Toitures R. Martin Ltée has received the 2024 Roofing Canada Award for intricate restoration of the historic twin steeples on L’Eglise St-Charles in Quebec City’s Limoilou borough. The 10-month project involved more than 12,000 hours of workshop and on-site labour to custom fabricate and install decorative elements matching the original features of the 105-year-old building.

The contractors had to carefully dismantle the steeples’ aging components then replicate them in new, but suitably complementary materials. That process required historical detective work, referring to blueprints and old photos to determine the shape and form of pieces that had gone missing over the years. Meanwhile, on the jobsite, workers had to contend with a range of weather conditions, unfolding between May 2022 and March 2023, along with the complications of working both on the heights and angles of the steeples.

L’Eglise St-Charles was deconsecrated in 2012 and is now the home of the performance troupe, Machine de Cirque. The steeple restoration project is part of ongoing work to revitalize the building — converting it to vibrant cultural space while respecting and celebrating its heritage attributes.

The Roofing Canada Award recognizes projects undertaken by members of the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA) that exhibit outstanding workmanship, innovation and dedication to the roofing industry and the community. Toitures R. Martin Ltée was named the 2024 winner during CRCA’s recent annual conference.

“CRCA received a number of entries, the selection committee’s decision was not an easy one,” reports Jim Facette, executive director of CRCA. “Each entry demonstrated the exceptional workmanship and commitment to quality that our members possess.”

National Roofing Week, a joint venture of CRCA and National Roofing Contractors Association in the United States, is set for June 2nd to 7th.