Illustrated Crack Repair
Environmental Protection for Your Building
Home Maintenance Checklist
5 Biggest Restoration Mistakes
The Importance of Climate Control to Protect Your BuildingClimate control is an important consideration for historic building maintenance. We are all familiar with the large temperature swings experienced in the Northeast climate, and buildings experience temperatures ranging from -30° below freezing to 100° in the sun just like we do! Just as we desire cooling relief and the warmth of the furnace for our quality of life- buildings need these things just as much to preserve their quality. Significant fluctuations in building temperature directly (and possibly negatively) impact the longevity of your preservation efforts. As you consider your building maintenance plan, and before you invest in a preservation effort, consider the importance of climate control.
Large swings in temperature cause all surfaces to expand and contract accordingly. These changes in surface tensions cause considerable stress on all building materials, as well as the contents of the building. The unfortunate result of these changing surface tensions is eventual failure of plaster, paint, glue and nails. As the many surfaces move, interior paint begins to crack and alligator, plaster cracks and releases from its lath or base surface, nails bend or break, and glue cracks, flakes and withers away. In addition to the building itself, large temperature changes threaten the preservation of manuscripts and documents, furniture and fixtures, antiques, and other important building contents.
If you use the building during the colder months at all, it is more cost effective to maintain a minimum temperature and bring the building up to comfortable temperature than to attempt to bring the building from 10° to 68° on any regular basis.
It is our recommendation that the building heat be maintained throughout the colder months at 50°-55° Fahrenheit which is considered 'Museum Temperature', the minimum temperature preferred by museum curators, art historians and historic preservation professionals. This is a solid first-step toward protecting your important historic building and its contents.
5 Biggest Restoration Mistakes1. Skipping the necessary research and investigation to determine the building's history, what the period details were, where materials can be found, what modern methods are available, and what preservation experts can advise and assist.
2. Failing to develop a Preservation Plan including the project timeline and priorities, budget, and maintenance schedule.
3. Investing in improving cosmetic details before restoring the structural integrity of the building.
4. Performing projects in a sequence that undermines previous work ~ finishing floors before the walls are repaired, restoring plaster before foundation repairs are completed.
5. Short-term "cures" that lead to more serious problems in the future (using inferior quality products, performing cosmetic cover-ups, etc.).
©Copyright 2003 Peter Lord Plaster & Paint, Inc. • 24 Moody Road, Limington, Maine 04049 (207) 793-2957