster;
An overview of decorative plaster elements.

For each session there is a practical demonstration. You will then be encouraged to have a go, with guidance at hand by the instructor.

What to bring with you:

All tools, materials and equipment are provided but please bring protective eye-wear and a pair of work gloves and a lunch. This is an indoor course in a live real restoration setting.

Mixing and applying appropriate plaster.

Finishing techniques will be explored and practiced by the student.

When:

Sunday August 11th, 2019 10:30 am – 4:00 pm One Day Intensive Workshop

Where:

Located at the Edifice Atelier Oxford Campus, just 5 minutes west of Cambridge, Ontario

867395 Township Rd 10, Bright, ON N0J 1B0 (see Google Map below)

Your Instructor:

Dr Christopher Cooper, Master Restoration & preservation Expert…

Who Should Attend:

This Workshop is specifically designed for the amateur restorationist interested in saving his/her irreplaceable hand made plaster walls and ceilings.

Payment:

A very special one time offer $150.00*

*(this course is traditionally $300)

NOTE: Course numbers are limited to ensure individual attention by the course leader Dr. Christopher Cooper. Don’t miss your opportunity, sign up today!

Full payment is due upon booking your place, remember this course sells out very quickly. There are no reduced rates for couples. However, large groups (6 or more attendees) can be discounted at the Edifice Atelier’s discretion.

The Edifice Atelier reserves the right to cancel any courses. Deposits and fees will be returned in full should this happen.

As this workshop fills up quickly and is on a first come first serve basis our cancellation policy is to provide credit for another workshop time of same value if you cannot attend.

Pay now, payment is through a secure PayPal account

Pay with credit or Visa Debit card

How to get to the Oxford Campus:

Visit The Edifice Atelier Website

Window Restoration Workshop

July 13, 2019July 13, 2019 / edificemedia / Leave a comment

Saturday August 10th, 2019 One Day Intensive Workshop

10:30 am – 4:00 pm

People complain about their drafty old wood windows, how about the same complaints about replacement windows and have the same complaint after spending thousands of dollars. You will never see a return on your investment as long as you live. The so-called energy savings with respects to replacement windows are marginal at best. The fact is that with the tools of knowledge and the know-how this completely hands-on workshop will supply you with will make your old drafty wood windows as energy efficient than any replacement window on the market today!

Curriculum:

This workshop will take you through the entire documentation and evaluation process, to decide where to start your window restoration project.
How to remove the sash windows from their jamb sets is explained in detail;
Learn how to carefully and expertly remove the old glazing putty from the upper and lower sashes;
How to store, remove and clean irreplaceable original glass;
How to remove the paint without damaging the wood,
Learn how to stabilize and repair rot in sash windows as well as how-to replace wood elements that are missing;
Learn how to replace a corner mortise and tenon with little woodworking skills;
Learn how to carefully sand, prime and ready the sash windows to be reassembled.;
Learn how to reinstall glass and re-putty the windows;
How to prepare the sash for final painting;
How to reinstall the windows both guillotine and with weights and pulleys;
And, a section on a few tips on how to keep your wood windows more energy efficient will also be included.

When:

Saturday August 10th, 2019 10:30 am – 4:00 pm One Day Intensive Workshop

Where:

Located at the Edifice Atelier Oxford Campus, just 5 minutes west of Cambridge, Ontario

867395 Township Rd 10, Bright, ON N0J 1B0 (see Google Map below)

Your Instructor:

Dr Christopher Cooper, Master Restoration & preservation Expert…

Who Should Attend:

This Workshop is specifically designed for the amateur restorationist interested in saving his/her irreplaceable wood windows. You are most welcome to remove one of your own sash or casement windows to work on during the workshop.

Payment:

A very special one time offer $150.00*

*(this course is traditionally $300)

NOTE: This may be the last hands-on workshop for quite some time as we are in production of a distance learning program. Therefore, because of the limited amount of space for this workshop signup early!

The Edifice Atelier reserves the right to cancel any courses. Deposits and fees will be returned in full should this happen.

As this workshop fills up quickly and is on a first come first serve basis our cancellation policy is to provide credit for another workshop time of same value if you cannot attend.

Pay now, payment is through a secure PayPal account

Pay with credit or Visa Debit card

How to get to the Oxford Campus:

Visit The Edifice Atelier Website

Repairing Antique Hinges

August 11, 2016August 11, 2016 / edificemedia / Leave a comment

Many wooden doors that have given faithful service for a century or two suffer from sagging because of screw holes which have become, after literally thousands of sharp shocks with closing and opening, too large for the screws. The whole door binds and sags, making it difficult to shut.

Many people are of the misconception that the hinges, or even the entire door, must be replaced. A simple epoxy repair can quickly and permanently repair worn hinge holes. Many original hinges are part of the historic fabric of your old house. Many hinges dating from the Eastlake/Queen Anne Revival period are richly ornamental and are works of art themselves. Some antique hinges can be worth well into the several hundreds of dollars and are highly sought after by collectors.

One of the worst things that can be perpetrated to an antique hinge is to drive new “larger” Robertson or Phillips screws into it. The original slot screws, most of them hand-made until the mid-nineteenth century, are as important an historical feature of an antique door as the hinges themselves!

The Restoration Process:

A door should always be repaired off the hinges with the screws backed-out carefully and the hinges and screws cleaned and bagged. A couple of shims should be propped under the door to absorb the stress from the hinges when the screws are removed (see image 1). Using a drill with a 5/16” brad-point drill bit, drill out the old screw holes, in both the frame and the door, to a depth a ¼” longer than the original screws (see image 2).

Clean the holes thoroughly with the suction from a shop vacuum. Mix-up a small batch of Rhino Wood Repair liquid two-part epoxy and apply a liberal coat in the holes paying special attention to the sides (see image 3). The liquid epoxy will act as a good hold for the next step of paste epoxy by chemically bonding both epoxies to the wood itself.

Then mix a small batch of Rhino Wood Repair two-part paste epoxy and pack the drilled-out holes just slightly below the surface (see image 4). Once set, a furniture-quality coloured wax can be used to blend the holes into the surrounding area (see image 5).

The door is then placed back into position with the hinges attached, again using the shims to prop, and the original hinge housings to locate the hinge. With the aid of a gimlet, (a small hole starter, smaller than the original screws), the screw holes are run through and the original slotted screws are driven home (see images 6 & 7). The epoxy repair is permanent and structurally superior to the original wood frame and door thereby allowing your door to give another several centuries of faithful service.

Stockist:

VHC Magazine recommends Rhino Wood Repair – available online or at Home Hardware stores across Canada!

The Queen Anne Revival Style Guide

April 2, 2016January 29, 2018 / edificemedia / Leave a comment

Photography, Illustrations and Editorial by: Dr Christopher Cooper

The Queen Anne Revival house style made its first appearance in North America when the British Government displayed several examples of the style at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It has no real connection with the architecture of Queen Anne herself, however, who reigned from 1702 to 1714.

The style, first appearing in Canada and the United States around 1880, is highly decorative and utilizes a variety of building materials. Often wood frame versions were painted with as many as five or six different colours to bring out all the different textures and trim. The fashion utilized fairly dark colours, similar to what we now call “Earth Tones” – sienna red, hunter green, burnt yellow, muddy brown, etc. Interior and exterior surfaces were almost never left unadorned by some sort of ornamentation. The expansion of the railway system in North America gave architects and builders the ability to create elaborate residential masterpieces. Doors, windows, roofing, siding and decorative detailing were, for the first time, mass-produced in factories for a reasonable price and made easily accessible by shipping by rail.

The homes were generally built with an unbalanced or asymmetrical arrangement of building parts. The windows were a mixture of sizes and shapes including, one-over-one double-hung sash, bay, stained glass, and round arched. The Queen Anne window was also common. It was a large pane of glass surrounded by smaller panes, often of coloured glass. The houses have hipped, steeply pitched roofs with one or more lower cross gables covered with decorative patterned wood or slate shingles. The shingle patterns were arranged and referred to as “fish scale”. Several different wall surfaces were used. Brick on the ground storey, and shingles or horizontal boards above was a common practice. Elaborate chimneys with decorated caps were also among its trademarks.

The Queen Anne Revival movement became the style of choice for domestic architecture, and achieved unprecedented popularity across Canada. It caught on quickly, with numerous architectural pattern books providing the designs, not unlike modern home plan magazines.

Queen Anne style houses are also sometimes called “bric-a-brack”, “gingerbread”, “painted ladies” and “stepdaughters of the gilded age” or “high Victorian”. The Queen Anne style became lofty, sometimes fanciful, expressions of the machine age and was a sign of prosperity. Ironically, the very qualities that made Queen Anne architecture so regal also made it fragile. These expansive and expressive buildings proved expensive and difficult to maintain. With the arrival of the 1900’s the intricate details of the Queen Anne fell out of favour and most of the colourful structures were painted over in conservative whites. Today, however, many of the monochromatic Queens are being brought back to their status as Painted Ladies of the gilded age.