Saint Thomas the Apostle Church, Willmington DE

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PROJECT DETAILS

Constructed in 1927, St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Willmington, DE, has withstood almost everything mother nature could throw at her for the past 84 years.

But the recent earthquake on the east coast damaged some of the masonry and 4 spires at the top of the clock tower. You can see in the pictures that several of the limestone spires actually broke off. The back chimney was also almost ready to collapse. 9 pieces of marble actually fell to the ground during the earthquake. Luckily, no one was injured. Also, as a result of the quake, there needed to be a lot of repointing done to the upper section (The stone is called Baxter Station marble and is very hard to find.)

PSC was called in because of our experience with historic buildings. The mission was to erect a scaffold that would allow workers to reach the delicate parts of the towers while keeping the church open for business as usual and not damaging any part of the landmark building.

A sidewalk shed was erected to allow parishioners to enter and exit through the front doors while the tower is being repaired.