With Cherry Blossom season in full swing, spring and summer are definitely announcing themselves loudly in our fair city of Toronto. As we mentioned in a separate post this month, we love summer because it is a great time to work outdoors and we tend to get a lot of work in the summer – an ideal situation. While we certainly enjoy providing roof repair services to every type of home in the city, ranging from super sleek modern houses with flat roofs, to historic, cottage style houses in Cabbagetown, we also like to take some time to appreciate roofs of Toronto’s historic landmarks in the summertime.
In this post, we’re going to look at some of Toronto’s historic monuments and the roofing styles they’re sporting. With nice weather and Doors Open going on in the summer, now is the time to get to know your city and its historic architecture a bit better – it’s a good excuse to get outside, and you’ll be a much better guide when your friends come to visit! So while we love all of our clients’ roofs equally, here are some truly exceptional buildings with roofs that are true works of art!
Spadina House: Spadina House’s roof is actually flat, for the most part, though it is made up of traditional shingles rather than weatherproof membranes. The historic buildings roofs do slant gradually at the edges, facilitating the existence of some beautiful dormers with bay windows on the upper floor. The roof is broken up by traditional stone chimneys, which give it some nice character. The house is representative of what the wealthiest estates in the city would have looked like a century ago, and it’s a real beauty!
Casa Loma: Adjacent to Spadina house is an extremely famous landmark: Casa Loma! While Casa Loma has graced the silver screen in such films as X-Men, Strange Brew and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, it is still open for the public to visit and even hosts escape room games regularly! The roof over the stone castle is composed of terra-cotta tiles that are very stylish and keep the rain out, as well. Some of the towers have nifty conical roofs that are very medieval indeed. If we ever got the chance to work on this historic roof, we’d leap at the opportunity!
Studio Building: Studio Building is a lesser-known historic landmark in the Rosedale Ravine. It was constructed by the artist Lawren Harris in 1914, paid for out of his considerable share of the Harris family fortune and devised as a place where talented artists could live and work without needing to waste their energies on practical affairs. The buildings itself is a brick minimalist masterpiece with a flat roof. Our roof repair services in Toronto often focus on flat roofs that need a little tender love and care, and we love seeing this kind of slick modernist design on a subtle artistic landmark.
While this is only a short introduction to all of the great architecture and roofing that Toronto has to offer, we hope to have at least piqued your interest. The summer is a great time to explore the city, and Toronto is a really great city to explore. If you have any concerns or question about your own roof, take a flip through the roofing FAQs on our website, or simply give our Toronto roofers a call when you get a chance!