St Hyacinth

CHALLENGE:
In 2002 the roadways around St. Hyacinth Church were undergoing some excavating activity. The roadwork caused one corner of the 120 year old church to start leaning. The historic church interior was made up of details common to 19th century architecture including ornately carved woodwork, stained glass, ceiling and wall murals, all of which shifted apart with the excavation taking place on the adjacent roadway. Exterior stone walls and interior plaster walls started to crack with gaps as large as 2" wide.

SOLUTION:
Kelmann Corporation was called in to assist with not only preventing further damage to the church throughout the remaining excavation activity but also repairing the building once the work was all complete. 

The first step Kelmann took was to support the entire Southwest corner of the church using shoring, scaffolding and telescopic braces.

Kelmann monitored the area one year before commencing repairs. They were able to stabilize the church without damaging a fragile foundation that had been built without footings and preserve the shifted stained glass windows and damaged ceiling art. Kelmann contacted the original painter of the 1930's ceiling art and was able to find out the necessary materials and details to restore the artwork. Though the window frames had shifted, Kelmann was able to rework the glass to refit the settled window openings.

There were some budget limitations on the project that Kelmann overcame. Costs were reduced by preventing further damage through the bracing system. Halting further shifting resulted in only 50% of the walls and 20% of the ceiling requiring repair.