The problem: St. Agatha Church in Columbus Ohio had a legitimate concern about the functionality and safety of deteriorated old glass block windows in several second story windows surrounding their gymnasium. Some of these challenges included:
- A good number of the 70 to 80 year old glass blocks (which used an old cold fusing technology) had been cracked and some had even retained water. There was a concern about a block cracking and injuring someone or damaging the wood gym floor.
- The old glass block installation was not properly done with materials to allow for expansion and contraction and therefore the mortar joints were failing and had been patched with silicone caulk several times over the years.
- The broken and dingy old blocks (glass blocks used to be manufactured with the pattern on the outside which retained dirt & debris) did not provide a nice appearance for the gym or provide as much natural light as was desired.
- The energy efficiency of the old blocks was not up to modern standards.

