Church Steeples

In order maintain their great artistic and aesthetic value, church steeples may occasionally have to repaired or restored. Deterioration can result in leakages, cracks, structural instability, and other severe damages. A constant onslaught of high winds and storms can remove it completely from its foundation. Church building committees should have an ongoing relationship with contractors, designers, or architects in order to maintain the aesthetic and historic value of their church steeples.

Building contractors and architects will carefully assess the damages to the church steeple. They will look for signs of deterioration due to aging, poor modification design as well as foundational damages. This assessment will help them to determine the number of repairs that are needed. The wrong assessesment could ruin the traditional aesthetic or stability of the church steeple. Temporary restoration and repair techniques and procedures may not be may not be appropriate for repairing traditional church steeples.1 Contractors may have to replicate the old material in order to reproduce the appearance of traditional church steeples.

During the assessment the contractors will create documentation of the inspection and determine the proper tools, methods, and procedures needed to repair the church steeple. The cost of the repair is also determined. The price of repairing the steeple will depend on the type of steeple as well as the extent of damage. As for types, church steeples could be made of wood, brick, aluminum, or fiberglass. Steeple damages could range from small cracks on the exterior to major modifications, resulting in the steeple being completely removed, especially in the case of major storm damage or fire. However, these issues will be calculated in the final cost, ( usually ranging from $10,000 and up).

Once the assessment and cost has been settled, the contractors will carry out the repair or restoration work. The contractor may use two approaches, depending on the expectation of the church building committee. 2 The first approach for repairing a church steeple is known as historic restoration: the architect considers the heritage, aesthetics, and legacy of the church and its steeple and then executes the methods and procedures needed to repair the steeple to its traditional, architectural form. This method protects the historic value of the church steeple. The other approach, known as Reconstruction, involves a complete restoration of the church steeple. This approach is implemented when the foundation of a church and its steeple has been destroyed. The steeple is beyond simple repair. Fires, earthquakes, and war can result in the destruction of church steeples. Therefore, when this occurs, contractors and architects must try to replicate the origin design as close as possible.

1.New York LandMarks: Conservancy
2. Durable Restoration: Steeples and Spires