'I remain true to the building': P.E.I. stonemason taking home heritage award
Joachim da Fonseca has worked on hundreds of P.E.I.'s most important stone and brick buildings
Joachim da Fonseca is passionate about the trowel trades, and now the P.E.I. stonemason is being recognized with a City of Charlottetown Heritage Award for his work.
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Da Fonseca, whom most people call "Jake," has had a hand in the restoration work of many, if not most, of P.E.I.'s most important brick and stone buildings, including Province House, St. Dunstan's Basilica, the Farmer's Bank of Rustico and the Charlottetown train station.
Most of the time they choose to do the better job, the right job for the building.— Joachim da Fonseca
"I get paid for what I do, so that's reward enough," he said. "But to have people recognize the effort that I've done through the years to do things the right way, it's a bonus," said Fonseca.
He'll receive the award at noon Tuesday at Charlottetown city hall, along with several other award recipients.
'Remain true to the building'
Da Fonseca came to P.E.I. in 1979 to work on the provincial legislature building, having learned the stonemason's trade from his father growing up in France, and opened his own business in 1981.
He's worked on the facade of the former Hughes' Drugstore in Charlottetown, many of the brick and stone buildings on Victoria Row, and the Holman's building in Summerside. He's also worked to restore several slate roofs.
"When I work in the buildings I get involved in what history it has and I enjoy it very much," he said.
Before he begins work, he said "I study the building and what it needs, so I do the proper repairs with the proper mortars, so I remain true to the building."
Free advice
Many buildings more than 100 years old used a soft, lime-based mortar.
"If you use a harder mortar, it can actually do harm to the masonry, be it stone or brick. So it is very important to remain true to the building," he said.
Da Fonseca is widely regarded as an expert on vintage brick and stone buildings and will even freely give advice to his competitors, because he said he wants to see repairs done well.
'Top-notch job'
If you think restoring a brick or stone building sounds expensive, you're right.
"Sometimes people can not afford to do a top-notch job," da Fonseca said. "But most of the time, when you explain it to the clients, most of the time they choose to do the better job, the right job for the building.
"Sometimes you need to kind of educate the client," he said. "I always look at the fact that the building should be done well."
A handful of times, da Fonseca said, he has actually refused to do jobs when clients want to cut corners.
'Work seems to be looking for me'
"I think the secret is you do a good job and you charge reasonably. Just because you know how to do a job well doesn't mean you should over-charge for it," he opined.
He doesn't advertise his business, MBS Construction, because people who need him, find him.
"I don't need to look for work, work seems to be looking for me," he laughed.
While he enjoys his work immensely, da Fonseca is now 63 and said his body is telling him to "slow down."
Da Fonseca was previously awarded the Irene Rogers award for historical preservation in 1998 from the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation.
Blast from the past
It turns out this isn't the first time I interviewed da Fonseca.
Nearly 20 years ago he began the intensive restoration of the Farmers Bank of Rustico, and I covered it for CBC News: Compass. Jake gave me a tiny piece from the bank which I still treasure. Here's the story, from in July 1997.
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