Stained glass

Lisa Fox <lisa.fox [at] sos__mo__gov> writes

>I am posing this query in my personal rather than professional
>capacity.  My parish has allocated money for a significant project
>to restore our stained-glass windows.  We have discovered that some
>of the lead is deteriorating, and the wood around some of the
>windows is rotting. We also plan to replace the deteriorating,
>yellowed Lexan (?) with a newer protective covering.
>
>We are marooned here in the Midwest, where conservators aren't
>exactly plentiful.  So far, we have identified only one
>stained-glass studio that might do the work: Bovard Studios.
>
>I would appreciate knowing whether any of you are familiar with that
>studio and can comment on their conservation qualifications.  I
>would also invite any of you who have expertise in this field--or
>who know of other qualified conservators who work in Missouri--to
>contact me offline.  I would like to have more bids on this job.

I am posing this query in my personal rather than professional
>capacity.  My parish has allocated money for a significant project
>to restore our stained-glass windows.  We have discovered that some
>of the lead is deteriorating, and the wood around some of the
>windows is rotting. ...
>...
>I would appreciate knowing whether any of you are familiar with that
>studio and can comment on their conservation qualifications.  I
>would also invite any of you who have expertise in this field--or
>who know of other qualified conservators who work in Missouri--to
>contact me offline.  I would like to have more bids on this job.

Though I cannot comment on the need for a stained glass studio, I
would like to direct your attention to a study on protective glazing
that was funded by the National Center for Preservation Technology
and Training (NCPTT) in the late 90's. The results of the study are
astounding in terms of the micro-environments created by certain
types of protective glazing. The information presented in the study
should help with the decision regarding adding protective glazing
back in again.

    <URL:http://www.ncptt.nps.gov/
        Product-Catalog/Product.aspx?ProductID=1996-06>

    **** Moderator's comments: The above URL has been wrapped for
    email. There should be no newline.

I would also urge you to avoid epoxy repairs to the wood wherever
possible. If skilled carpenters are available, wood dutchman repairs
using similar species will perform much better over the long-term.
Of course, complicated traceries and predominantly old-growth wood
make the concept of epoxy repairs more tolerable for vertical
surfaces. Regardless, my personal opinion is that wood window sills
should never be repaired with epoxy.

Lorraine Schnabel
Architectural Conservator


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:14
                   Distributed: Tuesday, July 3, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-21-14-007
                                  ***