What to Know About Historic Renovations

No two renovations are created equally, but what should be the same across

the board is the quality of work and attentiveness that goes into it. At

Seacoast Construction, we see it as our duty to uphold that sentiment.

Renovations of historic buildings in particular, often require that extra level of

care to safely bring the building back up to code while also preserving its

historic legacy. In our work serving as PM with St. Mary’s, we spent a year

doing just that.

No shortcut for quality

Originally built in the 1920’s, our very own George Abadie was contracted by

the Archdiocese of Miami to oversee the restoration of the church’s interior

and exterior, which had aged significantly over the years. The project

entailed a multitude of work including carefully restoring the existing

chandeliers and stained glass windows to creating a new indoor baptismal

font and redesigning the space to allow for use of the chapel during the day

without interruption to the church. Bringing a key attention to detail during

this process paid off, and he was even able to locate the original stained

glass manufacturing company from New England so we could order exact

matches to replace the missing glass pieces.

Attention to detail

It’s the finest of details that make the biggest of differences when it comes to

restoring a historic building. At St. Mary’s, George ensured all floors, pews,

and existing woodwork were tended to. Any broken pieces were refilled, all

the wood was refinished and re-stained it to its original look and feel. The

existing altar was extended and we ensured asbestos abatement was

completed on the dome, which required indoor scaffolding and hazmat suits.

In all, the project took a year of detailed and careful work to complete but

the end result was a fully restored historic church that received the quality

and attention we give to all of our clients and work. If you have questions

about building renovations, our construction process or our Project

Management services, don’t hesitate to get in touch.