Neil Hanscomb is digging up the past of the magnificent circular window that has adorned the front of the United Church here since it was built in 1892.
Elora-based Hanscomb Glass has been hired by the church to do maintenance work on the stained glass inside the church and the ornate wood that was wedged between the interior stained glass and an exterior plain glass layer.
For the past two weeks, Hanscomb and his employee Norm Stiff have been inspecting, working on a lift platform scraping paint and testing the condition of the wood. The process means a visual inspection and drilling into the wood to determine where rot might be in the five layers of wood that make up the window, known as a wooden spoke wheel.
The inspection of the wood was done after the interior stained glass was removed and taken to Hanscomb’s shop in Elora, where it will be cleaned and re-leaded and the exterior window was removed.
Surprisingly, a lot of the wood is in good shape, having survived condensation from the exterior and interior for well over a century. Hanscomb, a woodworker and renowned stained glass artist, said during some of the drilling, wood was still solid and gave off a smell like a “lumber mill.”
Hanscomb has discovered, having done work on many rural churches, that century-old wood can withstand the elements better than modern wood.
“Today’s wood is not as resistant as it used to be,” Hanscomb said.
“The first problem was the rot we saw happening to the woodwork,” he said of the initial exploration of the project.
The pair had to first remove the paint to get a better look at the condition of the wood. Fortunately, it was lead-free paint that was used, signalling a possible minor restoration that Hanscomb believes was done “about 15 years ago.”
A common threat is the weather and moisture formed by condensation from inside and outside the church. With the wood placed in between the stained glass and exterior glass, it’s similar to the wood being placed in a plastic bag – and once the elements get inside they thrive.
The same concept applies to the wood being painted. He is still considering whether the repaired spoke will be repainted or stained.
Finding a stain to substitute for paint will allow the wood material to breath and fight off the effects of condensation.
Hanscomb has identified three types of fungus eating away at the wood.
Some pieces will have to be reconstructed because the damage is too extensive. Other pieces will receive an injection of a substance that will kill the intrusive bug and some of the wood can be rebuilt using an epoxy.
The initial investigation has shown about 30 per cent of the wood will be replaced, Hanscomb said.
“We’re dealing with microbial action,” he said. “I’m not looking for something to stop the bug from coming, I want to kill it,” he said.
“It’s a balance between the area that needs repair and the technique used. It depends on how much of the piece has to come out and the condition of the wood behind it. If the old wood can be salvaged why replace it?”
Much of the damaged wood has been found at the bottom of the spoke and wood pieces connected to the exterior of the spoke. Those are areas where water has gathered and provided a feeding ground for the microbes. Venting will also be added around the spoke and windows to prevent condensation in the future and the damage it can cause. It all comes down to continuous airflow, Hanscomb said.
The entire restoration is done, from start to finish, by his company, which provides a five-year warranty on all the work.
“We’re so low tech, we’re high tech,” Hanscomb said of the different processes used and work needed to restore vintage church features.
“I do a lot of work for country churches. They put their faith in us. We’re the one-stop shop for this.”
