Are there any stained-glass windows in your appartement, building or church? It is crucial to take care of them and give them the utmost attention.
Irisations specializes in the restoration and conservation of neogothic stained glasss windwos, Art Déco stained glass windows and Art Nouveau stained glass windows.
Our services:
We do work in both private and public buildings (appartments, stairwells, chapels, churches, city halls, town houses...).
All stained glass windows are restored or conserved in our studio and do receive the same service: technical assessment, use of traditional technics, respect of the original artwork and associated environment.
Before any operation, we do conduct a technical and historical assessment of the stained glass panel: history of the artwork, function, constituent materials (glasses, leads, metal framework...), applied treatments, current conditions of conservation.
From that assessment, we will set the objectives of the restoration, the main technical steps as well as a long-term conservation strategy. It may be required to have a close look at the to-be-restored window.
The main operations:
Our service offer to the window and its frame relate to:
- cleaning the window and apply specific treatment when appropriate (e.g. biocide)
- partial or total releading
- replacemet of missing or cracked panes
- paint touch-ups when panes are decorated or complementary decorated panes
We can also provide protective glazing for the window, like stained-glass panels insertion in double-glazing windows. A cost and time estimate is then provided to you.
Humidity: a major risk
Stained-glass windows have undergone over centuries many destructions and alterations because of men (vandalism, adjustments, wars...), weather conditions (rain, hail, thermal shock), atmospheric pollution, micro-organisms or just lack of maintenance. That is the reason why many windows have disappeared, in France and in Europe.
Should the humidity in your building or house be high, the inner face of the window is likely to be attacked by condensation. This will lead to the formation of micro-craters, therefore darkening the glass and sometimes peelings of grisaille or blooming of micro-organisms, fungi, algae and bacteria. The latter leads to glasses browning.
Most of these phenomena do affect both medieval glasses and modern ones. Stained-glass windows of the XIXth century are particulary affected by condensations.
Stained glass window restoration
The repair or restoration of a stained glass window can be partial or total. Partial repair includes, for example, filling a gap, that is, replacing a missing glass. It can also be a broken glass pane to replace. It is carried out on site, at the client's premises. The complete repair, called total restoration of the stained glass window, requires the removal of the stained glass panel from its metal or wooden frame. An temporary protection is then installed in the frame. The window is taken to the studio and it will be reassembled in brand-new lead before being installed in its frame in the customer's residence.