The scaffolding is daunting, but glimpses of the finished product are beginning to shine through. And the pride these men take in this project is even more evident. As we know from working on our own houses in the neighborhood, one project most certainly leads to another. Under the plaster in the sanctuary, which was supposed to be a minimal patching job, there was extensive structural damage, leading to a need for complete replacement of the plaster walls. We will display a piece of the disintegrated wire mesh on our next bulletin board display.
New plaster leads to longer setup and drying times, and then, paint delays.
The new plaster required 40 gallons of water per layer, per side of the sanctuary. With 3 layers each of plaster on both sides that equals 240 gallons of water. No wonder the fans are working overtime in order to dehumidify the upper church. The large stone arch and vertical pilasters also required extra poultices and cleaners as some of the historic colors had stained the stone over time. The altar switch will need to wait until most of the scaffolding is taken down in the sanctuary area.