Heritage Restoration

Before we plan anything, we check whether the property is on the City of Burnaby Heritage Register or has a heritage designation. Listed homes have protection that affects exterior changes, demolition, and sometimes additions. Designated homes have legal restrictions and access to incentive programs. We pull the register entry and the original development permit drawings if they exist, then build the scope around what's actually allowed — not what we hope is allowed.

Original fir flooring, plaster mouldings, fireplace surrounds, front-door hardware, leaded windows — every heritage home has features that define it and features that have been compromised by previous renovations. We do a feature-by-feature assessment with the owner, deciding what gets restored, what gets replicated to original profile, and what's beyond saving. This conversation happens before demo, not during.

A 100-year-old home in Burnaby Heights probably has knob-and-tube wiring, galvanised plumbing, no insulation in the walls, and seismic detailing that doesn't meet current code. Bringing it up to a modern standard while preserving the character envelope is the harder part of heritage work. We isolate the structural retrofit — new shear panels, foundation underpinning if needed, hold-downs, modern mechanical — and run it through walls and floors that get put back as they were.

Original wood-sash windows are usually the single biggest character feature, and replacing them with vinyl is the single fastest way to gut a heritage home's appearance. Where the sashes are sound, we restore — re-glazing, re-weatherstripping, repainting in original colour. Where they're truly gone, we replicate in wood to original profile and muntin pattern. On designated homes the heritage permit will often dictate which path is allowed; on character homes it's the owner's call, but we'll always lay out both options honestly.

Most heritage projects add space — a primary suite, a kitchen extension, a basement excavation. Done well, the addition reads as quietly contemporary at the back while the street face stays original. Done poorly, it looks like a gable bolted onto a craftsman. We work with architects who understand the difference, and we're honest with owners about which additions will pass design panel review and which won't.

Lath and plaster, double-hung sash repair, tongue-and-groove fir siding, leaded glass, original-profile millwork — most modern renovation trades don't touch these. We have a short list of plasterers, millworkers, and window restorers in the Lower Mainland who do heritage work week-in week-out. Bringing them in early, scheduling around their availability, and protecting their work from the rest of the build is half the job.