Renovation Update, Part 7

Good morning!

Our project has progressed nicely this week, with more plaster repaired, more walls painted, and more stencils stenciled.

Over the years the plaster of the church has received a fair amount of damage, all of which needs to be repair prior to painting. It’s pretty easy to see where repair are underway due to the application of a pink bonding agent which goes on before the plaster. As far as I can tell this serves a function similar to a paint primer, helping the plaster to adhere to whatever is behind it.

Remember that spot at the left side of the arch over the sanctuary which was covered over with cardboard and blue painter’s tape? It’s going to be repaired soon!

As far as painting goes, both the main and side vaults of the ceiling are having different layers of paint applied for all of the new details. Everything is still mostly masked off, but you can get an idea of where things are going. The stencil work for the saint murals, which is a time consuming process, also saw significant progress this week.

Finally, someone last week asked about how the workers (and yours truly to get pictures for these posts) are able to climb up the scaffolding into the ceiling vault. For most areas of the scaffolding it’s a simple matter of climbing a ladder. However for the vault over the main nave, which is the highest portion of the scaffolding, a staircase has been assembled in the center of the church. This gives quick access for the workers, who then use a pulley system to hoist gear up and down. I’ve included a picture of the staircase to give you a sense of what it’s like.

Have a great week!

Peace,

Fr. Brandon