After a century and a half, St. Patrick’s Church in Parnell, Mich., persists as the tallest landmark for miles around. But, because the upper parts of its distinctive bell tower are almost inaccessible, deferred maintenance was finally taking its toll. This is the story of historic preservation made possible by modern, weather-resistant replicas of traditional trim features, fabricated from an innovative man-made material.
Opportunity
Determined to make the restoration of their church’s wooden bell tower a once-and-done project, the parishioners of a church in rural Michigan recently developed an avid interest in zero-maintenance construction materials. Here’s how it happened:
Parnell, Mich., is a small, unincorporated community about 15 miles of north of Grand Rapids. The white, carpenter-gothic shape of St. Patrick’s Church, built in 1878, dominates Parnell and the surrounding landscape. Constructed of fine old-growth timber, the church’s nave, or main building, was still structurally sound in the spring of 2014. But a rare close inspection of the tower that surmounts the main entrance revealed unexpectedly severe damage.
The cause was easy to trace: More than 10 stories off the ground, maintenance and painting are hazardous, expensive and (not surprisingly) infrequent. As a result, trim boards, moldings and ornamental woodwork on the tower’s upper level had deteriorated badly. What’s more, moisture from outside was beginning to mar the interior of the church itself.
Carpenters discovered the damage in the course of what parishioners had assumed would be minor repairs. Instead, the congregation faced a five-month-long project that eventually would cost about $150,000.
Like any careful homeowners facing a sudden inflation of project scope, they examined their options and set some conditions:
- First, complete restoration—including faithful replication of the original architectural details—was essential.
- Second, this restoration would have to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. The reconstructed section of the tower would have to stand up to the elements, without maintenance, indefinitely.
Those requirements narrowed the field of options in construction materials. But they also pointed the way to an innovative solution that has drawn praise for its long-term economy, durability and beauty.
Solution
Don Sobie was the project foreman for the restoration contractor, Nugent Builders Inc., of Rockford, Mich. When his inspection crew rode a 135-foot boom lift to the bell chamber at the top of the tower, it became obvious that all four sides of it would need much more than just a fresh coat of paint.
Fortunately, the post-and-beam components underlying the exterior millwork—as well as supporting the tapering, slate-clad steeple—were still in good condition. But the bell chamber’s pine exterior was peeling, rotten and unstable.
To design, fabricate and install a new housing for the bells would be a big but relatively straightforward job. The real question was this: Without continuous maintenance, what material could withstand the sun, wind, rain and snow of the American Midwest for decades to come? Sobie’s team knew that solid lumber matching the quality and dimensions of the original 19th-century millwork is unobtainable today at any price. Further, they were concerned about the staying power and paint dependency of modern engineered-wood products.