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Home My WebLink AboutDTS-10-014 - HPA 2009 V 018 - 1221 Doon Village RdREPORT ORT TO: REPHeritage Kitchener Committee DATE OF MEETING: February 2, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Interim Director of Planning PREPARED BY: Yvonne Westerveld Cardoso, Heritage Planning Technician (519-741-3400 ex. 3176) WARD INVOLVED: Ward 4 DATE OF REPORT: January 27, 2010 REPORT NO.: DTS-10-014 SUBJECT: HERITAGE PERMIT APPLICATION HPA-2009-V-018 1221 DOON VILLAGE ROAD PROPOSED REPLACEMENT OF WINDOWS RECOMMENDATION That pursuant to Section 42 of the Ontario Heritage Act, Heritage Permit Application HPA- 2009-V-018 requesting permission to replace the existing wooden windows at the property municipally addressed 1221 Doon Village Road, in accordance with the information submitted with the application, be approved, subject to the following conditions: i. That final shop drawings for the windows, trim, and accessories be reviewed and heritage clearance issued by heritage planning staff prior to installation; and further ii. That one sample window on the lower front façade be installed and heritage clearance issued by heritage planning staff prior to the installation of the remaining replacement windows. BACKGROUND: The Development and Technical Services Department is in receipt of Heritage Permit Application HPA-2009-V-018. The applicant is seeking Council’s permission to replace the windows on the property municipally addressed 1221 Doon Village Road. REPORT: The subject property is located on the south side of Doon Village Road in the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District, and is subject to designation under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act. The building on the subject property is identified as a Type ‘A’ (Historic) building in the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District Plan. Building policies contained within the Heritage Conservation District Plan state that the intent is to conserve the ‘A’ building stock in its original form with a minimum of changes other than to restore the fabric back to its original condition. According to the individual property descriptions contained within the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District Plan: ï ó ï “The subject building was constructed in 1853 by the Perine brothers as part of their flax and twine enterprise. It is a substantial two-storey brick building with gable end to the street, and appears to have been the first of the Perine complex to be built. In later years, the first floor was used for warehousing, with offices above. Architectural interest includes the fine roof detail of boxed cornice, planked soffit and frieze, with decorative brackets in the gable peak”. The District Plan conservation recommendations for 1221 Doon Village Road includes: “restoring the window and door openings to their original size and rebuilding sash where necessary”. With regard to windows, the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District Plan recommends the following for Type ‘A’ buildings: “Original windows should be conserved. Where missing, windows should be rebuilt to the original or to complement those of the period.” Comments in the District Plan pertaining to colour on Type ‘A’ buildings include: “Original colours shall be used in the conservation. Where lost, colours used through paint and materials shall be historically accurate colours of quiet, subtle, natural shades.” Figure 1 - Context map Figure 2 - Location map ï ó î Figure 3 - Front elevation Figure 4 - Left elevation ï ó í Figure 5 - Rear elevation ï ó ì Figure 6 - Right elevation Existing Conditions As is evident from the preceding photographs, a considerable amount of alteration has taken place on all facades, including alterations to the original windows, window openings and colour. As an industrial building, 1221 Doon Village Road was originally constructed with very high ceilings on both its first and second storeys. At some point in time, the ceilings on the first and second storeys were lowered (likely as part of the rehabilitation of the building to accommodate a residential use). As a consequence, the window openings were reduced in height. This was accomplished in one of two ways. On the front, left, and right elevations, the tops of most of the window openings were altered by filling in the space with brick similar to the original brick on the building (see following page, Figure 7). On the rear elevation and on one window on the right elevation, the space created by lowering the top of the window was filled in with plywood (see following page, Figure 8). In the interior, the tops of the window openings were finished with drywall and trimmed accordingly. ï ó ë BrickPlywood Figure 7 - Brick infill Figure 8 - Plywood infill Generally, the original windows on the building were 8/8 in design on the lower front façade and 6/6 on the remainder of the building. However, when the window openings were reduced, the upper sashes of the original windows were altered to fit the new opening, resulting in windows that are 4/8 and 3/6 in design and which appear disproportionate and ill-fitting. In addition, many of the windows contain aluminium storms which visually cut the window openings in half (see Figures 9 and 10 below). This adds to the visual clutter and inappropriateness of the existing windows. 8/8 window reduced to 4/8 6/6 window reduced, causing variable pane sizes Figure 9 - Figure 10 - ï ó ê Four newer vinyl windows are located on the building (Figure11, lower window on Figure 12, Figure 13, and 15). These 4 vinyl windows as well as two other windows shown in Figure 12 (upper right window) and Figure 14 (left window) are not proposed to be changed, other than to paint them a taupe colour to match the colour of the new proposed windows. Figure 12 - Right elevation – lower, newer vinyl; upper right with vent to be painted, but not replaced Figure 11 - Right elevation – newer vinyl window Figure 13 -Rear elevation – trim to be painted Figure 14 - Rear elevation – to be painted Figure 15 - Left elevation – newer vinyl window ï ó é Where there are sills on the windows, they range from wood, to pre-cast concrete sills to more rudimentary cast concrete sills. With regard to the existing sills, the applicant is proposing to paint the wood sills to match the taupe colour of the new windows, and to leave the concrete sills unpainted. Figure 16 - Wood sill Figure17 -Pre-cast concrete sill Figure18 -Cast concrete sill Alteration Proposal The applicant proposes to replace eighteen of the existing windows with fully operationally vinyl single hung windows to fit within the existing window openings. Windows that were previously altered to 3/6 and 4/8 in design will return to a 6/6 and 8/8 design respectively. The four newer vinyl windows located on the side elevations are proposed to remain, but will be painted to match the medium taupe colour proposed to be used on all the new windows. Existing wood trim would remain and be painted to match. The proposed vinyl single hung windows are to be manufactured by Regal Windows & Doors Systems Inc. and will be pre-finished in taupe. They feature a taupe 6/6 grille that is permanently affixed between the panes of glass. Specifications are included in Appendix ‘A’ attached to this report. The applicant considered the recommendations made in the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District Plan regarding restoring the window openings to their original size and using wood replacement window units. However, the applicant has advised that compliance with such recommendations would be cost prohibitive, considering it would require that the interior ceiling height be raised, and given the number of windows to be replaced. In order to communicate the intent of the proposed window retrofit, the owner had installed one new window on the rear façade of the building and finished it according to the proposal (see Figure 19). It should be noted that the sample window installed on the rear elevation is manufactured by Golden Windows and not Regal Windows. As Golden Windows was not able to a supply a prefabricated window to fit the slightly larger window openings found on the lower front façade, the owner opted to use a window manufactured by Regal Windows. The owner has confirmed that Regal Windows is capable of supplying windows that will meet the same design specifications as the sample window installed by Golden Windows, and can manufacture such windows to fit both window size openings. The owner does not intend to replace the single Golden Window which is on the rear elevation. ï ó è Figure19 -Existing and proposed windows with wood panels Other than the windows on the lower front façade, the size of the window openings on the rest of the buildings are very similar (regardless of how the original opening was reduced – brick infill or wood panel). The intent of the applicant is to use the same 6/6 window (Regal Window, Series 3250) for all these window openings. The same series window will be used for the larger openings on the lower front façade, but will be designed to be an 8/8 window and match the larger opening. Window colour is to be taupe. Figure 20 - Cropped photograph demonstrates proposed alteration to windows without wood infill ï ó ç In reviewing the merits of the application, Heritage Planning staff note the following: A considerable amount of interior alteration has taken place on this structure which diminishes the ability to easily reinstate the original window openings. Portions of the windows themselves have been severed and discarded, resulting in sashes that are unbalanced, disproportionate, not to mention, lacking appropriate seal for residential use. New vinyl windows have, in the past, been approved for use in other designated properties (including the same Regal Window series proposed for use in this application). The existing windows impart an inconsistency of material, colour, detail and proportion. As the proposed vinyl units are complementary to the architecture and character of the building and establish a sense of balance to the fenestration, they represent an overall improvement to the current conditions. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A CONCLUSION: The proposed new windows will not detract from the heritage character of the Upper Doon Heritage Conservation District. Accordingly, staff recommends approval of HPA-2009-V-018. REVIEWED BY: Leon Bensason, Interim Manager of Long Range & Policy Planning ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Interim General Manager Development and Technical Services Department List of Attachments - HPA-2009-V-018 - Appendix ‘A’ (Regal Window Specifications) ï ó ïð Appendix ‘A’ Window Specifications ï ó ïï ï ó ïî ï ó ïí ï ó ïì ï ó ïë ï ó ïê ï ó ïé