Photos courtesy of Richard Patch

Inside the restored replica.

Delivering the church replica to Brandon Oaks.

Richard "Dick" Patch loves antiques, and owns Astonish Antique Restoration on Old Cave Spring Road. He has devoted his life to making pieces look like well-maintained antiques, even if, well, they weren't exactly well-maintained.

Taking great pride in his work and loving what he does probably explains why he is so successful. Hence the reason that when Brandon Oaks decided they wanted to restore a replica of the circa-1850 Brandon Oaks Lutheran Church they chose Patch for the job.

The replica of the church stands five feet by five feet and was made by church members after the church was torn down in the 1970s to build a retirement community.

Patch describe the replica of the church as "an old log cabin church." He said that when Brandon Oaks bought the property they tore down the church but salvaged the wood and made the replica from it. The replica is complete with handmade pews, a pulpit, and interior lights.

Patch began work on the church replica in November 2008 and completed it this past January.

Patch, who always keeps a conservation report on his restoration projects, fixed broken shingles, rebuilt the glass windows, corrected termite damage, cleaned it inside and out and re-stained some of it.

Repairs made included using PC Petrifier Wood Hardener (wood consolidator epoxy) on broken outside slats to mitigate termite damage; wood glue on smaller broken pieces; lighting had to be restored by replacing 12 of 12 volt bulbs; paint was sprayed on interior light fixtures; walls were stabilized with long lag bolts through the entire height of the walls; windows were removed, cleaned, repaired and, finally, reinstalled on site, three windows had to be re-built; and missing and broken roof tiles were replaced by handcrafted tiles made of balsa wood, given a scratch texture and stained.

The replica was delivered to Brandon Oaks on Feb. 13.

"The biggest challenge was putting it all together inside of the small glass enclosure at Brandon Oaks," he said.

After the replica was restored it was put back into place at Brandon Oaks, located at 3804 Brandon Avenue, S.W. next to the historical marker, and a glass structure now encloses the replica to protect it.

Richard Patch has been in his current location in Roanoke for about three years now. Prior to living in Roanoke he lived for 25 years in Indianapolis.

"After I got out of the service I met a fellow and I apprenticed under him," Patch said.

Patch has a degree in Wood Finishing and had the opportunity to study uner a Fellow of The Smithsonian Institute. He also attends the Smithsonian Institute's Antique Furniture Conservation course on a regular basis.

"Each piece is unique. It's never boring. You just have to try to be smarter than the wood."

Patch said that he is most proud of some of the restoration of a Tall Case Clock (Grandfather Clock) that a doctor brought in.

"It took me almost a year to restore it. It was missing veneer and had cracks in the wood. It was in rough shape but it was well worth saving."

Although Patch oversees everything that goes on in his shop, he had four others he has trained or who already had experience who work with him.

The oldest piece he thinks he has worked on he believes to have been a 1700s blanket chest.

For a gallery of photos and more on the restoration process and delivery, visit The Notebook on swo-co.com