[Thanos]

The asbestos removal and clean up at 24 Sussex will probably cost over a million dollars alone. If the place is in that bad a condition then they're gutting it completely all the way down to the foundation and load-bearing structure.

Holmes isn't a bad guy at all. He does those shows with not much cost being passed down to the homeowner. The show sponsors pick up the tab for the materials and labour because it's terrific publicity for them. That's why they go so high-end on the finishing touches. And Holmes does what he does for people that have gotten badly screwed by crooker owners/realtors and incompetent inspectors. He's helping people that are genuinely in a bad financial position from getting ripped off so badly. Anyone who does that, even if he gets paid a lot of money by HGTV as a result of it, is A-OK in my book. Beats all those other re-modelling shows where they're all catering to a couple of married yuppies who each make about a quarter-million a year and can afford to go crazy with what they want their house to look like. At least Holmes is helping real people instead of poseurs.

[Winnipegger]

A few years ago I worked with the parents association of my old elementary school. While there I noticed a manual about asbestos. It said that building has asbestos. It also said the best way of dealing with asbestos is leave it alone. Don't touch it. As long as it's sealed in the walls, it's safe. It's only dangerous when you open up the walls to release it.

[Thanos]

It'll be bad in 24 Sussex because with a place that old it'll be in the plaster, caulking, and floor tiling too from the rebuild they did back in the 1950's. There's no escaping that stuff at all in the houses from the middle of the 20th century, even ones that were older and had been remodeled or rebuilt in the 1930's through '60's.

[martin14]

Winnipegger Winnipegger:

. He actually claims trying to save any existing structure costs more than gutting and starting over. That's backwards.

No, the slow detailed restoration work adds up really quick.
A hammer and 'take it all out' is much cheaper over trying to fiddle around everything.

$1:

Bryan said the house is set on stone rubble foundation. But the house has a full basement. That doesn't add up.

Parents had a big house in Collingwood years a go that had a rubble foundation and a full basement.
I know because my father and I were ones who put it in !
House is still standing was in fact up for sale 2 years ago.

$1:

Bryan also talks about rebuilding 24 Sussex to be some kind of demo of new environmental tech, completely abandoning any heritage. The website of the National Capital Commission laments the modernization of 1950

Personally I would agree to CANADIAN tech being highlighted.

$1:

My house was built in 1907, has 9 foot ceilings on the ground floor, and real plaster/lathe walls. When I installed a security system, I found the plaster is 2" thick. That's solid! 24 Sussex would be just as solid. And you don't want polyurethane putty, real plaster is composed of slaked lime and fine sand. When water is added, it combines with carbon dioxide from the air to form calcium carbonate. That's limestone. That's why real plaster is so much harder and stronger. And it's non-flammable. Try finding someone today able to apply real plaster.

Skills are still around, most people are too cheap to really pay for the good stuff, because
like your walls, you never see the money that went into it. Granite shows off quite well.

There have been tons of scandals over the years, Chinese drywall, condos leaking and breaking glass, New Home Warranty being useless, maybe getting the boys to show a proper job on 24 Sussex
might shake some more quality out of the trades and contractors.

[Winnipegger]

If you want a residence to show off new tech, do so with a new house, somewhere else. Don't demolish 24 Sussex.

[Jabberwalker]

This has nothing to do with Justin, Steven or any of the other tenants of 24 Sussex. It's about the face that Canada presents to the world, as visitors from everywhere are received there. Canada needs to classy up a bit, no?

[DrCaleb]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

This has nothing to do with Justin, Steven or any of the other tenants of 24 Sussex. It's about the face that Canada presents to the world, as visitors from everywhere are received there. Canada needs to classy up a bit, no?

^^ Exactly. We can't tell the German Chancellor to just put out a few buckets around the room to catch the drips if it starts to rain.

0:

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[Winnipegger]

Let's bee honest. Official state dinners are not supposed to be held there. They're held at Rideau Hall. There are partisan functions at 24 Sussex, but state functions are not supposed to be there. And the roof was completely replaced in 1998. Yes, that's 17 years ago. What is the roofing material? Is that a slate roof? Some slate roofs have lasted literally centuries. The auditor general's report in 2008 stated the roof was in good condition.

Here's an info-graphic from National Post.


I've already said a sprinkler system is not normal for a residence. That's for office buildings. And smoking a cigarette or cigar could set off the fire alarm, which could set off the sprinkler. That would cause massive water damage. So a sprinkler system is not only expensive, it's potentially damaging. Not a good idea.

Looking at the rest of the stuff in this graphic, there's nothing structural. At most, improve insulation. Yes, replacing electrical and plumbing is a big job. But this is a repair, not tear-down.

[peck420]

Winnipegger Winnipegger:

I've already said a sprinkler system is not normal for a residence. That's for office buildings. And smoking a cigarette or cigar could set off the fire alarm, which could set off the sprinkler. That would cause massive water damage. So a sprinkler system is not only expensive, it's potentially damaging. Not a good idea.

24 Sussex is not a normal residence. That aside, sprinkler systems have become common in high end homes. You even get a break on your insurance if you have one...and, far more importantly to high end architects,you get to ignore a host of egress and fire code design requirements.

As for the cigar bit...no, that won't set off a sprinkler system. Even a room full of cigars. Sprinklers are heat sensitive, not smoke sensitive. A very basic 'smoke detector'...but not a sprinkler.

$1:

Looking at the rest of the stuff in this graphic, there's nothing structural. At most, improve insulation. Yes, replacing electrical and plumbing is a big job. But this is a repair, not tear-down.

Modernizing the security, and just the security, would require removing and rebuilding every single exterior wall to a dimension and weight that is not supported by the foundation.

[Winnipegger]

Quoting the Auditor General's report:

$1:

The windows and caulking are cracked; and the tracks and windows are loose. These deficiencies cause extensive heat loss, increase the building's heating costs, and greatly reduce the energy efficiency of the residence. The air conditioning units installed in the windows are nearing the end of their useful lives. They are noisy and inefficient; they weaken the windows in which they are installed. The house was wired for electricity some fifty years ago, and the electrical system is operating at nearly maximum capacity. It cannot meet increases in demand or new operational requirements. The plumbing system is deficient. This building, which functions as a reception area for distinguished national and international guests, does not have universal access for persons with reduced mobility. The service elevator dates back to the 1950s and cannot accommodate modern wheelchairs. Service areas such as the kitchen and the basement laundry are not functional. Exhibit 6.5 shows that the only element of the exterior at 24 Sussex that is in good condition is the roof, which was re-done in 1998. The other elements are in poor or fair condition.

So the info-graphic from National Post is accurate. Note there is no mention of security. No requirement to rebuild exterior walls.