Last year, the new stewards of Christ Church Poltimore decided that a water stain over the entrance to our chapel warranted further investigation. The chapel entrance ceiling is also an upper floor for the bell tower.
With the help of a couple of our parishioners, one with a high-rise bucket truck that is tall enough to reach the top of the bell tower, we discovered a very old issue.
Tar used to seal the roof had deteriorated and for many years did not keep water out of the tower. Water had, possibly for decades, leaked directly onto the upper floor and the entrance ceiling. Almost all of the wooden structure was rotten.
It was obvious that we were desperately in need of a proper fix to the steeple roof to stop the leak. The whole eight-foot by eight-foot section of the entrance ceiling had to be removed and replaced.
Three of our younger members, Barry Cheslock (Barry Cheslock Tree Removal), Jamie Kenny (a home builder), and Gene Salisbury (a sheet metalist), donated materials, the use of their equipment, their time and skills to repair the roof — at no cost to our chapel.
Afterwards, I removed the ceiling, the upper floor, and all the rotten wood in preparation for a rebuild. One of our parish families operate the Lonsdale Family Farm & Sawmill. They generously donated all the necessary rough-cut lumber for the rebuild.
By the late fall of 2024, the new upper floor and ceiling was roughed in and ready for the finished ceiling material to be installed.
After consulting several women in the parish for opinions and advice on what they thought should be used as a finishing product, we decided to finish this project with Pine V-Joint lumber.
This spring we purchased the lumber, prepared and painted it, and I installed it with the help of my good friend Moe Foley.
Our total expenditure for this project was remarkably under $400 dollars. Thanks to the generosity of those who donated materials, their time, skills and labour, our church entrance once again has a beautiful ceiling!
We also had one of our stained-glass windows in this entrance rebuilt along with several other stained-glass windows in the Church repaired by Heritage Glass who did an amazing job for us and was kind with their pricing.
Our work here is ongoing as there are many other projects waiting to be moved to the top of the list, but by doing this work, preserving the history, the building and the grounds, we believe it honours our Lord, our forefathers, our families, and our history. And it is living proof to our members and the community that our chapel is alive and well!
St. George, Portage-du-Fort — Deanery of West Quebec