Bell Tower at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church provides a caring, inclusive community, centered in the Eucharist and grounded in the Gospel for residents of Louisville, KY and the surrounding area. As a call to worship and welcome to guests, a new bell tower chimes across the congregation. The tower, equipped with three new bronze bells will stand as a landmark of the church through decades of weddings and worships thanks to the galvanized tower they are installed in.

The project architect carefully designed the new bell tower to reflect the style of the church and reference specific architectural elements found in the existing buildings. Originally, the tower was specified for wet paint; however, the fabricators on the project convinced the owner to galvanize prior to painting.

“During the sales process, the value of hot-dip galvanizing was promoted as a high-value addition that would enhance long-term durability and customer satisfaction,” commented Nathan Crook at Chime Master.

The tower owner was sold on the longevity galvanizing would provide, especially at the reasonable initial cost. Another benefit they will continue appreciating is the delayed maintenance cycles the duplex coating provides. By galvanizing first, the paint’s life will be extended 1.5 to 2 times longer than paint on bare steel. That means less time and money spent on repainting over its lifespan.

The project didn’t come without its challenges, however, the galvanizer and fabricator were able to work closely together to solve them. Since the tower was designed as a single weldment, significant venting issues had to be addressed without compromising the tower’s aesthetics. Additionally, the size of the tower provided a challenge in locating a galvanizer with adequate capacity. From the time the galvanizer was contacted, they were able to simplify the process. They prepared vent and drain hole guidance to ensure quality results and even provided round-trip transportation.

The new bell tower at St. Matthew’s Episcaopal Church is now a predominant feature on the property. The investment in duplex coating the structure will ensure it is protected from corrosion, so it can ring in the call to worship for decades to come.