Victorian Sunroom Addition – Full Build in Cargill, Brockton

We recently broke ground on a sunroom addition for a heritage Victorian home in Cargill, part of Brockton, Ontario—just north of Walkerton and south of Port Elgin. JCB & SONS was hired as the general contractor to oversee the entire project, from excavation and foundation to framing and finish. The new sunroom is designed to blend seamlessly with the architecture of the original home while providing a bright, year-round space for the homeowners.

This is a full-scope renovation and new build, combining structural carpentry, foundation work, and careful detailing around an existing heritage structure. It’s the kind of addition that requires experience, precision, and respect for both the old and the new—hallmarks of the sunroom and addition work we deliver across Hanover, Brockton, and the surrounding Grey-Bruce region.

Excavating the material from the foundation hole and loading to be removed from the construction site.

The Miller Group provided the cement for our project. These are our freshly poured concrete footings with a keyway cut in to receive the new foundation walls for this addition.

The walls are freshly poured and have been covered with insulated tarps to protect from the temperature drops. Chemicals have been added to the cement mix to make it generate heat as well as the cement was made with hot water because of the time of year to help it cure.

The boys (Gabriel Bender and Jude Bender) took time from school to come be a part of pouring this foundation. This gets them a hands on experience at a young age and provides opportunity for the next generation to take on and experience the work organically and develop skills naturally. Work ethic is developed and skills are learned.

Farlow’s Home Hardware provided the Home Builder fibrated asphalt foundation coating to waterproof the new crawlspace.

After the foundation coating has cured we installed Delta MS foundation wrap from Farlow’s Home Hardware to provide drainage to the new crawlspace. It is wrapped down to the weeping tile which is covered in drainage stone and filter cloth before material that was removed during excavating is place back around the foundation. The weeping tile ties into a sump pail in the new crawlspace.

The foundation is backfilled and ready for the sill plates to be installed on the anchor bolts that were placed in the concrete to secure the floor system to the foundation walls.

Welbeck Sawmill delivered our floor system and we have installed the new Pressure Treated sill plates on sill gasket and Typar house wrap. This is holding the new 2” x 12” floor joists @ 12” on centre with two runs of solid blocking to ensure a floor with very little deflection. This all gets covered in a 3/4” tounge & groove plywood sub-floor which is glued and screwed.

Solid blocking ensures all the joists stay in their place, can’t twist and makes everything binds together and shares the load on the floor joists.

Would also like to give a big thank you to Jamie Kuhl of ArchLines for all the design work on this project and with the permit process to make this all happen for our customer.

After the sub-floor was completed we covered the entire floor with insulated tarps to ensure the cold stays out of the foundation until the walls are up and everything is closed in.

Roof Framing & Dormers – Eco Log Home in Berkeley Near Owen Sound

On this Eco Log Home project in Berkeley—just south of Owen Sound—we completed all roof framing, including the structural dormers, insulation build-ups, and ventilation layers. Working as the builder and carpenter on this rural home, JCB & SONS brought precision framing and timber craftsmanship to every stage. From engineered roof structures to insulated envelope details, we supported the homeowner-led build with skill and care. Projects like this highlight the kind of high-quality carpentry and roof detailing we provide throughout the Owen Sound, Berkeley, and Markdale region.

2”x6” dormer walls set and ceiling joists placed on 16” centers.

Laying out for the collar ties that will be installed.

Because of the time of year the openings were tarped every night to keep the snow out of the home.

JCB getting pieces laid out and cut for the guys as they get the dormers framed up.

First half of the roof completed and ready for the future steel roofing.

Walls set on the second half of the roof for the last 2 dormers going on.

We are a family business and everyone pitches in. Alisha came in to help make sure our site stayed safe and clean for us.

The hemlock ceiling boards where all left long until the end on the gables. This allowed us to snap a perfectly straight chalk line to cut them too. We were able to manipulate the 4” x 10” trusses then to follow our perfect line keeping the ends very straight and clean looking.

The roof was made up of multiple layers. First the 1” x 6” hemlock ceiling boards went down. Then a synthetic roofing membrane was installed with ice and water shield in the valleys. Next we installed two layers of Styrorail insulation. A base layer of 3” SR.P200 Graphite which can’t stay exposed to any sunlight and then a second layer of 3.5” SR.Radiant+ which has a vapour barrier reflective membrane laminated to it. All layers have offset joints which where taped with Tuck Tape sheathing tape. We then cover the valleys & dormers with an additional layer of GRACE Ice and Water Shield HT. Finally all this is covered with a layer of 2x4 sheathing installed @ 16” o.c. for the new steel roofing.

Over the balconies at the gable ends and the porches we used a 2x8 rafter build up to match the 6-1/2” of insulation and then installed the 2x4 sheathing over top of them @ 16”o.c.

Completed jack rafters forming the valleys of the home with collar ties installed to prevent any uplift or separation from the roof peak.

We pulled some large tarps over the home at the completion of our work to leave the home ready for the new steel roof install.

Porch Timber Framing & Roof Structure – Eco Log Home in Berkeley

We were brought in as the framing contractor for this Eco Log Home project in Berkeley, Ontario—located between Chatsworth and Markdale. The homeowner was managing the build himself and hired JCB & SONS to construct the structural roof system and custom timber frame porch. Our role focused on delivering precision carpentry and engineered framing to match the scale of this rural log home build.

The roof assembly was framed with 4” x 10” timbers set at 4 feet on center, secured with engineered connectors and covered with 1x6 hemlock boards to create a warm, finished ceiling. A synthetic roofing membrane was installed to protect the structure and prep it for insulation and shingles. The front porch, framed as a true timber frame, added a bold architectural detail and extended the usable outdoor space. This type of project highlights our role as skilled carpenters supporting owner-led home builds throughout Berkeley, Markdale, and the Grey County region.

John Bender cutting mortises on site with our chain mortiser for the assembly of the post and beams to build the porches

Cleaning up the sub floor to allow for the install of Blueskin flashing tape and aluminum flashing prior to installing the porch deck frames.

Rolling out Bluesking Flashing Tape to waterproof the rim joist around the home.

Jude Bender

Fine tuning the mortises by hand to fit perfectly into the tenons we cut.

Driving the tenons on the posts and knee braces into the mortises of the beams.

Red oak dowels used to peg the mortise and tenons together.

Drilling holed through the assembled mortise and tenons to receive the red oak dowel pegs.

Adjusting a tenon to fit perfectly into the mortises with a 10” beam saw.

First snow of the season.

8” x 8” Hemlock knee brace with tenon.

Porch post with tenon on top and mortise for knee brace on the side.

Scarf joint to make the beam pieces long enough to support the porch deck assembly.

Steel plates are screwed to the bottom of the posts which will sit on top of a threaded bold and nut allowing for adjustment as the log home wall shrink with time.

Using a Genie Zoom Boom to lift the post and beam assemblies into their final place to support the porch roofs.

All the hemlock ceiling boards on and covered with synthetic roof membrane. Porches completed. Ready for dormers to go on the home and insulation board.