Project Description

The Project

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is the largest mental health teaching hospital in Canada. CAMH is also one of the world’s leading mental health and addiction research centres.

When CAMH began planning to redevelop their roughly 27-acre site on Queen St. in Toronto, the plans included two new buildings: the McCain Complex Care & Recovery Building and the Crisis & Critical Care Building.

The completion of these two buildings in November 2020 was a significant milestone in the CAMH’s redevelopment project.

The Challenge

CAMH’s redevelopment project was a large project with tight timelines. Similar-sized projects usually have a timeframe of two years for completion, but the CAMH project required Beverly Caulking to complete our work in approximately eight to twelve months.

As a mental health facility providing emergency and inpatient services, all security caulking needed to be completed prior to CAMH opening their new buildings. Security caulking is an essential part of CAMH’s building construction for security and sanitary purposes.

The Scope

The CAMH project required comprehensive security caulking. The scope of Beverly Caulking’s security caulking work for this project included the following:

  • 235 rooms with beds and washrooms
  • Emergency triage centre
  • Two cafeterias
  • 15 lunchrooms
  • Exterior windows in one building

Our Solution

Beverly Caulking was hired for the CAMH project because of our expertise in security caulking. We were also able to provide caulkers who could manage a large project that needed to be completed in a shorter than usual duration.

For most of the project, Beverly Caulking had six to eight caulkers working on the caulking requirements. Our caulkers spent a total of 9,241 man hours on site and completed the project on time.

The work provided by our expert caulkers included the following:

  1. Perimeter of door frames
  2. Perimeter of interior windows
  3. Perimeter of headwalls
  4. Perimeter of washroom fixtures
    1. Toilets
    2. Sinks
    3. Grab bars
    4. Toilet paper dispensers
    5. Soap dispensers
    6. Mirrors
    7. Towel bars
    8. Light switches
    9. Bathtubs
  5. Wall protection
  6. Base of beds to the floor
  7. Top of cove base
  8. Columns
  9. Cafeteria countertops

For the CAMH project, we applied two types of security caulking: pickproof and pick-resistant caulking:

  1. Pickproof Caulking
    We applied pickproof caulking in the patient rooms and other areas where patients may be without constant supervision. Pickproof caulking was used to eliminate sharp edges and to secure and stabilize furniture and other objects including beds, chairs, mirrors, and washroom fixtures. We also applied it to seal any gaps (door frames, washroom fixtures, walls).
    Pickproof caulking was also used around the sinks, countertops, and toilets to provide improved sanitary conditions. The caulking can minimize the risk of mold and mildew by preventing water from getting under or behind fixtures and furnishings. This also makes it faster and easier for nursing and cleaning staff to clean the area without damaging the caulking.
  2. Pick-resistant caulking
    Pick-resistant or tamper-resistant caulking is durable and difficult to remove, but it has some flexibility. We used pick-resistant caulking in areas, such as the cafeterias, where patients are supervised and there is a much lower risk of tampering.

Beverly Caulking was proud to be part of CAMH’s redevelopment project.

View our Commercial Services page for details about more of our projects that included security caulking. Contact us if you have questions about security caulking or want to discuss your upcoming construction projects.