Techniques of building conservation

The first requisite in conserving any building is a sensitive assessment of its history and merits. Every building has its own biography. The Parthenon in Athens, originally built (447 to 432 bc) as a temple, subsequently served as a Christian church, a mosque, and a powder magazine before it became one of the world’s greatest attractions for the tourist and art lover. A knowledge of the whole life of a building brings an essential understanding of its features and its problems.

Next, the conservator needs a thorough measured survey. Generally, this is prepared by hand, with tape and rod and level. Modern measuring techniques, including photogrammetry and stereophotogrammetry, are also used and are quick and remarkably accurate.

Third, the architect or surveyor analyzes the structural stability of the subject and its living pattern of movement. No structure is permanently still. Subsoil expands and shrinks, thrust moves against thrust, and materials move with heat and wind. Forceful exercises, such as English bell ringing, have an even greater effect on a building’s stability. Clay soil is the worst: the building protects the ground underneath but not around; and, with every downpour, a wall on saturated clay may vary the lean of the building. Many ancient buildings had piled foundations—at Winchester, the cathedral was supported on oak piles, which rotted over the centuries. In order to underpin the structure, a diver worked for months in the waterlogged soil. Framed structures can move a great deal. The skeleton of a timber-framed medieval house can be extremely crooked without losing strength if it is well triangulated and its joints are sound. A wall is theoretically safe until it leans far enough to develop tension on one side, yet even then it may be stiffened by structural cross walls. Generally, the old, evenly spread load will be stable, and any new point load or thrust will be suspect. The surveyors may check the observations over a period—e.g., by measurement with plumb lines or by simple “tell-tales” (marking devices) set across a crack, or now by electronic measuring devices of remarkable accuracy.

The surveyor lastly tests all services, especially electrical wiring, with its risk of fire; gas lines, with their perils of seepage and explosion; and plumbing, with its danger of leaks. These services are frequently redesigned and simplified as well as improved. Lightning conductors and fire-fighting equipment are an important part of the protection of any ancient building.

The conservator must analyze the good points and bad points of the building, in the context of its current and future use, and define remedies in terms of their relative urgency. He can then prepare a balanced and phased conservation plan, related to the available budget.

The first remedial task is to stabilize and consolidate the structure. Ideally, this is best done by restraining, or tying, the point of active thrust and then by replacing, splinting, or in some way giving fresh heart to any failing or defective member. Adding heavy weights such as buttresses can do more harm than good. A load can frequently be spread more widely or more evenly. A structure can, in effect, be corseted by inserting (for example, around a tower) a continuous beam or ring of concrete. This can be done even in delicate masonry and, as in underpinning, by removing alternate sections of a wall, threading in reinforcement, and casting successive sets of concrete stitches, which unite into one strengthening beam. Sometimes a metal rod or tie bar may be inserted along a direct line of thrust or weakness, linking structural elements in need of support.

After structural movement, the next serious adversary in building conservation is damp. Not only of itself but also allied with almost every other trouble, damp accelerates decay. Weather may be penetrating through whole surfaces, such as porous brickwork, or finding its way through cracks or defects in the roofing. Especially vulnerable are gutters or any part of the rainwater-collecting system. Wet weakens walling, rots timbers, and spoils finishes. The remedy may involve renewing roof finishes. It may entail inserting a continuous moisture barrier, perhaps in a modern material such as stout polyethylene. Techniques of waterproofing wet walls include the insertion of high-capillary tubes, designed to draw the moisture to themselves and to expel it, and also the injection of silicone or latex and similar water-repellent solutions into the heart of the walling. Simple methods are best. The traditional ditch, or dry area, drained if necessary, disposes of the water before it reaches the wall. Double or cavity walls, with air between them, are another defense against damp.

Again, dampness compounds decay, and the first attention should be to protective features such as copings. Both in stonework and in brickwork, much harm can be caused by damp, especially when allied with an overly hard mortar jointing. This traps moisture along the lines of the joints, bringing any harmful salts to the surface, where they crystallize and damage the facing. Mortar jointing should always be softer than the brick or stone of a wall.

Much decay is the result of poor construction. Defects are almost always accelerated by the simple contravention of good building practice. In walling, a typical cause of structural instability is a double-skin construction with rough rubble between in which, by uneven loading, one skin has been caused to bulge and to release loose material in the core of the wall. Once on the move, this rapidly gains momentum as a live wedge, forcing apart its two faces. The conservator will insert temporary support, then remedy any uneven loading and rebuild the affected area. In some cases, after loose material is washed out, the unseen cavities can be grouted up, which strengthens a wall without disturbing the facing stonework.

The roof is a building’s first defense. It must be impervious and collect water clear of a building. Roof finishes are commonly either of unit materials such as tiles, slates, or stone or of boarding covered in sheet metal, such as lead. The failure of unit materials is usually caused by decay of fixings. Iron nails are especially destructive and are best replaced by nonferrous materials, such as copper. The battens that carry the tiles or slates have a longer lifespan but also need periodic renewal. Leadwork failure is usually the result of sheer age. This material has a very long life but, if used in sheets of excessive size, has a tendency to buckle and creep as a result of expansion—especially in sunshine. Leadwork can readily be recast or can be repaired by lead burning a new patch to the original lead. Soldering is less reliable and tends to crack away.

The chief enemies of timber are the natural predators of the forest—fungi and wood-boring insects. The most voracious fungus that attacks building timbers is dry rot (Merulius lacrymans). This can spread along infected wood to sound timber, carrying its own moisture supply. It extracts cellulose, which forms the chief part of plant cells, and leaves behind a tindery and useless shell. Stagnant air and warmth accelerate its spread. Eradication must be thorough, or the trouble will rapidly reestablish itself. Modern fungicides are highly effective.

Wood-boring insects include the furniture and deathwatch beetles. From eggs laid in cracks, the larvae tunnel into timber and damage it before emerging as beetles to lay more eggs. The deathwatch beetle inhabits mostly the outer sapwood of oak, when wet or softened by rot. The furniture beetle lives mostly in deal, especially when sappy or damp. Both of these species can be eradicated with modern pesticides.

Regular maintenance is the key to building conservation; William Morris called this practice “daily care.” A building’s life can be long, human tenancy relatively short. Yet the cumulative effect of neglect can be desperately damaging. Conversely, a sensitive awareness of a building’s needs, with regular attention to them, will extend its life and promote its long enjoyment. The successful conservator identifies himself with a building’s life, its structure and demands, with the special needs of an occupant, and with the skills of today’s craftsmen. In this spirit, he can hand on to the future the best of the past.