A Plateau cornice, the birds, and thirty years of Montreal facades
Birds were nesting in the woodwork, water was getting in, and the borough required pre-painted steel. How Cam Construction rebuilt a Plateau cornice, and what the job says about working on old facades.
Les Entreprises Cam Construction has been working on Montreal facades since 1991. More than 10,000 projects later, the company has built its reputation on one specific field: exterior renovation, with everything that involves in balconies, staircases, masonry, cladding and restoration.
It is a trade you can see from the sidewalk. A cornice repaired badly is something the whole street looks at for twenty years.
The job: a cornice in the Plateau
A building in Plateau Mont-Royal, in 2019. What the owners could see: water getting in. What they could hear: birds nesting in the woodwork.
The two went together. Rotting woodwork lets water through, and a damaged cornice makes a convenient shelter.
These owners already knew the company. Cam Construction had rebuilt their building's balcony a few years earlier. They came back.
What the borough required
This cornice did not have the original features usually found on that kind of building. In that situation, the Plateau Mont-Royal borough requires the shingle to be replaced with pre-painted steel, for durability and for appearance.
That is more demanding than a straight replacement. The steel has to be worked around a false mansard, in angles that forgive nothing, without damaging what still holds.
From the sidewalk, a borough requirement looks like one more constraint. In practice, it means a cornice that will last far longer than the one being replaced.
How the work went
- Installing a pre-painted steel cornice
- Restoring the damaged woodwork
- Sealing and caulking the cornice joints, under the false mansard
- Painting, to protect the work and make it last
The order matters more than people think. Painting before sealing, or sealing before replacing rotten wood, hides the problem instead of fixing it. The water keeps going either way.
The advice that applies to every old facade
The message the company repeats to owners is a simple one: do not let the woodwork rot.
Rotting woodwork lets water in. The water attacks whatever sits behind it. And once a false mansard has to be rebuilt entirely, the bill has nothing in common with the cost of maintenance done on time.
Repairing, protecting, applying good paint and making sure water is not getting in: these are modest steps that prevent major expenses.
Cam Construction at a glance
- Founded in 1991, more than 10,000 projects completed
- Specialty: exterior renovation in Montreal
- Balconies, staircases, masonry, acrylic cladding, water infiltration, restoration, demolition
- RBQ licence 2854-6760-18
- Service in French and English
This feature is sponsored content, written with the company from its own answers and approved by it before publication. Zone Réno does not warrant the work described. Published on July 15, 2026.