11/28/2025
A unique feature of Kingston’s built heritage are the many rubble walls throughout the downtown core. Historically used to designate property boundaries, they help tell the city’s story and are irreplaceable features of the Kingston landscape.
We recently worked with clients on Earl Street to restore a wall that was in danger of collapse. Over time, water had eroded the core of the wall from above, and freeze-thaw action had pushed stones apart to the point that the wall had lost its structural integrity.
Our scope of work was to dismantle one wythe (side) of the wall, consolidate the other side, and rebuild. To prevent collapse, we did this in three stages. As each section was rebuilt the core of the wall was rebuilt as well, and the two wythes were tied together again. The rebuilt stonework and the remaining wall was covered with a custom galvalume cap fabricated and installed in-house.
Owners of historic properties deserve recognition for their efforts to maintain our built heritage- Especially when it comes to external features like garden walls that are appreciated, but easy to sideline when looking at a long list of competing priorities. Thanks to the heritage department .of.kingston for facilitating emergency repairs to the wall and providing a heritage grant for the work
