Case Study: St Mary’s Church Restoration

St Mary’s Church Restoration

St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Massillon, Ohio, is a beautiful old building that has been in use since 1880. So, when fire damage threatened that history in August 2015, the parishioners were dedicated to replacing their original doors with replicas that were as authentic as possible.

The parish began working with Gerstenslager Construction, a millwork shop that produces trim, casing, and baseboard. They, in turn, came to Rockwood Door; we’ve been working together for 20 years and they think highly of the quality workmanship we produce. Gerstenslager trusted that we’d be a valued partner in the restoration.

We were called on to craft three pairs of exterior doors and 12 interior doors. Not only did we perform research to match and specifically replicate the very nuanced design and character of the doors that had been there, but we also made sure that our creations meshed well with the doors that remained. A special challenge was that—as part of the reconstruction—a ceiling had to be lowered; this changed the door specs and required us to adapt the historical design to a new door height.

In the end, the parishioners were thrilled with the results. Some couldn’t even tell the difference! When the new doors arrived, several people thought that the old doors had just been salvaged and rehabbed.