The Peoria Restoration Story

When a fire destroyed their precious stained glass windows, St. Martin De Porres Church, through the Diocese offices in Peoria, IL, contacted Reinarts Stained Glass Studios to recreate their over 100 year old works of art. The Mathew and Mark windows were completely destroyed and 90% of the remaining glass was made so brittle by the fire that it had to be replaced. Reinarts was on the scene within two days to retrieve what remained of the windows. These pieces were used to match glass color and texture. After approximately six months of researching the figures and locating new glass that matched the original windows, Reinarts was ready to reconstruct the windows. After another six months, the windows were restored to their original beauty and returned to the church for installation.

	The first step is to take pictures of the windows and make rubbings showing the existing lead patterns.

The next step is to remove the lead and clean the individual pieces of glass.

We make every attempt to use the original glass, if at all possible, especially any of the painted pieces. However, sometimes the intense heat makes the glass so brittle it has to be replaced.

Our artist will create an actual size replacement figure called a cartoon. Our artisians also make layouts for window assembly and glass cutting patterns.

	Using the cleaned glass as a guide, we identify the correct glass color and texture. Using the glass patterns, the individual pieces are cut and placed on the patterns.

Lead is cut and fit around each piece of glass. All joints on each side of the stained glass panel are soldered.

An adhesive mixture that remains pliable is worked into the the space between the lead and glass.

Once the panel is set and cleaned, it is placed into shipping crates and taken to the site for installation.