Architectural project
Church portals, Walchwil
Walchwil, Canton Zug, Switzerland · 2025
Location
Catholic church of St. Johannes, Walchwil, Canton Zug
Date
May–June 2025
Type
Oak church doors: classicist main portal (1836–1838), side portals and sacristy door (1994–1997)
Nature of work
Timber repairs, new seals, surface renewal with pigmented tung-oil lacquer, ironwork treatment
Role
Conservator, in collaboration with Reding Werner AG
Client
Catholic parish of Walchwil, with the Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology, Canton Zug
Context and aim
The main portal of St. Johannes in Walchwil was made with the classicist church of 1836–1838. It is a two-leaf door in solid oak, almost 190 years old, its panels carved with circles, floral motifs and lozenges and joined by a central band ornament, with wrought-iron strap hinges and handles. The two side portals and the sacristy door are simpler oak doors made during the renovation of 1994–1997, designed to match the church in material and proportion.
Sun and rain had badly weathered the lower parts of all the doors. The coatings had washed out and no longer protected the wood, black fungus had stained the side doors, and there were shrinkage cracks, open joints, missing veneer and rusting ironwork. On the main portal the magnetic stays no longer held, so the leaves were striking the masonry.
After a damage survey, cracks and losses were filled with wood and new rubber seals fitted for weather-tightness. The old coating was removed, the black fungus treated and the timber lightened with a hydrogen peroxide solution, and the surfaces retouched, filled with a matched filler and finished in three coats of pigmented tung-oil lacquer, with colours worked out on test panels. Strap hinges, handles and aluminium weather bars were cleaned of rust and repainted with micaceous iron paint, and the main portal received new magnetic stays.
Gallery
Condition before treatment
Weathered lower panels, washed-out coatings, black fungus and rusting ironwork.
Photo: the main portal before treatment
Photo: the street-side portal before treatment
Photo: the cemetery-side portal before treatment
Photo: the sacristy door before treatment
Photo: weathered lower panels of the main portal
Photo: black fungus and missing veneer on the sacristy door
During treatment
Removing old coatings, treating black fungus, colour trials, filling and surface renewal.
Photo: removing the old surface coating
Photo: treating black fungus with hydrogen peroxide
Photo: damage survey on the sacristy door
Photo: colour trials on the sacristy door
Photo: mixing the matched surface filler
Photo: filler trials on the oak
Photo: a side door during surface renewal
Photo: the sacristy door during treatment
Photo: weather bars after blasting, before repainting
After treatment
The portals protected with pigmented tung-oil lacquer and the ironwork repainted.
Photo: the main portal after restoration
Photo: main portal detail after restoration
Photo: the street-side portal after restoration
Photo: the cemetery-side portal after restoration
Photo: the sacristy door after restoration
Photo: handles repainted with micaceous iron paint
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