Church Stained Glass Restoration Archives - Page 4 of 5

Religious Stained Glass Repair: Where to Begin?

May 7, 2018 in Aggrigate, Church Stained Glass Restoration

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.

How Long Does it Take to Restore Stained Glass in Historic Churches?

May 4, 2018 in Aggrigate, Church Stained Glass Restoration

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.

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

Repair Or Replace? Which Is Better For Your Church’s Stained Glass

April 24, 2018 in Aggrigate, Church Stained Glass Restoration

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!

The Importance of Cleaning and Strengthening Your Church’s Stained Glass

April 11, 2018 in Church Stained Glass Restoration

Church stained glass often portrays really meaningful imagery for congregation members. The beautiful thing about religious stained glass is the way it can carry individualized messages pertinent to each worshipper and their personal worshipping process. These elegant, antique works of art are usually one-of-a-kind and held sacred to each church. That’s why proper preservation, through cleaning and strengthening, is so important to keep up with. When you consistently keep up with your stained glass’ needs, it can last for centuries, prolonging product life as well as prolonging the period of time required between restorations.
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Stained Glass Through Time: The Past, Present and Future

April 3, 2018 in Church Stained Glass Restoration

From its beginnings in places of worship to its role in modern-day architecture, stained glass has remained a beautiful and skillful art form throughout the centuries. Learn more about the origins and uses of this breathtaking glass art below.

About How Long Do Church Stained Glass Restorations Take?

March 28, 2018 in Aggrigate, Church Stained Glass Restoration

Types Of Stained Glass Repairs And Timelines

A question we often get from churches that are considering repairing their aging stained glass is–How long will it take? It is a very good question and it makes sense that churches would be concerned about this since renovations are known to be disruptive and lengthy and could lead to an interruption in services or activities within the church. While we would love to tell you repairs are simple, quick and easy all the time, the truth is– it depends on the state of your stained glass. Repairs could take anywhere from a single day up to a year depending on the size and scope of your stained glass restoration. That being said, the time it takes to repair church stained glass is really a case by case situation. However, to help you get an idea about how long repairs for the stained glass on your church will take, we have put together a quick guide for your below.

Stained Glass Cleaning Timeframe

Stained glass cleaning pretty easy to estimate and generally takes about a day. However, for large chapels, with larger windows, the cleaning will always take a bit longer due to the size and difficulty in reaching them. In this case, we may need to set up scaffolding which adds extra time. Also, if windows have not been cleaned in a very long time, the process may take longer. Understandably, cleaning is never a job to be hurried because it could lead to damage.

Minor Repairs To Broken Stained Glass Pieces Timeframe

If your church windows have a couple of pieces of broken glass, the repair can usually be done fairly quickly by a trained professional. This work is called a “drop-in,” “stop-in,” or “open-lead” repair which means soldering the joint to replace a few small pieces of broken glass. In the case that you have or need Zinc caming, this process will take longer because of the need for folding it back to repair or replace the old glass, and then re-soldering the joints.

Replacement Stained Glass Timeframe

Replacement glass, that matches the original pieces of glass in your cathedral windows, can be difficult and costly for us to find or make. In fact, the process of recreating antique glass is usually what takes up most of the time these types of repairs. In order to replicate glass, we sometimes need to do a few iterations before we get it right. With so many glass colors and textures used in the past, often times with “secret” formulas, pinpointing exactly what needs to be done can take time. But, rest assured we are the best studio for doing so.

Structural Repairs On Stained Glass Timeframe

This is the most the repair that takes the longest because both the stained glass and structural elements essentially need to be rebuilt. This includes things like windows that have detached from the saddle bars and begun to sag, bulge, or bow. In order to complete the job we first carefully remove the glass, one piece at a time, repair it off-site, them bring it back restored. This also includes rebuilding the entire frame structure. All of this takes some time– up to a year in some cases. However, is totally worth it once you see the magnificence and beauty that was lying hidden in your church this whole time!

To get the best idea about how long your church’s stained glass repair or restoration will take, contact us at Church Stained Glass Restorations, we have studios all over the country and would love to bid for your business!

Taking the First Steps Towards Repairing Your Church’s Stained Glass

March 9, 2018 in Church Stained Glass Restoration

Church stained glass restoration can definitely seem like a tedious, daunting process. With so many stained glass windows usually housed in churches, the project may seem impossible. Church Stained Glass Restoration specializes in historic and antique stained glass restoration. We understand all the different stained glass techniques from every time period, allowing us to fully restore any stained glass piece. From fundraising to restoration, we’ve got you covered at all the bases.
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A Stained Glass Restoration That Almost Never Happened: St Giles’ Catherdral

February 20, 2018 in Church Stained Glass Restoration

A Church Renovation That Started A Stained Glass Tradition

When you think of old churches like St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland you probably think of towering stained glass windows that are centuries upon centuries old. However, although Saint Giles Cathedral has been a religious center for nearly 900 years, the windows as it turns out are a little less than 200 years old dating back to the later part of the 19th century. The reason for this is because Presbyterian churches only had clear glass windows since the reformation. Stained glass, as it turns out, they held in poor or suspicious regard and as a form of idolatry. When William Chambers set out to restore the St Giles Cathedral in the 1870s and 80s. he was determined to put stained glass again where only small fragments from the middle ages still survived when he restored the Cathedral. By this point in history the Presbyterian objections had gradually faded away so James Ballantine (who had gained wide publicity when he won a national competition to design some of the stained glass windows for the new Houses of Parliament at Westminster and Chambers) was commissioned to create nine new windows for the Cathedral chancel, illustrating the life of Christ The well-known artist Robert Herdman was an advisory on the design and the stained glass windows were paid for by a series of donors. The focal point of the series is The Great East Window, donated by Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir James Falshaw.

The St Giles Stained Glass Tradition Lives On

Happily, even after the death of Chambers, the Cathedral Managing Board continued to commission new works of stained glass art for the cathedral of mostly biblical scenes. Today such gorgeous works are renowned around the world and include noteworthy stained glass windows like North Window, Warden Children Memorial Window and blue glass porch at the West Door. If not for the persistence of William Chambers, these works of art and the full restoration of this chapel may have never come to fruition.

At Church Stained Glass Restoration we are carrying on the tradition of preserving stained glass much like William Chambers. We believe the stained glass is something worth saving and restoring whenever possible and would love to consult with you on your church’s stained glass restoration project. Contact us today for a free inspection of your church’s glass today!

Why Plastic or Fiberglass Coatings May Be A Bad Idea To Protect Stained Glass

January 26, 2018 in Church Stained Glass Restoration

Church Stained Glass Protection And Upkeep

The stained glass windows of your church are veritable treasures to your congregation and the community at large. These beautiful works of art, like most, are fragile and need to be kept up and protected from the elements and other corrosive or potentially hazardous factors like air pollution or vandalism. There are many ways to protect stained glass windows from various threats: metal grills, layers of sacrificial glass, glazing applications and more.

Protective Coverings For Stained Glass

As a general rule of thumb, a protective layer should not be added to church stained glass unless that window was designed for it. In most cases, the potential drawbacks outweigh the potential benefits. Take metal grills for instance. While great against vandalism they often time dramatically change the view of the glass on the inside with prominent criss-cross patterns. Another stained glass preservation method that is not at all a good idea is plastic or fiberglass coverings. Although the plastic products are very strong, lightweight, and relatively easy to install, they will scratch, haze, and yellow over time, even with UV inhibitors. They also have a high coefficient of expansion and contraction, so the frames accompanying them must be designed to move and expand with them as the temperatures fluctuate. Poor installations of fiberglass or plastic in restrictive frames cause distorted reflections from bowing panels and even damage the historic frame.

The better alternative to plastic or fiberglass to protect stained glass windows is protective glass panels.

Glass Panels To Protect Your Church Stained Glass Windows

At Church Stained Glass Restoration, our preferred method of protection for stained glass we have built or restored is Protective Glass Panels. While it is true that protective panels of glass are heavier and more difficult to install and thusly more expensive, glass will not bow, scratch, or haze when exposed to the element. In terms of lasting beauty and historical preservation, protective glass panels for church stained glass are almost always the best option and one we employ frequently.

For more information on stained glass restoration for your church, contact us today and we will be happy to go over your options in a free consultation.

Our Stained Glass Building Process for Church Windows

January 15, 2018 in Church Stained Glass Restoration

As the recognized leader in church stained glass window restoration, we have a comprehensive, detailed building process to ensure everyone of our Denver church clients are beyond satisfied with their finished product. This extraordinary restoration building process is a multi-step project that renews your historical, vintage stained glass windows, restoring them to a exceedingly clean, vibrant new look.

The Assessment for Church Window Stained Glass Restoration

The on-site assessment is incredibly pertinent in the church window stained glass restoration process. The assessment completed by our restoration experts allows us to determine the problems in what exactly are causing your stained glass windows the need for restoration. For instance, if your church’s stained glass windows are bowed shaped, we can determine if it’s an external weather element causing this shape and how to restore your church’s windows to prevent this from happening in the future.

Once the assessment is complete, our team of restoration experts move on to the next step: problem solving. This step details all the ongoing issues that have causes your beautiful stained glass windows to deteriorate, and identifies why this has happened. Based on this problem solving step, our experienced team can manipulate the restoration process to ensure that these issues don’t interfere with your church’s stained glass windows again.

Church Stained Glass Restoration Building Process

Once the analytical steps are completed, we carefully removed the window from your church and bring it back to our workshop. From there, we let the glass soak for at least two weeks in our proprietary soapy blend in order to remove all the dirt buildup from over the last hundred years. We take the lead apart and dispose of it responsibly. Our experts then rebuild your stained glass windows with new lead, ensuring it matches the original lead-work, and duplicates the painted glass technique design. We add a molten mix of lead and tin to seal all the joints in your stained glass window. For the last step, we cover your window with a black cement, strengthening your window, then polishing it off the glass surfaces. We also install additional support bars if needed.

Call today to schedule a consultation to see how we can transform your church’s stained glass windows: (720) 835-2165