“Building on Faith,” a project of Woodstock’s St. James Episcopal Church, has given the building a new lease on life.

St. James rector, the Rev. Norm MacLeod, said the project addresses several infrastructure and code issues. He said the concerted efforts of the church building committee, the design-build firm Bread Loaf Corp. of Middlebury, and state and local officials have resulted in a “clean, beautiful space.”

Bread Loaf was “one of the few firms in the area that could carry out the project from start to finish,” MacLeod said.

MacLeod said the $1.5 million project had been on the church’s wish list for some time. The church had been facing perennial problems, including water leakage into the parish hall basement from the adjoining parcel; severe limitations on handicapped-accessibility due to a multilevel floor plan that relied on steps; an old, inefficient heating system; and non-fire-rated, original interior doors.

The work began in June/July 2014 and proceeded in four phases, each presenting its own challenges. It was finished in December, except for painting and plantings. The rededication service took place Feb. 15.

To address the water issue, the entire perimeter of the parish hall foundation was excavated out and French drains installed. Work inside the parish hall basement included removing the old slab floor, regrading the substrate, and installing new drains, insulation and radiant heat.

According to Dutton Smith, Bread Loaf’s project manager, two surprises popped up right away. It was discovered that the kitchen sink drained directly into the ground under the slab. This required excavating around the parish hall foundation and adding catch basins and perimeter drainage trenches.

The second surprise was that the church drains were set lower than the town’s stormwater system, necessitating the installation of a stormwater pump.

The entire heating system was replaced to include 10 zones. A new forced hot water boiler with radiators replaced the old coal-burning furnace and radiant heat was installed in the new floors in both the basement and sanctuary. Before work could begin, however, the antiquated asbestos jacket on the old coal furnace had to be removed safely.

Above ground, the church building itself presented the kinds of challenges that architects love to grapple with. “People tend to appreciate an older building as something that needs to be honored,” said Bread Loaf architect John Dale. In this case, the oak trusses in the sanctuary, the stonework, the aesthetics of the Gothic style needed to be preserved.

The main church building dates from 1907, with a 1926 parish hall that had been renovated somewhat in the 1980s. The church’s original architect was Ralph Adams Cram, of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson of Boston. The firm’s work, which extended into the 1930s, included Princeton University buildings and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, for which Cram was lead architect.

Woodstock’s St. James church is in the square-towered Anglican country Gothic style, and is considered one of the best small churches in the Gothic style, according to MacLeod.

While Bread Loaf found that the church was well-built and more recent renovations had been done well, the challenge was to make the needed alterations in a manner that would respect the style and historical value of the building. Dale tried to recreate original details where necessary with appropriate materials and trim. It was a challenge to find custom woodwork in a commercial project, he said; cost was an issue.

In order to meet fire-code requirements, Bread Loaf worked with the state fire marshall from the beginning. The original, unrated oak doors needed to be replaced with fire-rated units that would be aesthetically compatible. Dale located a supplier of customizable oak veneer doors that preserve the appearance of very old church doors while meeting fire requirements.

Handicapped-accessibility had been an ongoing conundrum. Accessibility was limited to the pews — the building’s multilevel design featured steps to the altar area, the vestibule off Route 4, the parish hall, the restrooms, the church offices and the basement. Now, automatic doors, an elevator to the parish hall and basement, and a ramp to the altar area allow free circulation throughout the building.

Smith said the majority of the interior work was done in the vestibule between the old church and the parish hall, with “a huge amount of effort.”

The vestibule was gutted and now features an elevator, a second egress at grade, and a wide staircase down to the basement function room. An opening had to be cut through the 2-foot-thick, laid-up stone of the church wall to accommodate the new ramp into the sanctuary from the vestibule.

The new ramp illustrates the quality and ingenuity of the work. A cramped, dark corridor has been transformed into a broad, pleasing space by opening up an unused storage area directly above it. The ramp itself is dovetailed skillfully into the new oak floor of the sanctuary and is accompanied by an elegant, curved handrail.

The new entrance ramp on Route 4 is a particular source of pride. Its bracketed timber truss door hood above the entrance and curving incline are both functional and harmonious with the architecture. It represents an update to a previous design by Duo Dickinson of Madison, Connecticut, a think-outside-the-box architect with Woodstock ties, who had been hired by the building committee to develop initial design studies.

Other challenges involved the site itself. A unique challenge was excavating close to the cremation plots in the small courtyard. The tiny cemetery had to be protected and held in place, Smith said. “We were aware something was there but details were sketchy,” he said.

To complete such a major project on such a tiny parcel alongside busy Route 4 was a feat. Big equipment was kept behind the barricades, and Bread Loaf used its own traffic control people. Although they managed to keep most of the work within the parking lane, Route 4 needed to be reduced to one lane at times. “It took a lot of patience,” Smith said.

As project manager, his role, Smith said, is to work with the client during construction, meeting weekly, addressing concerns, administering the contract and all of the subcontracts. Smith worked closely with his foreman Ryan Ahern “to make sure we did the job right,” adding, “The job needed someone creative; there were three different-aged buildings there.”

Unlike with an all-new industrial site, Smith added, there are a variety of unique challenges. “We love these kinds of projects because they’re something you can really sink your teeth into and feel good about being part of it,” he said.

St. James was “different from what we usually do,” Dale said. Integrated projects require collaboration among a number of players: the client, the developer, local and state officials, he said. Dale worked closely with MacLeod and Joseph Morel, the church’s senior warden. “[This approach] works — a lot of credit goes to the client team, that understood this was a collaborative effort,” Dale said.