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Orchard House in poor state of repair

Writer could not see anything of heritage or historical value in this building.

I toured the Orchard House building, including the exterior, during the open house event on Saturday.

In my tour around the outside of the building I found much of the foundation not original. The original siding on this building has been replaced in many areas. This installed siding is falling off in some areas and has some serious rot in other areas. The roof is in need of repair. Some of the fascia boards and soffits are dislodging and suffering from rot. The veranda does not exist.

During my tour through the inside of the house I noticed the featured wood panelling does not appear to be original. The wood panelling was probably installed as the new décor for a restaurant. Both fireplaces are not original and one of them appears to have been added at some point in time. The interior walls are covered with gypsum board which was not available at the time of the original build. This wallboard probably contains asbestos as I believe many of the renovations were done before 1990.

I did not check the mechanical room but the components are mostly likely in a state of disrepair if they exist. The staircase leading to the upper floor is not original. The building’s physical properties have been modified and changed and do not reflect the original size or shape. This building inside and outside has been through major renovations and alterations and now does not represent the character of the building as originally designed and built.

In my opinion, I could not see anything of heritage or historical value in this building. There is not one area of this building worth saving. Throughout the years this building has received major modifications and renovations and now represents a building of a more recent era.

Doug Hlina