This project was a unique restoration of a historic church. It’s one thing to build a new church with a granite rock-faced veneer. It’s altogether different when the existing veneer is failing, and the brick backup structural walls were to remain in place at the same time the Church remains open throughout the project.
Not many natural stone installers other than Rugo have the experience or knowledge to take on a project like this. The failing green serpentine installed in the late 1800s by Irish immigrant laborers became such a life safety issue that the Church decided to replace the exterior serpentine hand-cut pieces and replace them with new green granite.
Rugo performed the demolition of the exterior facade in tiny sequences not exceeding 50 sqft, and shored the remaining stone, replacing the inner layer of red brick and installing the new green granite. We cleaned and pointed the Indiana limestone arches in place. This project won the 2016 MIA of Merit for Renovation / Restoration.
Location: Staunton, VA
Completion: 2016
Owner: Catholic Diocese of Richmond
Architect: WDPA & Associates
General Contractor: Lantz Construction
Size: 10,000 sqft
Services: Perform complete replacement of the facade on historic church
