“Paul Denys was recently awarded the City of Ottawa Heritage Award of Merit for his magnificent restoration of a tumbledown double porch on Bolton Street in Lowertown. …Paul’s precision, meticulous attention to detail, and skilled craftsmanship won the day and resulted in a dramatic improvement to the overall streetscape.” New Edinburgh News
This project involved restoring original woodwork.
This heritage restoration in Lowertown centred on a tumbledown double porch on Bolton Street, a defining feature of the home that had deteriorated badly over the years. Paul rebuilt the porch with careful attention to its original proportions, profiles, and details, returning it to its historic character. The result was so faithful that it earned the 1999 City of Ottawa Heritage Award of Merit and brought what the New Edinburgh News called a dramatic improvement to the overall streetscape.
Beyond the porch, the project involved restoring original woodwork throughout the home, repairing rather than replacing wherever possible so period details could survive for decades to come. Work of this kind calls for patience and skill: matching old-growth lumber, recreating trim profiles, and choosing finishes that age gracefully. It is the sort of quiet craftsmanship that other builders might skip, but it is what makes a heritage home feel authentic.
Bolton House shows the standard of heritage renovations Ottawa homeowners can expect from Denys: careful research, precise handwork, and results recognised by the city itself. If your century home needs sensitive restoration, explore our heritage restoration services.
1999 – City of Ottawa Heritage Award: Award of Merit
1999 – February 1999 Restore, renovate, re-invent: Bolton House
