Founded in 1820, Knox Presbyterian Church was the original Presbyterian congregation in Toronto (York). From modest beginnings, the Church moved to a site on Queen Street at Yonge. They occupied this building from 1848 to 1905, when they acquired their current downtown property on Spadina Avenue at Harbord. The Sunday School "School House" was constructed first, beginning in 1905, while the Sanctuary opened for it's first service in 1909. In the spring of 1993, George Robb Architect was retained to undertake a building condition study for the Knox Presbyterian Church. The report was commisioned to provide the Church with a factual base on which to establish a long term maintenance strategy. This reflected an increasing awareness within the congragation of their responsibilities for stewardship of this important 1909 stone structure.

Initially, the building was evaluated for compliance with regard to the Ontario Building Code, the Ontario Fire Code and other municipal requirements. Areas of non-compliance with contemporary standards of life safety and barrier free accessibility were identified and possible solutions proposed.To evaluate the building's condition, a team was assembled that included not only the traditional disciplines of structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering, but specialist consultant /contractors in the fields of asbestos removal, roofing, stained glass conservation, organ maintenance, and general building and masonry conservation.

Together, this team evaluated all aspects of the building fabric as to their present condition, and in each case, developed strategies to deal with immediately required repair and/or long term maintenance.The final report, completed in July 1993, concluded with a schedule of Required Maintenance, extrapolated over a twenty year period, and provided a Reserve Fund Study that identified the assigned cost of the recommended programme for yearly maintenance.

Phase One
The Board of Managers of the Church accepted the principles contained in the report and, in 1994, the first year's programme was undertaken. Several "life safety" issues were given priority along with the conservation of some stained glass units found to be in poor condition. As well, asbestos was completely removed from the building, exit routes were improved, and previously scheduled roof repairs were undertaken. The original report had raised serious concerns with regard to the condition of the stone masonry itself. As previous efforts at re-pointing with cement mortars were suspected of accelerating the deterioration of the combination sandstone and cut limestone wall structure, a more detailed investigation followed. Walls at high levels were examined with the assistance of a crane equipped with a "man basket". John Carr, a Pennsylvania masonry conservator, was retained to examine the wall, test mortar samples for condition and composition, and to generally comment on the condition of the wall. After this investigation, a separate Masonry Report was prepared.

Phase Two
Phase Two continued the various prioritized repairs such as stained glass conservation, painting, roof repairs, mechanical up-grades, etc... In addition, based on the Masonry Report, the restoration of the most critical area requiring re-pointing was undertaken. Contemporary masonry conservation techniques require cutting the joints by hand, and replacing the existing mortar with a lime based mortar to replicate the original mix. Hard cement based mortars used in the early seventies had caused significant damage to the original stone. The repointing process is labour intensive, and this, combined with the scaffolding cost, had made it paramount that the work be broken down into cost effective and affordable "packages".This first package re-pointed 1750 square feet of the south transept, at a cost of approximately $90,000.

Phase Three
Phase Three (1996) continued the masonry re-pointing with a similarly sized project. Roofing and carpentry repairs to the roof edge in this area were scheduled to maximize the usefulness of the scaffolding, once erected. The single most critical structural failure identified by the original report had also occurred in this area. The scaffold acted as temporary shoring while a section of wall was rebuilt, several rafters replaced, and a sound structure restored.

Phase Four
To this point, average annual maintenance costs were scheduled at approximately $150,000. However, on the basis of the consultant teams annual evaluation, it appeared that the deterioration of the Bell Tower masonry was accelerating more quickly than had been first anticipated. It was agreed that this work, originally scheduled for 1997-1998, should proceed immediately in the current programme.

The Tower has now been re-pointed and stabilized internally with additional steel lateral bracing, and the copper roof has been replaced. Original (1909) wood louvres have been conserved, where possible, and replaced in other areas. Discrete lead flashings were formed and beat into place on stone moldings identified as contributing to water penetration into the stone. On the interior of the Tower, stairs and handrails were added to provide a contemporary level of safety for future maintenance.The Church is committed to the maintenance of their building. Plans for Year Four are underway. While it may appear that there are never sufficient funds, the original building report has provided a framework for budgeting essential maintenance and a review procedure for re-assessing goals that will conserve this building for many years to come.