About the project...

We designed a restoration for the north end addition of the Depuy Canal House in High Falls, NY. The house is part of the D&H Canal Society and it will soon be home to the D&H Canal Museum.

The Depuy Canal House was originally built in 1797 along the D&H Canal, which was located directly adjacent to the house. The canal was used to carry coal from Honesdale, Pennsylvania all the way up to Kingston.

Visit the Canal Museum website. — Photo courtesy of the D&H Canal Society. The Depuy Canal House standing adjacent to the canal before it was redirected. Today, this lock, Lock 16, is still intact with remnants of the canal. Click this image to learn more about the D&H Canal and the Depuy Canal House.

By 1898, the canal closed and the Canal House was converted into a residence. In the 1960s, it was restored and renovated into a 4-star restaurant. The D&H Canal Society bought the Canal House in 2015 and started to restore it into what was there in the 1800s.

Our restoration work focused only on the north end of the Depuy Canal House, which is made of wood connected to the stone house, an recreate what was already there. Existing windows and doors were salvaged and reused in the new structure to maintain its historical character.

Before restoration, the roof of the north end was leaking in multiple locations and was rotted. We replaced the entire structure to get rid of and prevent all water related issues within the space.

When rebuilding, our biggest concern was puncturing the historic stone wall of the house. We took every measure to do the least amount of damage, but also protect the new addition from any future water damage.

An ice and water shield plus copper flashing were used to prevent water from damaging the new wood structure. Though we had to use nails to hold the flashing in place, very little were used.

Surprisingly, the demolition and construction only took a few weeks to complete. We're excited to continue working with the D&H Canal Society to renovate the rest of the house into a museum about the canal and its surrounding areas.