Stained Glass Repair and Restoration
Age is hard on us all, and stained glass is no exception!
Thankfully, folks like ourselves offer stained glass repair and restoration services in the modern world.
From the historical restoration of large windows to the repair of the piece passed throughout your family and cherished, Little Glass Art is happy to coach you through your options for restoring it anew.
Types of Stained Glass
When talking about stained glass, you see two primary methods utilized today and in the past. The copper foil or “Tiffany,” and the lead came, or “leaded” method.
A great way to understand this is if you think the large windows in churches are typically the leaded method. Stained glass lamps and suncatchers generally are done in the copper foil method.
Leaded Stained Glass
Stained glass that utilizes lead came is also known as “leaded” stained glass. This method uses the channeled came to hold the glass in place. The joints where the came meets are soldered to create a sturdy build.
There are a few options for repairing this type of stained glass. Ideally, we can open the channel with minimal damage to replace the glass without the need to replace the original came. However, as you may expect, replacing the lead came is required at times.
Antique restoration projects often involve salvaging the glass and rebuilding the piece with new lead came from the ground up.
As with all restorations, the hope is to utilize the original glass and material as much as possible. However, when using modern materials is required, we make a special effort in keeping it with options that are true to the age and intent of the artist.
Are you interested in trying the leaded method?
Check out our 4-hour, just-for-fun mini lead class or our multiple-session masterclass on the method.
Copper Foil Stained Glass
The copper foil method of stained glass is standard with three-dimensional items such as lamps or small items such as suncatchers.
This method of stained glass is the newer of the two ways and became popular when made famous by Tiffany & Co. With the production of their lamps. With this method, the glass is ground and the edges wrapped in a copper foil to allow for soldering it together.
Repair involves removing the broken pieces and the surrounding foil and preparing for replacements. Depending on the break’s location, some surrounding pieces may require removal to allow access for repair.
Because there are more steps involved in this method of stained glass, repairs and commissions can quickly become costly due to the labor hours required. However, if the breaks are stable and barely noticeable, customers can save money by only having parts in danger of causing further damage repaired.
Are you interested in trying the copper foil method?
Check out our 3-hour, just-for-fun tiffany method class or our multiple-session masterclass on the method.
Estimating Repair Cost
We estimate the cost of stained glass repair and restoration services based on the materials that will be required and the number of hours we expect a repair to take.
We ask customers to send us a picture of the artwork needing repair and based on that; we can give you a price range for repair.
If the price range is within your budget, you can drop the repair off at our Colorado Springs or Denver studios. Once we can see the piece in person, we will send an estimate with an exact price for the repair and seek your approval before beginning.
