St. John’s church begins steps to fix bell tower, leaks

Wear, tear and years of water leaks from the bell tower and deteriorating mortar in parts of St. John Lutheran Church have forced its congregation to take action.

On September 12, the church’s congregation unanimously approved a proposal for the Building Restoration Corporation out of Roseville to visually inspect the tower’s exterior to determine the exact causes for the church’s leaks.

Carl Brandt, project manager, told a crowd of about 25 parishioners that his company would examine the bell tower and furnish a report of their findings as to where the “severe water leaking” is coming from. Because winter is upon us, Brandt said they would also cut out and install fresh sealant around the exterior of the four louvers on the bell tower. The existing sealant is more than 20 years old Brandt noted.

When his company was looking at the job, he also noted that deteriorated mortar joints were also noticed that also cause water leakage during freeze/thaw cycles. An alternate item included was for his crew to perform spot pointing work to repair the damaged areas.

Everyone in attendance at the meeting agreed the work....

To see more on this story pick up the October 4, 2018 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.