Vinyl railing reno lands Old South homeowner in heritage hot water

The owner of a heritage home in Old South is in a standoff with city officials after using vinyl railings and posts in a renovation of the home's covered front porch. 

Ryan Bryson spent $20,000 last summer to rebuild the front porch at 27 Bruce St. The one-and-a-half-storey home was built in 1893 and a contractor he was working with recommended the entire porch be rebuilt.

"The roof line had become detached from the face of the home and it was looking pretty unsafe," said Bryson. "The columns were failing and the spindles were falling out." 

Bryson said he wasn't aware the work would require both a building permit and a heritage alteration permit. The house is located in the Wortley Village-Old South Heritage Conservation District, which sets guidelines designed to preserve the area's historic look.

Building inspectors showed up after the old porch was removed and Bryson applied for a heritage application permit. However, instead of replacing the posts, railings and spindles with wood, Bryson opted for an engineered vinyl product designed to look like wood. 

Bryson said he went with vinyl because it lasts a long time and doesn't require constant maintenance. 

Home owner wants some leeway

"I didn't think there was going to be any problem with the historical aspect of it because we were really trying to match the original look and feel," he said. 

The work was finished in October but a report to city council's planning committee says a retroactive heritage permit for the new porch can't be approved because the guidelines require that the work be done in wood. 

"Plastic materials are not supported within the guidelines of the Wortley Village-Old South Heritage Conservation District," the report says. "The alterations that were completed are inappropriate and do not suitably conserve the heritage character of the property."  

The report also says city staff offered Bryson a compromise: If he capped the posts in wood and replaced the vinyl railings and spindles with wood, he would be able to get the permit. 

"The owner was unwilling to consider a compromise resolution and wishes to pursue their application seeking retroactive approval," the report says. 

On Monday, councillors on the city's planning committee voted to accept staff's recommendation that retroactive approval for the porch replacement be refused.

Bryson said the compromise options didn't appeal to him because he feels capping the posts will be unsightly. Also, he doesn't want to throw out $5,000 worth of brand new material he paid to have professionally installed. 

Bryson said the city should be less rigid. 

"It's ridiculous that there's this requirement for wood," he said. "It just makes so much sense to explore other materials. The city seems to be just taking a hard, black-and-white view." 

• Read the staff report to the planning committee here.

Chris McKaskell is a carpenter and contractor with Covenant Construction, which specializes in restoring older buildings, including heritage homes. He also owns a home in Wortley Village.

McKaskell said he can understand the city's position, but also sympathizes with Bryson's porch dilemma. 

"It's nice to see someone who is working toward improving the property," he said. 

However, McKaskell also said the heritage rules are a crucial way to ensure neighbourhoods like Wortley Village don't lose their charm. 

He acknowledges that owners of century-old homes can run into challenges finding suitable material to rebuild certain decorative elements. He said new wood often can't match the quality of old growth timber that was easy to find when the house was built but almost impossible to buy now. 

"It's one of the reasons that in older house porches, the floors tend to last about a century," he said. "The floors tend to have decay-resistant properties. That kind of quality of lumber just doesn't exist anymore. It can be a challenge to replace like with like."

McKaskell said the pre-finished vinyl Bryson used can be a problem because it can't be painted and shaped the way other plastic wood replacement products can. 

His company recently used scalloped shingles made from PVC to replicate wood in a house restoration in Old North. However, his company worked with city officials during the design process. 

"It's about having that conversation with the city just to ensure that you're in bounds," he said. 

McKaskell said it can take longer and be more expensive to work with the city and follow the heritage guidelines but said it's the cost of owning a house in a character neighbourhood. 

In a statement to CBC News, city officials say Bryson can suggest another compromise or appeal the decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal. 

Bryson says he's reviewing his options.