Blog / Category_Custom Work and Restoration

One of the very exciting things we get to do in this industry is to restore windows. These are generally from churches, and they are usually over 100 years old. It is just fascinating to see the beauty of these windows and the skill (they did not have the tools and equipment we have) it took to make these windows. One of these jobs was in 2008 when we had the privilege of restoring two windows from the First Congregational Church of Blue Hill. We were told the windows were originally made by Alfred E. Bell, a renowned stained glass artist of the 1800s. These windows were 6’ by 12’ and were exceptionally heavy because they were all plated. Each piece was at least two layers thick, and some were three layers thick. That created some interesting challenges in the restoration. Another exciting job we did was a window called the Traveling Angel. It was from the Fairfield United Methodist in Fairfield Center, Maine. This window was made by the Belcher Glass company based in New Jersey. It was a unique process. It involved placing tiny pieces of glass on a paper pattern. When I say tiny, I mean like fingernail size! The pieces of glass and the pattern were then covered on both sides with a gummed sheet of asbestos. A frame was placed around the outside edges of the glass-filled asbestos sheets to seal the glass. Molten lead was then poured between the asbestos sheets, filling the gaps between the small pieces of glass. When the metal cooled, it bound the glass pieces together. There were very few of these windows made because the process was toxic, and the workers died! There are approximately 30 of these windows in existence. This picture shows a glazier, Lisa Lucas, from Oakes & Parkhurst Glass helping us reinstall the window after we flattened the curve in it, fixed the painted the face and did some other repairs including rebar to strengthen it. For the first time we offered a class in restoration! It seems there are more pieces of glass to be restored than the time and people to do it. We hope that some of the students will continue to work on their skills and eventually start taking on restoration jobs. The pieces they restored were likely originally installed in the old Methodist Church in Fairfield, Maine (though that building burned long ago and their provenance is not definite.) There were eight panels in various states of decay, and some of them were missing several pieces of glass. They were also each unique, despite being a "matched" set. Some had round faceted crystals in the design, and all had slight variations in glass color. It was an intensive process that took some students weeks to complete. Here you can see some of the detailed steps, the immense satisfaction of a completed project, and 3 very different final interpretations of the restored windows. Want to be notified when we publish a new blog post? Sign up Here

RESTORATION

Glass has clearly (pun intended) evolved all through the centuries. Here is a bit of a timeline.

In the 1700's window glass was mouth blown and spun into a disk. It was small and distorted. I think it is quite beautiful. Even when it was big enough to cut with straight edges, it was very distorted.

In the 1800's the process evolved to a mechanically blown cylinder machine. Sheets were larger and the quality was better. Because the sheets were bigger you are now seeing a more traditional window glass. They were large enough to cut square or into a rectangle.

In the 1900's the invention of the Fourcault machine allowed for vertically drawn glass. This was the end of the imperfections except for vertical drawn lines. The end of the waves and the end of the seeds and bubbles.

Even though the quality of glass improved there is often a desire to replace what was there. To keep it looking the same. Glass is available to reproduce each century of glass.

COLONIAL

A glass called colonial is a glass with slight distortion and occasional seeds are present. The thickness varies a bit. It is very much like the 1800's glass. Just imagine trying to copy a procedure where the manufacturing was trying to make it perfect but were not being totally successful.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/saint-just-clear-colonial-restoration-glass.html

GNA RESTOVER+

This is a more affordable alternative to colonial. However, it is not a close replication of the 1800. Not for a restoration roject where historical integrity is important.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/clear-gna-restoration-glass.html

This glass is beautiful. It has fine lines through. Really not a great piece for restoration but totally a step up from window glass. It has a classic timeless look.

This is a glass blog, so before I launch into trompe l’oeil, I will say something about glass. In Readfield, Maine, there is a building called the Union Meeting House. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. We had the good fortune of being asked to repair some of the building’s stained glass windows several years ago. This week, I was at the Union Meeting House for a David Mallett concert and got to visit our repaired windows, which are holding up great. The building has some non-leaded, colored stenciled glass windows, shown above on the right side of each photo. They are very rare and are only used in one other church in Maine. As years went by, they were replaced with more traditional stained glass windows, which appear on the left in each photo. Normally, I am “all about the glass,” but this building has something even better! This building, in this very small town, has one of the finest examples of trompe l’oeil there is, the reason it was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Trompe l’oeil is French for “to fool the eye.” The walls and ceilings of this building are painted plaster, which appears to be three-dimensional. There are columns (like you see in the pictures above), medallions, wall plaques and arches that look like they protrude, but they are flat. They are so realistically painted that you just can’t believe they are actually flat and really want to touch them. However, this sign sits on a sill: This shows more examples of trompe l’oeil. All of this is flat!

For several years our Maine State Chamber of Commerce come to our store and purchase beautiful glass. They then take the glass to a framer and arrange the glass on a matt and frame it. It then becomes the award that they give out at their annual awards meeting. Here are a few of them. That is Senator Collins in the bottom left picture! It is a great idea. Certainly, better than most of the awards you see. I would love to have a beautiful piece of glass hanging on the wall in recognition, rather than the traditional award plaque.

The other day I was having a conversation with a glass artist about the difference between round rebar and flat rebar. Honesty, I have been in the business a long time, and I really did not know they had different purposes!

Then, I was at a concert that was an Elton John tribute band. It was at a venue in Madison, Maine called the Somerset Abby. A delightful couple rescued an old church and have turned it into a spot to hold events. It is a beautiful building. While everyone else was focused on the band, (and they were talented and entertaining) my brain was jumping around the room! There was a rose window above the band. It had both round and flat rebar. It was not lit. I decided at break to go out and get a picture from the outside, so it would be lit. As I was checking with the man at the door on my way out (so I could get back in) he told me to forget it because it was covered on the outside, but if I waited after the concert, he would turn the back-light on for me. I waited until the room was almost empty and then went back to him. He said “oh, the bitch is back” - I had to forgive him because that is what the shirt I was wearing said (remember it was an Elton John tribute!) He lit this beautiful window for me. Note the round and flat rebar.

Then I read several articles about rebar. I like the one by Vic Rothman. I don’t know who he is, but I want to give him credit for writing a clear and concise article which I have copied below.

Rebar 101

by Vic Rothman

There is a lot of debate about rebaring. I will attempt to clarify what rebar is and how it is used. The term rebar means different things to different people. The round (sometime square bars) you see in church windows are called saddle bars. The bars are set into holes drilled into the window sash (removable window frame) or window frames(non-removable). The windows have ties soldered to them at the solder joints. In olden days they used lead as ties, today it's copper wires. These ties are twisted around the saddle bars. The purpose of the saddle bars is to prevent the windows from being blown into the building, not support. At one time stained glass was a real window out in the weather. The ties should not be made very tight, but should be about one twist loose, thus the window can move in the wind. These bars are normally across the shortest distance. Next is flat rebar solder directly to the stained glass. These bars are sometimes drilled into the sash and frames, or just run full length of the stained glass and put under moldings. These rebars act like the saddle bars, but because they are soldered in place, they also prevent the window from deflecting near the bars. They will not hold up the windows. Now we have real rebar. This can be thin brass strips referred to as "fins", sizes range from 1/4" to 1" wide and about 1/32" thick. They are bent to conform to the lead or solder lines of the windows and are run in every direction. Last year I worked on a Tiffany window made about 1920 that was 4'x 9 1/2' (it took 5 people to move it) the back was a maze of fins and the window was perfectly flat. In copper foil window these fins can also go between the glass during construction. But as with any flat rebar the strength goes from the width not just the thickness of the metal. Thus a 1" wide bar is stronger than a 1/4" bar. Rebar traditionally goes on the inside, because you do not want rain, snow etc. getting on and corroding the bars if there were outside. If there is outside glazing, you can put the rebar on the rear. The placement of rebar is not rocket science. It is very logical. You put them perpendicular to a lead line that might fold. Parallel lines, glass borders, concentric circles etc. In large windows you may need rebar running through the center to prevent the window from flexing. Rebar is VERY design and window location dependent. The size of the window does not matter. You can have a 12"x12" window that needs rebar and a 3'x3' that does not. If you design the lead lines well, you need less rebar. As for seeing the rebar get over it. Rebar is part of stained-glass construction. If done right if should not detract from a good-looking window.