Problems With Ceiling In Renovated Church
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Problems With Ceiling In Renovated Church
Hello everyone!
About eight years ago, I made the impulsive decision to buy an old church (built in 1904) and renovate it into a home. After tens of thousands of dollars, as well as hours of DIY, I've really fallen in love with it.... however, new problems seem to emerge on a monthly basis.
Yesterday, I noticed that one of the boards of the VERY high cathedral ceiling upstairs had bowed. I've almost run my "renovation fund" dry at this point, and I'd love some recommendations as to what I should do now. I'm definitely willing to hire a professional if needed, but don't know who I should be calling. Is it just minor a wood-warping issue, or is it something more serious? I had my windows done last summer, and the person I hired to do them mentioned that the exterior brick was starting to shift inward. Help!
Thanks in advance
About eight years ago, I made the impulsive decision to buy an old church (built in 1904) and renovate it into a home. After tens of thousands of dollars, as well as hours of DIY, I've really fallen in love with it.... however, new problems seem to emerge on a monthly basis.
Yesterday, I noticed that one of the boards of the VERY high cathedral ceiling upstairs had bowed. I've almost run my "renovation fund" dry at this point, and I'd love some recommendations as to what I should do now. I'm definitely willing to hire a professional if needed, but don't know who I should be calling. Is it just minor a wood-warping issue, or is it something more serious? I had my windows done last summer, and the person I hired to do them mentioned that the exterior brick was starting to shift inward. Help!
Thanks in advance

#2
Welcome to the forums.
Very ambitious project..... I applaud you.
That's an old building and as such is going to require constant maintenance.
I'm guessing brick outside. What is the roof construction ?
How do you even reach the roof outside or the ceiling inside ?
I don't really have an exact answer for you but it sounds like you're going to need to at least get a masonry or a restoration company there to look at it. It may cost you for their inspection but you're going to need an experts opinion and recommendation.
I know I'd love to see some pictures of the place. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html
Very ambitious project..... I applaud you.

That's an old building and as such is going to require constant maintenance.
I'm guessing brick outside. What is the roof construction ?
How do you even reach the roof outside or the ceiling inside ?
I don't really have an exact answer for you but it sounds like you're going to need to at least get a masonry or a restoration company there to look at it. It may cost you for their inspection but you're going to need an experts opinion and recommendation.
I know I'd love to see some pictures of the place. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html
#3
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Do you have attic access above the ceiling? I used to attend a wooden church built in 1903. While the structure was fairly solid, the lack of a real foundation caused the building to shift at various points and very little was a straight as it was when built. Look forward to seeing some pics.
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Yes, there is attic access - however, due to the extremely high ceilings, I doubt that anyone has been up there in decades. I'm curious as to what you congregation did, if anything, when experiencing the same sort of problem. Is this something I just have to learn to live with, like the leaning tower of Pisa? :P I've attached a picture of the problem area.
Thanks so much for responding!
Thanks so much for responding!
#5
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The church was rented so we didn't do anything above regular maintenance. How much overlap is there where the 2 boards meet? Even if you fix that, you'll still have the gap between boards. Assuming that the middle of the ceiling is flat and the sides are on an angle with that board being near the wall - I doubt getting in the attic would help much.
Our church also had the bead board on the walls/ceiling although ours was chestnut with heart pine on the floor - the acoustics were great!
Our church also had the bead board on the walls/ceiling although ours was chestnut with heart pine on the floor - the acoustics were great!