If you recall, we have mentioned in previous posts that we elected to use a veneer on the tower to keep the structure as light as possible.  The gallery in this post shows pictures of Hightower Construction craftsmen and engineers creating some of these pieces.

The molds are for the decorative elements.  The large, fiberglass pieces, created by Hightower Boatworks, will be fit into the corners of the copper arch bow.  We have included a draft of the finished piece as the last photo in this gallery to better illustrate how these items relate to the rest of the tower.

This phase of the project has been quite messy, but all our hours creating this veneer and these fiberglass pieces will culminate into a well-designed and beautiful result.

The progress for the upper tower is moving right along.  To keep the tower light, we decided to use dovetail anchored, precast veneer.  To keep the structure strong, the precast veneer will be secured by a steel frame.  An elegant solution!

A dramatic picture of the Gothic copper louvred (vented) windows set into the brownstone veneer facade being lifted into place.  This part will be at the base of the tower.  Up until now, all the copper work featured on this site has been made by Copper Exclusive.  Another well-known sheet metal company crafted all the copper vented windows for the Cathedral.

Detail pictures follow:

It occurred to us that we never really showed you the cathedral building itself.  These pictures were taken just as the brownstone restoration was taking place. You’ll also see in the gallery an artist’s rendition of the finished product and an architectural sketch of the tower.

One of the more difficult aspects of the project included installation of the rigid frame into the existing tower. The frame had to be designed to hold the weight of the new steeple and had to be mounted inside the existing tower.  This included taking accurate dimensions of the tower and installing concrete foundations to support the structure.  Hightower Construction crews spent several weeks inside the tower cutting and removing over 12 cubic yards of existing brownstone for the foundation pockets.  Then reinforcing and formwork was added before the concrete could be pumped up into the tower.  It was a very satisfying day when the rigid frame was lifted up and put into its final resting place. This  15,000 lb.  part of the steeple structure  will never be seen again by admirers of the new steeple atop the Cathedral of St John the Baptist.

.

One of the major components of the steeple is the precast concrete.  The bell section contains most of the precast and was very challenging to create.  First, a sample wall panel and tower was made to recreate the color and finish required to match the existing brownstone.  The form liners were cut on a CNC router and then epoxy coated and sanded to make the relief work. The reinforcing was installed and the forms were ready to pour.  The individual pieces of precast which make up the bell section include wall panels, towers, buttresses, pinnacles, and finials.

After cutting out miles of mortar joints and replacing over 1000 pieces of stone, the Brownstone Restoration nears completion.  Many of the original stones were replaced with precast concrete stone colored to match, however, many stones were replaced with new brownstone from the original quarry in Portland, Connecticut. Dan LePore and Sons of Philadelphia, Pa, has done a masterful job of restoring the brownstone exterior of the historic building to its original condition.