DETROIT – St. Lazarus Serbian Orthodox Cathedral got 42 years of life out of the original, all-important butyl caulk that seals joints between the exterior limestone fascia panels.

Not a bad lifespan – but as all things must pass, so too does sealant. The failing caulk is why Chezcore and a small crew of masons have literally been all over the exterior of the cathedral on Outer Drive in Detroit, removing the old butyl and replacing it with fresh beads of Dow Corning silicone.

“The old caulk was shot, replacing it was way overdue,” said Chezcore Foreman Darryl Green of BAC Local 1. “The old stuff is coming out fairly easily. We’re replacing 100 percent of the joints on the building.”

The 70-foot-tall church has had some leaks that have stained some interior plaster, so getting the work done before another frost and thaw cycle is important. In recent years, work had been done to seal the some roof and flashing areas. The small crew of three masons began work in August and will be complete by mid-November. In all, 13,000 lineal feet of caulking will be removed and replaced.

St. Lazarus Church project liaison Chris Nickson said over the years some caulk had been replaced, but it was time to get it all done. “It’s estimated that 65-70 percent of the caulk had to be replaced, and sooner or later, we’d have to do the whole building, so it’s time,” he said.

The 153,000-square-foot church was consecrated in 1967. Nickson said at the time, it was one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals in the U.S. A history of the church written by the building’s architect, Harold H. Fisher Associates, said St. Lazarus “was designed primarily as a monument to the timeless qualities of the Serbian Orthodox religion and to the noteworthy cultural contributions of its people’s ancestry.

“It reflects the achievements of Serbian church builders during the time preceding the fourteenth century - during which period their religious reverence, devotion, and fervor prompted them to build a great number of churches in the small part of Europe called Yugoslavia now, then Serbia, churches with many distinctive and remarkable architectural, engineering, and artistic features and characteristics.”

Nickson said he is “very happy” with Green and the small Chezcore crew. “I hope when they’re done, that’s going to be the end of the work for a while on the outside of the building for us,” he said.

A BEAD OF CAULK is placed around the limestone joints of a window of St. Lazarus Servian Orthodox Cathedral in Detroit by Dave Schore of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 1 and Chezcore.