Case Study: Stoney Creek, Ontario

Restoration of the 100ft (30m) Stoney Creek battlefield monument by the installation of cementitious grout anchors.

The Stoney Creek Battlefield Monument is the centrepiece of Battlefield Park and was erected in 1913 exactly 100 years after the battle for which it is named. It was here that the British repelled an invading American force. The Restoration of the monument was executed by architect Alan Seymour. It consists of a slender stone tower, 100ft high, going from a castellated and tunnelled blockhouse sitting atop a steep slope approached by a monumental flight of steps.

Unfortunately the monument was showing conspicuous signs of deterioration. The restoration included the installation of Cintec cementitious grout anchors to stitch the
severely cracked inner and outer wythes of the lower walls. A total of 526 such anchors were used ranging from 12 to 31 inches long (305 to 790 mm), on a 2- x 4- foot (0.6 x 1.2 m) staggered grid. Following installation of the anchors, 54 cubic feet (1.53 cu.m) of conventional grout was injected. Cintec Canada Ltd. provided the anchor system which will maintain the monument’s structural and architectural integrity well into the next century. The citizens of Stoney Creek now enjoy their splendid monument in its full glory.

10,000 years ago in the Don Valley near Toronto, the last glacier in the area laid a deposit that formed the foundation, aeons later, for the production of clay bricks in the Don Valley Brickworks. Many of those bricks formed the basis of old buildings in Toronto. But the Brickworks fell into disuse and ruin with a sole remaining chimney marking the place of the old heritage site. McGillivray Architects were selected to restore it.

The Chimney, built in about 1890, had serviced three adjacent downdraft kilns. The shaft had been deteriorating through the years and had become a pigeon roost!
Significant cracking appeared on the east and west elevations and it was found to be leaning almost 43 inches (1.09m) to the south and a bit to the west. The corrective action was to stitch two sides together using the Cintec Anchoring System. The Cintec Canada Company had had previous experience in similar projects obtaining excellent results in what is truly corrective surgery on buildings. The restoration work also included substantial repointing and some brick replacement.

Architects :
McGillivray Architects

Structural Engineers :
Halsall Associates Ltd

Contractor :
Ontario Restoration Ltd

Clients :
Metro Toronto & Region Conservation
Authority who said :
“Over a year ago, when we first addressed the restoration and stabilisation of the chimney, we could not have foreseen the level of effort and commitment required to complete this task. However, the success achieved over these last few months has clearly demonstrated that the product was well worth the effort.”