A man’s home can’t include an ice castle with a roof
Inspector forces partial dismantling of ice bar, saying it poses imminent danger
Derek Parker’s magnificent, illuminated ice castle — a tribute to the Habs, a hit with his neighbours and a welcome respite from the winter doldrums — is no more.
An inspector from the city of Brossard phoned Parker Friday morning warning him that he had to take down the roof over his ice castle immediately because it posed an imminent danger, Parker said.
The city official, however, reached that conclusion without having inspected the ice structure or the roof, which was comprised of a tarp strewn over wooden twoby-fours that were screwed into the ice walls.
It didn’t matter that his neighbours loved the backyard ice castle, which doubled as an open bar and a shrine to the Canadiens, with a Habs jersey hanging prominently from one of the walls, along with an 18-inch TV screen to watch games. There were other nice touches, too, like hockey pucks stuck into the ice bar to be used as coasters and a Budweiser Red Light that flashed and honked its horn whenever Parker poured a drink — or the Habs actually scored.
The inspector wasn’t impressed though, Parker said. His arguments — that the structure was built solidly, that the roof was less likely to collapse than a temporary car shelter in a snowstorm — fell on deaf ears.
“Rules and regulations” is what Parker was told.
And so on Saturday morning — while Parker was fighting the flu — he spent an hour and a half with his friend unscrewing the roof joists and bundling up the tarp. The inspector advised him the walls of ice could remain.
Come Monday morning, the inspector told Parker he will pay him a visit to make sure the roof is gone.
“I think it’s ridiculous, pretty much,” Parker said. “A little crazy.”
Parker, who coaches two midget hockey teams in the evenings and on weekends, built the ice castle several weeks ago. He filled and refilled plastic buckets with water, which turned into blocks of ice that he used to assemble the walls. It took 100 hours to complete the job.
Christened “Ice Bar 2018,” it quickly became the coolest hangout in the neighbourhood. Word soon spread and a steady stream of reporters and TV crews showed up — from CTV to TVA Nouvelles — after Montreal Gazette columnist Stu Cowan profiled Parker.
Youppi and Habs centreman Andrew Shaw were planning to visit the ice castle on Thursday, but Parker had to cancel because he was just coming down with the flu. The next day, he got the call from the inspector.
Parker’s spirits lifted somewhat Friday when Geoff Molson, president of the Canadiens, sent him a gift package with a Habs jersey signed by all of the players. This is what Molson’s note said:
“Thanks for being such a huge Habs fan, and for your creativity!”
Parker, a sales rep, doesn’t regret building the ice castle despite his run-in with the inspector.
“All I wanted to do,” he said, “is make the winter go by a little quicker.”
Brossard municipal officials were not immediately available for comment.