Cutting a Gothic Arch Freehand After a Basketball Went Through a Church Window

A basketball struck one of the delicate upper panels of a historic church in Geelong and shattered it. The building was left open to the weather, and with visitors coming and going it had become a safety issue as well as a security one.

An urgent make-safe was needed.

Why this one could not be ordered in

Older churches were not built to standard sizes, and this window was a gothic arch. There is no stock panel for a shape like that, and no supplier catalogue to order from.

Our glaziers removed the damaged glass and cut the new panel freehand on site, matching the original profile directly from the opening rather than working to a nominal measurement.

That approach restored security the same day and kept the window looking the way it always has, which on a heritage building is most of the job.

Before

After

Working on heritage buildings

Older buildings routinely need custom-measured, hand-cut glazing to suit non-standard frames, historic shapes and original joinery. We regularly work on churches and religious buildings, schools and community halls, heritage-listed properties, and shaped, arched and leadlight windows.

The priority on every one of them is the same: secure the building quickly, and preserve the original appearance wherever it can be preserved.

The job in short

• Site: Historic church, Geelong
• Cause: Basketball impact to an upper panel
• Complication: Arched gothic profile, no standard replacement size
• Work done: Emergency make-safe, replacement panel cut freehand on site to match the original profile