AdammsGallery

Historic Stained Glass Window Restoration for Sinai Temple, Westwood, CA. USA

     We have been working on the stained glass windows at the Sinai Temple in Westwood, California for well over 20 years. The windows were originally installed in 1969. Nine years after the congregation moved from the original Sinai Temple(4th and New Hampshire in Los Angeles) in 1960. By the way we also restored  windows and the 15' skylight at the original Temple, now the Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church. The Temple was the location for scenes in The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond.

                      Original Sinai Temple Skylight

All the work he have done, up until recently, was repairs to the stained glass bordering the school play yard. Then during a wind storm one of the top panels in the Kohn Chapel blew out. From 21 feet up there was no chance it would survive the fall. When I went out to the Temple to inspect the windows it was clear that they all need total releading.The windows were so weak that at some point the Temple had added heavy steel bars(2" x 3") two on the inside and two on the outside to help support them.We started with the sidelights and worked our way to the center section. Each of the four center sections was 72" x 40" . We removed all the panels , disassembled them, replaced a large number of pieces of glass( they had been repaired many times in the past and the workmanship was less than stellar,releaded, and installed. We changed the reinforcing bar placement to provide the needed strength. We used 5/8" x 1/8" and 3/4" x 1/8" bars as opposed to the 1/2" bars originally used. We used Kokomo Glass company glass to match the original glass.

                        Completely restored and installed

We also had to restore two of the larger panels in the hallway adjacent to the school play yard.

              Hallway adjacent to the School Play yard.

Good to go for another 100 years.

Custom Stained Glass Roundel Window

Most of my customers call roundels "bottle bottoms". Indeed they look like the bottle of a bottle. Actually the process is similar. At least it use to be when bottles were mouth blown. Today roundels are made one at a time in the same manner they were made in the middle ages. A gather of glass is taken by the glass blower and a slight breath of air is blown into the pipe. The resultant bubble is then transferred to a punty rod.  Once on the rod the glass blower returns it to the furnace(glory hole) to keep it hot. Then the glass blower opens  the bubble with a pair of wide prong pliers. Then the glass blower spins the bubble, and the centifugal force does the rest. The bubble is changed into a disk shape. Finally the roundel is broken off the punty rod, and cooled in a lair.

                

      There are many designs that incorporate rondels, and roundels come in many sizes, and colors. Historically roundels were clear and used in homes as decorative windows to allow light in. They were also used in secular buildings for design. Some roundels have texture(ripples), some are solid colors, and some have a variet of colors in them. The designs can be roundels placed side by side vertically and horizontally, or they can have separation between them with a variety of designs. There is always a background glass. Again this glass can be clear, obscure,or colored.

                   

  

  We just finished this wonderful design for our clients laundry room. She wanted a decorative window that would hide the washer and dryer, and didn't want to use opalescent glass. In addition to the roundels we used 1" square faceted glass jewels.

    The leading holding the roundels and glass together can vary in width and shape as well. In this case we used 1/4" lead. depending on the size roundel and effect we have used 3/16" and 3/8" wide lead came. After the window is assembled, soldered, and puttied reinforcing bars are soldered to the inside to support the weight and pressures.

Restoring Stained Glass Windows in a 100 year old Church in Santa Monica, CA

 

 

 

From the outside, and much of the inside El Sermon Del Monte didn't look like much of a church. After many years of neglect the wood and stucco structure was in bad need of repair. All that began to change after the first of this year(2015).

   


 

 

I received a call from one of the elders and the pastor. They asked if I could come out and give them an estimate of restoring their 100 year old stained glass windows. The stained glass, like the structure itself was largely in very bad shape. Some of the windows had large areas where the glass was missing. Others had been repaired over the years with anything from brightly colored plastic, to badly matched stained glass. Virtually all the the double hung window sash were inoperable. Some were painted shut, while others had had the ballast cords cut.

      Because of budget restraints I bid the restoration in three stages. First restore the windows that had gaping holes, were structurally weak, and were previously repaired with mismatched glass. Then the windows that were sound, but had broken pieces, and finally repair and reputty various areas of others. We were able to get good matches on some of the glass from Kokomo Opalescent Glass Co. It was fairly obvious that Kokomo had supplied all or mostly all the the original glass. As we progressed, and the revelation of restored glass was evident,  the church members decided they wanted all the windows totally restored.

     I brought in a great handyman, Don Van Cura, to save the sash. He removed the sash, rebuilt some making new styles, and  or rails, glued, and  the restrung ballast cords. In many cases he had to rebalance the windows with added weight so they would work properly.  Don saved the church many thousands of dollars on the cost of replacing the sash entirely.

     It honestly was a very rewarding job. Working on 100 year old pieces that had been made by craftsman just like us gives one a sense of brotherhood,and a connection to a previous century. We still have some repairs and puttying to do, but for the most part the job in finished and the congregation is inspired by the new brilliance of the simple, but tasteful stained glass.

Historic Stained Glass Restoration: Wilshire Boulevard Temple

  

      Over two years ago we were contacted to bid on the stained glass restoration of Wilshire Boulevard Temple. The Temple was going through a major restoration.  The complete Temple was  being brought back to its original beauty in a 175 million dollar campaign. Unfortunately, although we were one of only three studios asked to bid the project, we were not the winners.  The Judson Studios of Pasadena, CA won the contract for the restoration.

     A year after we submitted the original bid we were called back and asked if we were interested in bidding on a project not included in the originl bid. This was the Piness Auditorium(part of the temple). Naturally I said yes, and we were awarded the contract. We completed the restoration of one of the panels from the auditorium as a sample.  With the contractor, Temple committee, and architect in approval we began the complete restoration.  In all there were 27 panels that made up three sections.  All the glass was a clear cathedral that was painted and fired. There was just enough stipple effect to make the glass look old and dirty, which cut down on the glare of the sunlight, but provided plenty of light. For the past 50 years the windows had been covered up with a stucco shell on the outside. The stucco was broken away and we removed all the windows.

Original window(The image does show the weakness of the window, with the old lead)

     The restoration followed standard Department of Interior Guidelines.  First we made rubbings of the original windows. Then we disassembled them and soaked them in water to loosen the old putty. After a night of soaking we cleaned up the glass and began releading.  We had to paint  over 30 extra pieces that had been broken over time. We used 5/8 H flat lead for the interior and border lead, and we used Wonder putty from the Atlas Putty Company for glazing.

dissassembled and soaking                                           leading up

soldering                                                                    finished window

     The installation went very smoothly, and we made everyone happy. I consider it one the the true delights of this business to be able to restore such treasures. It is an honor to have worked on this project.

    If you are ever in Los Angeles I suggest a trip to The Wilshire Blvd. Temple. The sanctuary is a true wonder.

 

Adamm's Stained Glass

1426 4th St.

Santa Monica, CA 90401

310 451 9390     www.adammsgallery.com

 

Stained Glass Restoration at Pepperdine University Stauffer Chapel

 

Ocean facing window with second row restored

 No wonder Pepperdine considers their Stauffer Chapel their "Crown Jewel".  The way the light comes through the stained glass at various times of the day creates a magical air. The chapel was dedicated in 1973, just after the University opened in 1972. All the glass used was manufactured by the Blenko Glass Co. in Milton, West Virginia. Donovan Art Glass, a stained glass studio in Burbank, CA at the time fabricated the leaded panels and installed them. It caused quite a stir then and today every visitor to the Chapel is in awe.

     Over the past 42 years the elements, and heat have played havoc on the windows. There is very bad bowing, and broken pieces exist throughout the installation.  As a remedy heavy steel supports were attached to the steel framework of the church and then the windows were glued to the steel bars. In addition a dual glazing was added to the outside. The extra protection from the windows and blowing rain surely extended the life of the windows.

     In the fall of 2012 we were asked to bid on the restoration of a single "test" panel. The idea was to see just what difficulties  would be encountered in the restoration. We won the project, and in  the early part of 2013 removed the panel and started to soak, clean, replace broken pieces, and relead the panel. We were able to get sufficient matching glass from the Blenko Glass Company to cover the broken pieces. This panel was at the bottom, and as a result had been subjected to  floor level abuse. In short there were many broken pieces.

      

        DISSASSEMBELY          SOAKING GLASS             BRACING          FINISHED PANEL

          Since the Blenko glass can be quite thick we had to use high heart lead. Some of the lead is 1 1/2" wide, while the remainder is 5/8", 1/2", and 5/16".  We were able to obtain the lead from DHD Metals in Conyers, GA., about 20 miles East of Atlanta. Of course we recycle all the old lead, which as you can imagine adds up.

     In addition to releading we also changed the support structure.  The original panels were installed with only two 1/2" vertical reinforcing bars. It was obvious that this was insufficient for the type if installation(Each panel is 6 feet x 4 feet). We used  5/8" steel reinforcing bars and bent them along the lead lines of the window. This made them vertually invisible from the chapel floor. In further panels we moved the reinforcing bars to the outer facing side. While the general rule is to put the support on the inside in this case the protection of the exterior glazing protects the bars from the elements and dirt. It also stops the wind so that the window is not pushed away from the bars. We also removed the heavy steel horizontal and vertical supports. This not only cleaned up the clutter, but really brought out the majesty of the original plan. We have thus far finished one complete row and  are half way through another.

   

Note the change in the bottom row with the vertical and horizontal supports removed.

 

     After the trustees saw what the window should look like they gave us the go ahead to restore the compete window. After this there is a duplicate window in the rear of the church.We still have a lot to do, and I will keep you informed along the way. As you can imagine it is very rewarding to be part of a project such as this.

   You can see other restoration projects we have worked on at

http://www.adammsgallery.com/31/html/repairs_restoration.shtml

 1426 4th St

Santa Monica, CA 90401

866 764 6513

 

Stained Glass Restoration-Grace Church of Orange

 

BEFORE , Note buckling, and twisted zinc came divider

Early September 2011 we(Adamm's Stained Glass, Santa Monica, CA.) completed the restoration of the stained glass entry for Grace Church of Orange, Orange, California. We removed the entry stained glass, boarded up the openings, and brought them to our studio.

Once we had them in the studio we disassembled them removing all the leading and then cleaned the glass.The lead was a variety of 1/4", 1/2" and 5/8" wide. Many of the pieces were broken, so we either re-leaded in at the beaks or replaced the pieces completely. Matching the variety of colors was not a problem as the windows were just over 50 years old. Much of the glass we either had in stock or was easily available. We generally use Mad Dog Stained Glass(Van Nuys ,CA), or Hollander Glass(Stanton, CA) as our suppliers. However, if necessary we will use Bendheim, Kokomo Opalescent , Uroborus, or Bullseye Glass directly.

It is interesting to note that the side light panels did not have reinforcing bars. As a result the panels were creasing(bending) on the diagonal leading. When we re leaded we added reinforcing bars along the lead lines. The panels originally were installed using 3/4" zinc came as dividers. These cames did not hold up over the years and the panels were bowing and twisting from the weight.When we reinstalled the central panels we used 1" T bar for support between the panels. This relieves the pressure on the bottom panels and makes them much more sturdy. The windows cleaned up like gemstones. We were told that the congregation was greatly relieved to see the windows restored. Evidently they were very weary of walking under them with their condition being so dangerous. They were very pleased with the results, and we were very gratified .

AFTER