(Ben Tompkins/northeastNOW)

By Ben Tompkins

Efficiency increase

Melfort Court House getting new windows

Jul 17, 2023 | 5:26 PM

A Municipal Heritage Building in Melfort will look more like its old self, once again.

The Court House has been approved by the City of Melfort to replace all of the windows in that building.

Designated a Municipal Heritage Building in 1991, “the intention of the heritage designation is to preserve and protect the architectural and historical value of the Court House building,” read a report from the city.

Section 23 (1) of the Heritage Property Act, states that “no person shall alter, restore, repair, disturb, transport, add to, change or move, in whole or in part, or remove any fixtures from, without the written approval of the council of the municipality in which the property is situated.”

Installation and design of the windows have been carefully crafted in order to preserve and protect the architectural and historical value of the Court House.

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The new windows are intended to recreate the appearance of the original windows installed in the Court House in both glazing and colour.

The windows will be made of wood, metal-clad on the exterior and stained or painted on the interior to match the existing.

The glazing pattern is a recreation of the original glazing pattern based on the original construction drawings and photographic evidence.

The original windows in the Court House had a two-colour scheme with the perimeter frames being reddish and the sash frames being white.

The new replacement windows will recreate this two-colour appearance.

“We’ve decided that the ones that are in it with the aluminum frames and single pane glass are very inefficient, and they definitely don’t look anywhere near what original would have, whereas the ones that are being replaced are more energy efficient, and will have more of a very traditional original look to them, trying to match the exterior of the original building,” explained Sheldon Greier, building operator for Melfort region, ministry of Sask builds and procurement.

The courthouse building is roughly 100 years old, while the current windows have been in place for around 40 years.

The new windows could also serve as future significant financial savings, especially when it comes to heating costs in the winter.

“They’re horribly inefficient, you can literally feel the cold air in the winter coming in, so we’re definitely looking for an energy-efficient upgrade… to get something that will be a lot more period correct would make a huge difference in the general appearance of the place, and for the workers, they’ll be happy to not be freezing by the windows,” added Greier.

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