Historic Restoration
Historic restoration is becoming increasingly critical as North America’s stained glass windows are maturing
Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser Architectural Glass has over 120 years of history in building, creating, and restoring stained glass windows. During the process of Historic Restoration, our skilled craftsmen carefully disassemble, clean, and reglaze your stained glass. The process begins at the client location where layout diagrams are made showing the position of each panel within the window opening. The windows and panels are then labeled, detailed photographs are taken of the overall area to be restored, and job site measurements are gathered. Each panel is individually stabilized prior to removal and carefully packed for transportation to the studio.
At the Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser® Studio, we photograph each window panel to properly document its pre-restoration condition. The panel is laid out onto a table from which the first rubbing is made. Rubbings are made with a large sheet of paper (kraft and/or archival) laid over the panel indicating the size, shape, and exact location of each of the individual glasses and lead lines. Each rubbing is then annotated as to the lead came sizes and profiles, exact overall dimensions of the panel, and the location of the glasses to be repaired or replaced. Copies of these rubbings will later serve as the reassembly guide.
Utilizing all notes, photographs, and cartoons, each panel is reassembled with new lead. The lead used in the reassembly will be of the same size and profile as the original lead. Once Historic Restoration is complete the window will be carefully packaged for transportation back to the client location.
The Right Solution For Your Needs
It is important to keep the character and originality of a historic window intact. At Associated Crafts® & Willet Hauser Architectural Glass we use specific techniques to be sure your stained glass windows are brought back to their original beauty. An important historic restoration technique is providing a seamless match or repair to broken glass and/or missing painted detail. Through our process of paint replication, replacement glass or conservation mending/gluing, our artisans are trained to provide the right solution for your project needs while maintaining as much of the original fabric as possible.
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