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St. Patrick's Church, Phelpston ON

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In 1999, Thistlewood Timber Frame Homes was contracted to provide structural and decorative timber work in a historic church located in the small Village of Phelpston in southwestern Ontario. The building was badly damaged by fire in 1998 and suffered considerable damage throughout. The damage to the sanctuary especially was extensive as most of the roof had collapsed. The ceiling timbers were still in place but were severely charred.

Thistlewood used salvaged fir timbers and employed various modern and traditional timber framing techniques to restore these unique trusses. Some trusses only suffered minimal surface damage due to charring and were repaired in place while others had to be completely restored. One entire new truss patterned after the originals was produced in Thistlewood's shop and subsequently installed at the site.