Common Church Stained Glass Damage And What Type Of Restoration It Needs

Church Stained Glass Restoration In Salt Lake City

At Stained Glass Salt Lake City, we understand just how much churches here love their stained glass windows and if your windows are lovely but damaged from time–we also understand this and know how to fix them. The fact of the matter is, almost all churches with stained glass over 80 years old are in need of repairs or restoration because this is about how long church stained glass built to last back in the early 20th century. We have worked with countless churches in the SLC area on everything from custom new church stained glass to restorations like the one you are in need of. As experts in this field, we have prepared a list of the most common damages church’s like yours are likely seeing right now and an idea about how each will be remedied.

The Most Common Damages To Church Stained Glass

Failed/Missing Sealant: Sealants and glazing compounds used in church stained glass are prone to drying out. This causes small cracks in the sealant which water will seep through. This not good for the life of the glass, lead or frame. Sometimes we are able to reseal these on the window, but often times we would prefer to remove the entire window to thoroughly reseal, restore and replace.

Cracked Or Missing Glass Pieces: This type of damage is very common. We can usually fix cracks, (depending on their size and shape) with a lead overlay or glue. But, missing pieces of older stained glass will likely have to be custom made in our studio to match. Sometimes we can do this without removing the window entirely, other times we recommend removing the whole window to do a total restoration.

Broken Pieces/Damaged Leading: A stained glass panel with many breaks in the lead really needs to be removed from its frame to be repaired–sometimes in just the affected section is re-leaded. However, if the caming damage is considerable–it is best to have the entire panel and even the whole window re-leaded to ensure extended life.

Frame Damage: Frame damage is common because even if your church’s stained glass has been repaired, the focus is usually on the glass, not the frame. Sometimes we will repair damaged wood with the application of epoxy resins and/or specialty fillers but extensively damaged or deteriorating sections of the frame may need to be replaced completely.

Detached or Sagging Reinforcement Bar: Large panels on stained glass windows need to be very strong support because of their overwhelming weight. This is most often done with steel bars but could be with copper ties too. These bars/wires are soldered directly to the lead. If either of these comes loose or detached, bulging and then eventually failure will occur. Really the only and best way to fix this is with the removal of the panel and re-soldering of the bars or copper ties.

If your Salt Lake City Church has these types of damages or others you don’t see here, contact us here at Stained Glass Salt Lake City. We will come by for a free inspection and assessment of your church’s stained glass window damages because we are always happy to meet with you and let you know what is going on in person and how we will fix it!

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