Restoration
SW Tower, East Block, Parliament Hill , Ottawa
We completed a 5 month restoration of 36 leaded windows in the SW
Tower of the East Block in Dec. 2007. The windows are located on four
sides of the tower and on two different levels. The view was spectacular!
Our truck parked in the compound below. A lift mounted on the side of the
scaffold simplified the movement of materials and tools in and out. The only
interior access to the two levels is via a cast-iron spiral staircase.
A view of some of the windows on the South elevation. The top round
window is 6 feet across. The tall lancet windows are 8.5 feet high.
The new leaded windows are installed with a solid bronze support system,
a material which will not rust or expand and stress the surrounding stone.
Glass stops, inside and out are 1" x .5" bronze bar, custom bent to fit the
various openings. The T-bars include bronze angles, tapped and screwed in
place to secure the leaded glass. Saddle bars are .5" round bronze rods.
You can see a vertical bar installed in this window type.
A close-up look at how the leaded glass is installed into the bronze glazing
stops and T-bar system. All of the bronze work was custom fabricated and
installed by Ottawa Brass.
A birdseye view of some of the windows on the first level of the tower taken
from the spiral staircase.
ABOVE: Two of 8 quatrefoil type windows on the upper level of the tower.
They measure 48" in each direction.
BELOW: A nice view from the tower.
