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Unlike repair services that simply fix damage and add protection, religious stained glass repair involves more than just patching up broken stained glass. It requires an eye for detail and a commitment to maintaining as much of the original stained glass as possible, preserving your church’s most iconic works of stained glass for present and future generations to appreciate. It can be a daunting task to tackle, so it helps to know where to begin.

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Proper restoration is required in order to preserve the beautiful religious stained glass featured throughout historic churches across the nation. These antique stained glass pieces begin to showcase sever signs of deterioration and age around the 75 year to 100 year mark. As these stained glass panels reach this age, it’s important for churches to begin considering restoration. Although restoration can be a quite lengthy, time-consuming process, it can actually add another 100 years to your stained glass’ life and increase your church’s property equity.

Historic Church Stained Glass Restoration Process

Our local stained glass artisans begin restoration by visiting your historic church to conduct an assessment of your stained glass needs and priorities. This assessment determines underlying causes of deterioration, cost-benefit analysis, as well as project length and cost. Once you’ve decided to undergo restoration, we transport your stained glass windows back to our repair studio. Your stained glass windows are then bathed in our proprietary soap blend for up to two weeks. This process delicately removes any dirt or impurities built up from the last century and also allows us to remove the stained glass piece-by-piece. We then repair or replace every damaged piece of glass with a corresponding, matching one. This is either found in our inventory or custom blown. We also responsibly remove the lead came and replace it with a new mixture of lead and tin for optimal strength. This part of restoration can take up to two weeks, especially if there are hand painted features that need to be replicated and baked in our kiln. Your stained glass is then set with black cement to ensure durability. The entire process can take over a month for restoration.

Stained Glass Introduction – Scottish Stained Glass from Church Stained Glass Restoration on Vimeo.

Re-Installation of Your Restored Church Stained Glass

We re-install your newly restored stained glass with reinforcement bars or with an additional piece of glass if recommended in the assessment. You’ll be shocked by the luminosity and beauty of your original stained glass!

For more information regarding historic church stained glass restoration, please contact us or call: (720) 835-2165

Should My Church Have Its Stained Glass Restored Or Replaced?

When it comes down to whether or not it is worth the sometimes long and expensive repair process to repair your church’s stained glass, it really comes down to being a case by case situation with a number of factors that churches must consider. There is no “one or “right” answer, and the decision lies with the church staff and congregation as a whole, who have carefully weighed each option. However, to help you better understand what is at stake when your church is beginning restoration talks, we have outlined a few things to think about.

Consider The Monetary Value Of Your Church’s Stained Glass

Stained Glass is as beautiful as it is valuable. This is especially true because value can come from a variety of areas. However, the actual monetary value is something to consider. In terms of value, many things play a factor in the estimated cost of your stained glass. Things like condition, age, and artisan all play their part. However, a general rule of thumb is– a restored original piece of antique stained glass will be about 4X more valuable than that of a new/replaced piece.

Consider The Sentimental Value Of your Church’s Stained Glass

If you have old stained glass in your church, it is likely true that there have been a fair share of blessed events under its beautiful light. There are those in your church who were married beneath them and others who said their final goodbyes. In cases like this, where you have many parishioners who cherish the glass for sentimental reasons, no monetary amount will replace them, so restoration may be a good idea.

Consider The Historical Value Of Your Church’s Stained Glass

Beyond the monetary or sentimental value, may lie value of a historical nature, depending on the time period it was created or craftsman who created your glass. Glass made in the early 20th century is very well and uniquely crafted and holds deep historical value in regards to early American history. If your church’s stained glass is still in relatively good repair and intact, it may have been made by a stained glass master of the time, its value is significantly higher, historically speaking.

If you would like more information on stained glass watch the video below:

For more information on the value of your church’s stained glass or to find out if restoration might be right for your congregation, contact Church Stained Glass Restoration today!