[thistleclub]

Hermitage stands rock solid again
(Ancaster News, Richard Leitner, Jan 21 2016)

Before Matt Kuhlmann and his crew began restoring the Hermitage ruins back in July, portions of the walls leaned so precariously they seemed ready to topple over at any moment.

Six months later, after being dismantled and rebuilt stone by stone, the remnants of the 160-year-old stone mansion look so sturdy and square it’s hard to imagine anything less than an earthquake knocking them down.

Internal steel braces secure the three main walls in place and the front now once again includes a section over the distinctive arched entrance that collapsed decades ago.

While Kuhlmann points out one spot that isn’t as exact as he’d like, it’s lost on a reporter’s untrained eye.

Overall, he said he and his co-workers from Rock Solid Natural Stone Masons are proud of the results and grateful for the chance to give Ancaster back a part of its heritage.

“I think it will be glorious for quite some time,” Kuhlmann said on Monday as they cleaned up the Sulphur Springs Road jobsite, pausing work on some minor finishing touches for the rest of the winter.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s close,” he said. “It’s going to be just beautiful for the community. I can’t wait to come to take my kids for a picnic.”

His Ancaster-based firm, which has also restored The Barracks on Wilson Street, was awarded the $460,000 untendered Hermitage contract last January after the authority scrapped initial plans to lower most of the main walls to about chest height.

Kuhlmann said rebuilding the missing front-wall section was the biggest challenge because he had to rely on photos from the 1970s.

“Getting everything to fit the way it was, was the most difficult part, definitely,” he said. “It just really completes it.”


Read it in full here.