Welcome to the Building Development and Renovation Journal! Click here to make a secure contribution to the restoration efforts!

Check this page for updates regarding our beautiful Church building and the changes being made to restore, repair and sustain it. Please return frequently to this page for journal entries and photos of the progress. Because Jesus Christ is risen indeed, we know we can do what is necessary to keep this building a tangible sign of and invitation to God’s Kingdom. As so many have found their way through prayerful encounter with Jesus within these walls, we are committed to doing what is necessary to preserve such a possibility for hundreds of years to come!       

Donations to support the restoration and renovation of St. Bernard’s are always welcome and can be made to the “St. Bernard Memorial Trust Fund, 44 University Ave. Akron, OH 44308.” It is a fund designated exclusively to maintain and repair the St. Bernard church building.

Thank you for your support, and through the intercession of St. Joseph, St. Bernard and the many who will work on this project, "May God who has begun a good work in us continue to complete it" (Philippians 1:6).

                                                                            Fr. Chris Zerucha, Pastor

Completed installation of South Tower 7th Floor roof membrane system.
New roof drain installed at center of roof.


Completed mortar repointing within South Tower at 6th Floor.


Completed installation of sheet metal drip edge at North Tower roof.


Wood deterioration concealed by paint within south elevation windows.


South Tower roof framing and steel tie down rods observed to be in overall good condition.


This month grinding, repointing and joint sealant moves ahead on the outside stone of the St. Bernard church.


Inside the towers, grinding and repointing continues on the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th floors. Some brick replacement has to be done on the 6th floor. This picture is of the 6th Floor of the North Tower interior.
 

A picture of the 7th Floor of the North Tower interior.


Painting of all the widows is under way.


Installation of new roof membrane system at all low roofs is in progress.

Current Activities:
Exterior Masonry Repairs:
i. North Elevation: HMH Restoration, (the contractor) is currently repointing within the west half of the elevation.
ii. North Tower:

· North Elevation: HMH is currently resetting the final water table unit, which required refabrication, at the 7th Floor from the suspended scaffolding.

· South Elevation: HMH is currently resetting stone water table units from the man-lift.

iii. South Tower: No current activities.
b. Interior Masonry Repairs (Interior of Towers):
i. North Tower: No current activities.
ii. South Tower: No current activities.
c. Gable Stabilization: No current activities.


Overall view of St. Bernard Church from east. Grinding in progress at north elevation of North Tower.


Completed reinstallation of water tables and mortar repointing at 6th & 7th Floors of north elevation of South Tower.
(Note replacement stones.)


Mortar repointing in progress on north elevation.
Upcoming Activities

iii. South Tower: HMH anticipates moving the suspended scaffolding from the North Tower to the South Tower by the end of the week.
c. Interior Masonry Repairs (Interior of Towers):
i. HMH to continue to grind and repoint mortar joints within the north and south towers.
d. Gable Stabilization:
i. HMH to continue installation of the steel and tie-backs at the north elevation gable after completion of the stabilization at the south elevation gable.


Close-up of completed water table removal at Floors 5 – 7 on the north elevation of the North Tower.


Completed masonry stabilization at south elevation gable. Note: deterioration of the masonry at wall openings.


Separation of exterior masonry wall and main roof at south elevation gable.


Cracked masonry at South Tower interior masonry.

Completed grinding within interior of South Tower.

September 18 – October 2, 2019
A special selection committee met with 5 fundraising firms on September 18, September 23, September 24, September 27 and September 30; and then presented their findings to members of the Finance Committee and St. Bernard Parish Council on October 2, 2019.  Council voted on hiring Jack Kearns and Associates to raise the money for the project. The diocese approved Jack Kearns as our fundraising firm.

January 15, 2020 – Initiation of Development by J. Kearns & Associates
A meeting was held with Mr. Kearns on January 15, 2020, to initiate the feasibility study of the Capital Campaign for the St. Bernard Church Restoration.

February 1, 2020 – Construction Bids
A letter was sent to the Bishop requesting The St. Bernard Building Restoration project to begin; Bishop Perez approved work to be done within a total budget of $1.8 million dollars.
THP Engineering of Cleveland reverse-engineered drawings of the entire building and then prepared engineering drawings with the help of Ohlin and Reed Engineers.

Bids were solicited by THP Engineering from four companies. The bids were received and communicated to St. Bernard’s on March 23, 2020. The project consists of exterior stone masonry repairs, brick masonry repairs within the towers, masonry wall stabilization, joint sealant installation, slate roof repairs, low sloped roof installation/replacement, gutter repairs and waterproofing. The work is to happen in two phases: Phase one is for the main bell tower and Phase two is for everything else.
Letters of request were written and sent to the bishop to hire winning building contract bidders, and permission letters to contract the winning bidders were received.
1.    Drake Construction (who is also doing the Mayflower renovations) for the main bell tower work.
2.    HMH Renovation for all of the rest of the scope of work (Bid details March 9, 2020).
 Fr. Chris wrote a special letter to diocesan administrator Fr. Don Oleksiak requesting that we be permitted to continue the building process during COVID-19 restrictions and permission was received.
Main bell tower refortification and repair progress is nearing completion.

 
April 20, 2020 - Grant Application
Research on grants for nonprofits was conducted by Jeffrey Sain and Maria Ellul Sain. The National Fund for Sacred Places in Washington DC was selected.  A detailed grant proposal was prepared and submitted on April 20, 2020. Phase I of the application process was completed. We should be notified by June 1^st 2020 if we are selected to proceed to Phase II of the grant application.

May 6, 2020 – Pre-Construction Meeting
A pre-construction meeting for the rest of the building was held (See Photos).

May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020

May 6, 2020


 May 20, 2020
Stiff leg scaffolding was removed and exterior and interior masonry repairs started. Grinding of mortar joints of the towers is in progress and will be followed by repointing and joint sealing for both stone-to-painted wood and stone-to-stone sealing.

Left Photo: Removal of the overhead stiff-leg scaffolding at the east elevation.          Right Photo: Suspended scaffolding installed at east elevation of North Tower.
Grinding of mortar joints started.

Current Activities:
a. General: Removal of the stiff leg scaffolding at the east elevation is in progress.
b. Exterior Masonry Repairs started:
i. HMH is currently grinding mortar joints at the east elevation of the north tower from the suspended scaffolding as well as within the north elevation gable.
 
ii. HMH is beginning to remove water table stone units for review of existing conditions.
iii. HMH, THP & the DowSil technical representatives are currently installing the joint sealant technical mockups.
Stone-to-Painted Wood (DowSil 795): The wood window frame is tight to the surrounding Stone. The window perimeter joint is filled with Tremco Mono sealant, which has hardened and is difficult to remove. HMH to install fillet joint profile with bond break installed over existing Mono.
Stone-to-Stone (DowSil 790): Butt joint profile with backer rod.
o Left = primer (1200 OS)
o Right = no primer.
c. Interior Masonry Repairs (Interior of Towers):
i. HMH is continuing to grind mortar joints within the north and south towers for repointing.

May 27, 2020

Left Photo :    Man-lift and suspended scaffolding installed at east elevation.
Right Photo:  Grinding of mortar joints in progress at west elevation of North Tower from man-lift.
 
 

Left Photo:  North Tower – East Elevation:
Mortar ground 100% within 3^rd floor water table.
                            
Right Photo: North Tower – East Elevation: 
Floor water table extends 1-inch below stone above.


       
 
Left Photo: North Tower – East Elevation:     
The 5^th & 6^th Floor Water Tables have been removed.    
The brick backup was observed to be in overall 
good condition and isolated deterioration.
                          
Right Photo: North Tower – East Elevation:
The stone water table at the corners is keyed into
 the stone above and below approximately 5-inches.
 
 

Left Photo: North Tower – East Elevation:
Water  Displaced stone at 7^th Floor Water Table,
(Steel pins installed without resetting stone.)
                          
Right Photo: North Tower – East Elevation:
Water Tables removed to date.

On Tuesday, July 16, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. in the main church, Fr. Chris, Maintenance Director Will Jendrisak and Dee McCall, Communications Director presented the information of the Survey Study completed by THP, Inc. on the status of the building. They also answered questions about work to be done going forward, gathered some initial ideas and insights about which projects are most important and recruited interested people to join a soon-to-form Development and Renovation Committee. 50 people showed up in the heat and the conversations were encouraging and gave confidence to all present that the community at St. Bernard Church would once again rise to the occasion of preserving its beautiful house of God.

On this feast of St. Romauld, a founder of at least 30 monasteries in Italy, we are pleased to announce improved access to the Lord in two ways!

Last week, a Loop hearing system was installed in our church. This broadcasts what is transmitted into the microphones directly into the hearing aids of those with hearing challenges. One must only turn the T-coil setting on in the aid, which 80% of all hearing aids have. A set of headphones that receives the signal is also available upon request. One parishioner has already reported hearing her first homilies with her own ears in 14 years! Certainly, this was a worthwhile endeavor.

We also got lighter, automated doors on the State St. and University Ave. entrances. At each entrance,  one wider door with a button to automatically open the door replaces the two older, heavier doors that were becoming challenging for some to open and keep open.

Some parish funds were used for each of these projects, but special thanks to the Knights of Columbus Akron Council 547 who donated over $20,000 to make these projects happen!

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Last Friday of Easter Time

From the cover letter of THP Limited, Inc., the survey study writer:

St. Bernard Catholic Church, located at 44 University Avenue in Akron,
Ohio, was originally constructed in 1905 and was added to the National
Register of Historic Places in 1989. The exterior walls are constructed of
multi-wythe load-bearing masonry consisting of rough-cut sandstone
with a clay masonry backup. The roof structure consists of steel trusses
with heavy timber purlins, wood-framed rafters and decking supporting a
slate roof with copper flashing, gutters and downspouts.
THP Limited was retained to perform a building envelope condition survey
to review the exterior walls and roof due to concern with leaks within the
interior of the church, particularly within the apse and adjacent to the
towers, as well as displaced and spalling stone within the towers. The
scope of the project is to assess the current condition of the building
envelope (exterior walls and roof) to identify and provide
recommendations for repair with the associated opinion of probable repair
costs. Please note: our condition assessment excludes the interior
structure of the church and towers. It is our understanding that a separate
review of the structural framing within the church and the towers is being
performed by Ohlin & Reed Consulting Engineers.

From Father Chris:
The results of the study will be presented at a Parish Town Hall Meeting on July 16th, 2019 in the main church at 7:00 p.m. From this meeting we hope to present the information we currently have available, answer questions about work to be done going forward, gather some initial ideas and insights about which projects are most important and recruit interested people to join a soon-to-form Development and Renovation Committee. Further results, progress and brainstorming will transpire at Town Hall 2 to take place sometime in the Fall.

Good Friday
 
For the first time since the 1995 washing and sealing of the St. Bernard church building exterior, serious preservation work began to St. Bernard’s exterior on Passion Sunday, April 14^th, 2019. W R Restoration and THP Limited, Inc. began studying the bell towers after concerns about the stones’ and mortar’s stability. On finding loose stones in both bell towers, W R Restoration began a metal strip security procedure for all stones of concern. A few stones were temporarily removed. As of this date, all stones in place are verifiably secure.

In order to maximize the stability of the building during this time and the access the engineers need to the building, the chiming of the bells at the customary times will discontinue until further notice, probably for quite some time.

For the first time since the 1995 washing and sealing of the St. Bernard church building exterior, serious work began to St. Bernard’s exterior on Passion Sunday, April 14^th, 2019. W R Restoration and THP Limited, Inc. began studying the bell towers after concerns about the stones’ and mortar’s stability. On finding loose stones in both bell towers, W R Restoration began a metal strip security procedure for all stones of concern. A few stones were temporarily removed. As of this date, all stones in place are verifiably secure. We eagerly await the results of THP Limited, Inc.’s Envelope Study, a study that will further determine the amount and scope of work required to preserve and, if necessary, restore our beautiful church building, constructed in 1905.
 
As we await further direction and achieve the results directed by the study, please return frequently to this page for journal entries and photos of the progress. Because Jesus Christ is risen indeed, we know we can do what is necessary to keep this building a tangible sign of and invitation to God’s Kingdom. As so many have found their way through prayerful encounter with Jesus within these walls, we are committed to doing what is necessary to preserve such a possibility for hundreds of years to come!        -Fr. Chris Zerucha, Pastor