The south, west, and north facing doors of our church building’s narthex are original with the building (1939). For years, if not decades, they have needed repair; in addition, they are hung to swing inward which presents a distinct safety issue in case of an emergency.
About four years ago some FELC members, with Council approval, undertook to rehang the north narthex doors. It proved to be a much more difficult and complicated project than thought and the DYI project, with mixed results, was abandoned after that attempt.
The Council has now approved and signed a contract with Restorhaus of Lubbock, Texas which specializes in this sort of restoration work. They are completing a project for St. David’s Episcopal Church (Austin) and have done restoration for the Texas Historical Society (located in the original building of Gethsemane Lutheran Church on North Congress), as well as other locations in Austin and the area.
Work on the doors is expected to begin in September and continue until Christmas. During that period one pair of doors at a time will be removed (and the opening closed) and taken to the company’s shop in Lubbock for repair and refinishing. The doors will be rehung to open outward, the thresholds and frames will be reworked and repaired as necessary. The existing or matching hardware will be used in the restoration.
This project is not part of our regular budget but is funded by gifts from several members with an interest in completing this project. For more information you may contact Heidi Goebel or Bob Karli.