Does your Houston stained Glass need to be restored? Find out here!

Stained glass is a beautiful form of artwork that has been colored with paints, pigments, and dyes. Its beauty makes it the perfect medium for churches and chapels to adorn. It is also long-lasting and will endure for several years to come. Just because it has a long lifespan does not mean that it cannot be repaired or restored at some point in time. In fact,  church stained glass windows require repair or restoration every 80-100 years when the caming, wood frame, grout, and glass begin to fail. If addressed early on, the window may last another 200 years before needing further attention

Gaps In Your Houston Church’s Stained Glass Window That Show Daylight

Gaps of visible light shining through the leading between glass pieces are an obvious indication that it’s time to restore your Houston church stained glass. This form of damage, whether big or small must be addressed right now because it indicates that the lead has been stretched and the window may be structurally unsound.

Buckling, Bowing, And Sagging Of Your Houston Church’s Stained Glass

If your church’s stained glass windows are buckling, bowing, bulging, or sagging, it’s probably time to have them restored. In this case, the worst-case scenario is that the window might collapse and damage a member of the congregation. Small shards of glass will begin to fall out over time and increase the cost of future repairs, eventually resulting in the whole piece failing. In either case, this is an issue that must be addressed as soon as possible by a specialist.

Chips And Cracks In Your Houston Church’s Stained Glass

Chips and cracks in the glass are the most typical repairs to church stained glass windows. A repair like this, which only affects the beauty and luster of your church’s stained glass, is something that usually just bothers you aesthetically. However, cracks may also indicate that the glass is under strain, in which case the repairs are more urgent. If you see a minor crack that grows or gets larger over time, get in touch with a Houston stained glass professional such as us right away.

For additional information and rates for stained glass repairs in Houston, contact us!

Stained Glass restoration: Do it Yourself or Hire A Stained Glass Expert?

Churches with stained glass are lovely, and it indicates the long history of religion in the United States. We have several beautiful ancient churches with stunning stained glass in Houston. These works of art must be maintained so that future generations may enjoy them. Stained glass repair, on the other hand, might be expensive, and some congregations may be tempted to perform it themselves. The good news is that there are things you can do yourself when it comes to stained glass maintenance. However, a professional should handle extensive repairs and restorations.

DIY Church Stained Glass Maintenance

A professional stained glass artist will be able to handle the majority of church stained glass repairs. However, there are a few things you groundskeepers or maintenance personnel may do to keep your glass looking good and usable for your church members.

Light Cleaning Of Your Stained Glass: The dust, dirt, and grime that accumulate on stained glass over time can be removed by washing it with a soft cloth dampened with distilled water. Stained glass cleaning does not require the window to be taken down and is an essential component of good care. If your stained glass is painted, you should ensure that it has been fired since paint can damage the finish.

Maintain wood frames around the Stained Glass: The wood frames of your Houston church’s stained glass windows are crucial. This component keeps the piece intact and anchors the entire piece. As a result, moisture sealant and paint should be utilized to preserve the wood and keep it in good condition. Follow the instructions for applying these sealants carefully avoiding getting any of them on the glass itself.

Replace missing or loose putty when needed:  Your church maintenance professional can repair the putty on stained and then paint it over to keep your church’s stained glass looking new. However, this is only a visual fix only for when you notice cracking or flaking putty on the outer portions of the window. Distinguishing putty from lead or glass may be difficult though. This is why it is preferable to hire someone like us to perform any putty repair.

Contact us with concerns about your Houston church stained glass repair or a free onsite consultation; we’re always eager to answer inquiries or come out for a no-obligation onsite inspection.

Is Stained Glass Restoration Worth it?

Choosing whether or not to restore your church’s stained glass is a difficult choice. You would be surprised at how attached congregants are to these lovely relics. We frequently make the case for church stained glass restoration in Houston based solely on congregants’ affection for it. However, there are also more practical reasons to have it done.

Stained Glass Restoration Improves Glass Luster

Over time, the colors in your stained glass windows will fade due to weather and accumulation of grime and debris. When we return repaired stained glass to their homes in Houston churches, they appear brand new. Once the restoration is completed, the various hues appear brighter and deeper than ever before—restoring the window to its original splendor.

Stained Glass Restoration Reinforces Support Structure

Restoration of damaged stained glass windows isn’t only about how they appear. It’s also about ensuring that they last a long time. If your stained glass is more than 100 years old, the lead has most certainly become brittle. Lead that is elderly and brittle will bend and break under the weight of the glass, causing the entire window to sag over time. Stained glass restoration is a technique for replacing old lead with superior lead in order to extend the life of your Houston church’s stained glass windows another 200 years. Modern additives to lead increase the lifespan of antique stained glass by another 200 years.

Stained Glass Restoration Improves the Function of Your Stained Glass

We see stained glass break down all the time. Stained glass windows, like any other window in your Houston church, are useful for a variety of reasons. They keep out the elements and maintain heated and cooled air inside. If you have a crack or a hole in your church’s stained glass windows, they aren’t working properly. This might result in costly utility bills or dampness entering your church to cause damage to other parts of the building. When we repair stained glass, we take additional safe steps, such as adequate ventilation and protective glazes/coverings to further extend life These will also aid in the performance of your stained glass within the interior environment.

Contact us to learn more about how we restore windows and to book an appointment for a free church stained glass restoration consultation in Houston.

Should I Repair My Victorian Stained Glass Windows or Get New Ones?

Stained glass needs repair or restoration about every 80-100 years and the Victorian period was over 100 years ago.  This means for homes of this style with stained glass windows–restoration is overdue.  Many Houston homeowners come to us wondering if their stained glass is worth repairing.  We almost always encourage them to have it restored rather than removed or letting it fall into disarray. Read below to find out why.

Victorian  Stained Glass Is has Monetary Value

If your home is old enough to have Victorian stained glass windows, then you should give it some serious thought to restoration before replacing the antique with something new. The value of these windows will rise as they become rarer. Their final value will depend on many things including the quality of the repair.  However, vintage stained glass typically will appraise for 4x more than new stained glass.  

Victorian Vintage Stained Glass Is Historical Value

The value of Victorian stained glass windows is not only monetary. They have historical and cultural importance as well! This can be due to who commissioned the window, what types of materials were used in its construction, or where it was created. By restoring your Victorian stained-glass windows you keep a piece of Houston’s history intact for the next generation.

No matter what you decide to do with your Victorian home’s stained glass it is always a good idea to get it inspected and/or appraised to find out who made it and when.  Contact us today for pricing and to schedule an appointment. 

Stained Glass Options for Houston Homes: Traditional, Leaded, or Beveled?

Up until their consultation, many of our customers are unaware of the different stained glass options available to them. Most people assume that all stained glass windows have color, but this is not true. While this may have been the case long ago, there are now many different styles of stained glass that you can choose for your Houston home.

Usually, these styles can be broken down into one of three categories: traditional, leaded, or beveled glass. Below, we’ve discussed the differences between each type. That way, when the time comes for you to choose a style for your home, you’ll have a better understanding of the different options available to you. Continue Reading

Vernon A.M.E. Church Stained Glass Restoration Project in Tulsa

Stained glass windows are incredibly unique and beautiful pieces of art. Unfortunately, there are few professionals today who are experienced in stained glass restoration. At Houston Stained Glass, we’ve made it our mission to preserve this ancient art form that we hold so dear to our hearts. We are proud to be able to offer this service to stained glass owners all across the United States.  Continue Reading

Portfolio Update: Recreating a Beloved Stained Glass Window for Sam Houston State University

Here at Houston Stained Glass, we are part of our parent company Scottish Stained Glass. This means we get to be a part of some pretty outstanding restorations and repairs. Recently though we did a recreation. This project was a little bit different than what we usually do but incredibly special. It was a stained glass window recreation at Sam Houston State University.

Replicating Sam Houston State’s Historic Stained Glass Windows

Texas is full of schools, one of the oldest of which is Sam Houston State University which was founded in 1879. Back in its day, the campus was something to behold. It was made up primarily of lovely arched brick buildings, one of which had an amazing stunning stained glass window. This window was a point of pride for the school but had been destroyed by a fire in 1982. SHSU decided they wanted us to recreate the original masterpiece to commemorate their school motto “The measure of a Life is its Service”. The issue was, there was only one color picture of the window. So, we would have to work from a yearbook photo from 1964! Being one of the most prolific and talented stained glass studios in the country–we were up for the challenge! and we are so glad they did. We took the restoration journey with them as we navigated some of the challenges recreating a stained glass window presents.

Modern Technology for Restoring Stained Glass

As mentioned the stained glass window at Sam Houston State University no longer existed. This presented a major challenge in design and in keeping the window true to its authentic roots. We realized quickly this charge would require innovative solutions so we turned to modern technology to start the process. We use a combo of old and new techniques all the time when restoring stained glass windows–so this was nothing new. The first thing we did was scan the original picture into the computer then print it out full size. This allowed us to carefully trace the lines of the original. Once our drawing was perfect we put it back into our CAD program to make it twice as big since the school requested we double the size of the window. This process, while time-consuming, gave us a template that was an exact replica of the original work of art to work from. In other words, time and technology, paid off in accuracy!

Restoring Sam Houston State University’s Lost Stained Glass

Finding materials used more than a century ago is difficult if not impossible. We knew this would be a challenge from the start. Color formulation with stained glass has changed drastically over the years. So rather than attempt to find the same color formulas and materials we used a top conservation specialist to find colors that were as close to the originals as possible. And, the colors were pretty darn close. However, that was not quite enough. We are one of the country’s top stained glass painting studios and we knew our artists could paint over the “close enough” hue to make them an exact match, and they did!

The Results of the Recreated Commemorative Stained Glass Window

All in all the work on the commemorative stained glass window of SHSU took us about a full year. Long restorations are common when dealing with very large detailed stained glass artwork restorations. Since this stained glass masterpiece had a lot of shadows, clothing, and faces the painting required extensive layering to get the depth needed–ten layers in some places! Also, this window ended up with a staggering 3,000- 4,000 individual pieces of glass. But we are happy to pronounce that this window is a replica down to the last detail. The university could not be happier with the aesthetics of this new school icon! In fact, it has once again become the pride and joy of campus. The entire university–from staff to students–is just delighted by this beautiful stained glass replica. And, you know what? The Scottish Stained Glass family is too! Because we love paying respect to vintage stained glass by preserving it, in one way or another, for generations yet to come.

If you have a stained glass restoration or rebuild project we would love to speak to you about it too! Contact us at Houston Stained Glass today for a free consultation.

Houston Stained Glass Portfolio Review: Breathtaking Painted Stained Glass

Here at Houston Stained Glass, a wonderful part of our business model is being part of one of the most talented stained glass studios in the US--Scottish Stained Glass. This allows us to witness and even work on some of the most unique stained glass installations in the country. Each custom job comes with its own set of challenges–but our work is incredibly fulfilling. Our job is not only to transform churches but the lives of the people too. One example of this is our most recent in St. Andrew The Apostle Catholic Church located in Wray, CO.

The Scope of Our Custom Stained Glass Project

Wray is a small town of 2000 but this stained glass job was big. The church, built 30 years ago, wanted five custom panels. They did not have stained glass windows in the sanctuary and felt like this addition would make their place of worship feel more like a house of God. They reached out to us to design five new, custom stained glass panels. They asked if we could do this safely during a pandemic and the answer was, of course! We have been doing safe stained glass installations throughout the summer and were well-versed what to do to keep the aging congregation safe. We were thrilled to have a chance to do the custom work we do so well.

Customizing Stained Glass to Be Historically Accurate and Beautiful

The church congregation asked us to create a depiction of the five Luminous Mysteries (baptism, wedding, proclamation, transfiguration, and last supper). These depictions were very significant to their doctrine. For a job this special, we pitched custom painted artwork was an option. They absolutely loved the idea and we began our work. Not only is painted glass a stunning style of stained glass work but it is rare because not too many artisans do it. We are fortunate enough to work with an amazing painted glass artist–Maria–and she really came through on this one. She wanted things to look as life-like as possible so we used actual models. We also did thorough research for historical accuracy like:

• The Appropriate background and foliage for the region
• Authentic tile design for floors in that time-period
• A historically accurate depiction of the town of Cana

The Beauty of Custom Painted Stained Glass

The outcome of our custom, five-panel stained glass project in St. Andrew The Apostle Catholic Church was–breathtaking. Mostly black and brown paint was used and we were able to really pull color from the glass background. The construction of the stained glass was geared to harness the natural sunlight. This created a lot of depth in her depictions of faces, hands, fauna, and flora. The result was a stunning three-dimensional appearance. The work came out both authentic but interesting. In the end, the congregation (who watched socially distanced) were amazed by the beauty of the process as a whole. One member even said, “Now we have a church”. It is affirmation like this that gives us that pride and makes us love our work in custom stained glass creation.

For more information on custom stained glass or breathing life into an old piece of stained glass with restoration–contact us at Houston Stained Glass today!

Privacy Stained Glass Solutions for Houston Residential Bathrooms

While many of us are spending significantly more time within our homes, it can be very easy for homeowners to start noticing different issues that may not have come up in the past. Especially with neighbors staying home more as well, you can run into a lot of privacy issues. One of the rooms in your home that really requires proper seclusion is the bathroom. When it comes to effective privacy solutions that are ideal for moisture exposure, the options are quite limited. Privacy stained glass offers an effective way to keep your Houston bathroom both private and beautiful.

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The Benefits of Historical Stained Glass Restoration for Houston Properties

Historical stained glass can offer so much unique charm and character for any property. Whether you have a residential or commercial building, stained glass can enhance aesthetics, wow guests, and much more. Having these stained glass features can provide incredible benefits regardless of your property type. When you start to see the signs of deterioration among your stained glass, it’s important to start considering restoration. Historical stained glass restoration can provide some incredible benefits.

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