Millersville, MD, June 9--The Kelmann Corporation of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, has received the Phoenix Award, the restoration industry’s highest honor, for its work in restoring a severely damaged, historic Milwaukee church.
The Phoenix Award is presented annually by the National Institute of Disaster Restoration (NIDR) for conspicuously high achievement in disaster restoration. The award was accepted by Kelmann’s Thomas Paprocki at the annual meeting of the Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration (ASCR).
“The extraordinary work of the Kelmann Corporation in restoring St. Hyacinth Church is important on many fronts,” said Bill Lakin, chairman of NIDR. “It returns to the parishioners of a place of worship that is very meaningful to them. It sets the highest standards of professionalism for others in our industry to follow. And it is another example of the great return on investment from hiring highly qualified restoration professionals.”
St. Hyacinth Church was damaged by city crews tunneling under the 120 year old structure in order to redirect storm and sewer water to Lake Michigan. Pumping subsoil and silt caused the street, sidewalks, and church itself to sink, creating two-inch wide cracks throughout the historic edifice. The problem was exacerbated over time by vibrations from heavy equipment, excavation machines, and water pumps.
Kelmann Corporation was able to support the southeast corner of the church using shoring, scaffolding, and telescopic braces. For the next year, the company monitored the continually shifting building.
Once the church was finally stable, Kelmann began the complicated task of restoring the historic structure’s exterior brick, stone, glass, concrete, woodwork, stained glass, gutters, and interior walls and ceilings. The company’s painstaking attention to detail was evident when it located the artist who painted the church ceiling in the 1930s and consulted with him on how best to restore it. At the same time, cost efficiency was a continuous consideration. Kelmann was able, for example, to salvage and reuse stained glass from the church’s damaged windows.
Paprocki, who played a key role in the restoration effort, is a Certified Restorer. Certified Restorers must have more than three years experience in the restoration business. They must also successfully complete a rigorous program that includes 50 hours of instruction on a broad range of topics, write a formal paper on an approved topic, complete an ethics exam, participate in a restoration seminar, and pass a comprehensive exam. To maintain their certification, they must stay abreast of the latest technology advances in cleaning and restoration sciences and be certified every three years.
