An assassin has been doing his work at the Peace Church in Bergen aan Zee for more than a hundred years: salt. Not completely unnoticed, but slowly the result is visible. Until it really can’t go any further. And that is now, says wall pathologist Josepha Kemple. “When I was here two years ago for my research it wasn’t as bad as it is now.”
“Wall pathologist, I actually came up with that myself for my case,” Kemple tells media partner Regional city Central know. She is originally a geologist. And that expertise can easily be applied to ‘artificial’ types of stone.
In Germany, where she comes from, geologists are even regularly involved in the restoration of historic buildings. “Historic walls nowadays have a lot of problems with rising ground moisture, or salt load.”
Crystals
Salt and moisture are also the culprits in the church from 1918. From the bottom, but especially from the sea. “When such a wall dries again, the salts remain behind and they crystallize. If those crystals become larger than the pore network, bricks can break. We often see this reflected in a kind of crumbling.”
Salt measurements were carried out about 25 years ago, but little was done at the time. “New measurements were taken two years ago. The results showed that the walls are now loaded with salt to a depth of seven centimeters. That is a salt load that is damaging to construction.”
Watch in the video below how the church walls have been affected by salt (text continues)
According to the wall pathologist, fresh grout is no longer sufficient and that is why the most weathered parts of the wall are replaced, plus half a meter around them. The new bricks come from a family business that still makes them by hand. “In the same color, with a little better quality.”
The money for the restoration, approximately 300,000 euros, has now been raised by organizations and private individuals. The Peace Church is somewhat of Kempl’s favorite object. “I have been involved with it for almost three years now. At the foundation that manages the church, you quickly get the impression that you are part of the family. I like that very much. It is a warm-hearted club that I like to join. That makes the project really special. And what is also special is that the intervention is so major.”
The procedure starts in the week of March 4.