Restoration
First Baptist Church of Winston-Salem
Greensboro, NC

The project encompassed major façade restoration of a historic church building. This included work on the bell tower, the sanctuary dome area, and the attached administrative wing. Work involved selective pointing, extensive terra-cotta unit (TCU) patching, TCU extraction and replication, and new TCU installation. The team also completed TCU glaze erosion repairs, sealed skyward-facing joints, performed spot chemical cleaning, and hand-cleaned all affected wall surfaces. The scope also included subgrade waterproofing on boiler room walls. Concrete repairs were made to a slab ceiling that showed significant spall defects from carbonation and inadequate bar coverage. For upper-level work access, the general contractor supplied fixed scaffolding.

A key aspect of this project was overcoming challenges associated with TCU fabrication. Terra-cotta unit production, with its sophisticated process and extended lead times, made coordination complex. Instead of performing multiple unit extractions, WxTite generated field measurements and shop drawings, which resulted in significant time savings.

This significant façade restoration project earned WxTite the ICRI–Carolinas Project of the Year Award for 2020 and also received the SWRI National Award of Excellence. Additionally, all work followed National Park Service, State Historic Preservation Office, and local Architectural Board guidelines to secure tax credits.