Halifax, Nova Scotia

This grand lady of downtown Halifax has been given new life, thanks to extensive restorations.
Once one of Halifax’s premier downtown hotels, the Lord Nelson had deteriorated significantly in recent years. So when the hotel’s new owners decided to restore the Lord Nelson to it’s past glory, they called in BMR to be the prime consultant on the cladding restoration.

The main problem was a common one in older brick buildings built in Nova Scotia - the original builders in the 1920’s hadn’t considered air and vapour transmission through the exterior wall system in the design. Long winters with their constant freeze/thaw cycles had damaged the brick exterior to critical levels. The brick had cracked and water had infiltrated the building and deteriorated the steel and concrete frame underneath. The lack of insulation had also caused interior pipes to freeze and break - creating further damage to the structure of the building.

To add to the complexity, the BMR team had to deal with a number of different constructions. Two new stories had been added to the building in 1967, and a street level expansion for a bank had occurred in 1976.

BMR devised a plan to remove the brick cladding, install a system of steel framing capable of supporting both the existing clay tile back-up wall and the new brick cladding installed over the steel framing. This solution meant lots of detail work to incorporate both the 1920’s original construction and the 1967 expansion with specially designed expansion joints, precast concrete sills and headers.

Things didn’t always go as planned. As contractors removed the old brick, BMR engineers were frequently called to the site to respond to unforeseen site conditions. It meant troubleshooting on the spot and quick, yet adequate revisions. But in spite of the complexities of the project, BMR managed to bring the project in on time and on budget.