John G. Cook and Associates, engineers hired by the town of Mississippi Mills to assess the Dungarvon building, provided a damning report to the Planning and Development committee. They said that much of the mortar between the large stones was defective or absent, its condition poor, that the buttresses at the south and west corners of the building are separating from the tower and that the roof is in such poor condition that it is considered a fall hazard. The engineers are of the view that the condition of the building is so poor that there is no temporary fix that would allow the security fences to be removed. It provides the following recommendations as options:
- Budget for a multi ‐year (multi‐phase), million dollar conservation programme that would include the replacement of the roof cladding, the rebuilding/rehabilitation of the exterior stone masonry, and replacement of wood cornices and windows. No further interior restoration work should proceed until exterior work is complete. The amount of water/moisture infiltration currently getting into the building envelope needs to be addressed immediately.
- Demolish the building and sell the stone.