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Prescribing the most appropriate treatment for a specific historic site, building or monument is critical to achieving an effective and desirable end result. We are dedicated to ensuring that the correct procedures are employed on each project, and that our work reflects our diligence, creativity and attention to detail.
Documentation
Careful and thorough documentation is an important first and last step in any conservation project. Having a clear understanding of the history, significance and particular characteristics of a building or object is essential before analysis of its condition and development of a conservation strategy. Once implemented, a conservation treatment must be thoroughly documented so that all associated methods, products and techniques are recorded. It is important that this information be available so as to guide regular maintenance of a particular object, structure, or site and inform any future treatments that may be required.
MCC performs methods of documentation which are consistent with the Historic American Building Survey (HABS), the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Preservation Planning, and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC)
Condition Assessment
An effective assessment of the condition of a building or object involves investigation of its specific materials, the dynamics of its situation in the environment relative to other objects, components or systems, the impact of past interventions and the particular deterioration mechanisms that may be at work. Our MCC staff is trained and experienced in recognizing the complex relationship between the environment and the materials employed in creating buildings and objects. We are able to distinguish between deterioration mechanisms attributable to intrinsic characteristics of a specific material and those caused by extrinsic factors. We use a variety of methods in support of our assessments including non-destructive testing (such as laser scanning), boroscopy, review of maintenance records, visual survey and comparative analysis of historic and contemporary photographic images. The results of such an investigation are typically prepared in graphical format to aid in establishing patterns between conditions and facilitate the preparation of construction documents, development and/or implementation of conservation treatments.
Testing and Analysis
This service often accompanies a condition diagnosis and can include both on-site and laboratory testing. MCC maintains an in-house laboratory with the ability to perform a variety of testing proceedures. The results of these tests can assist in pinpointing severity of deterioration, mineral inclusions, staining, porosity/permeability and many other characteristics that can effect implementation of treatment. Material characterization, structural stability and past repairs can also be analyzed by on-site tests such as finish exposures and metal detection. If required by a specific project, we have access to advanced testing procedures such as X-Ray Diffraction analysis, Secondary Electron Microscopy and Fourier Transmission Infrared Spectroscopy.
MCC provides monitoring services for projects that require phased treatments or have long periods of stasis. Monitoring, in the form of gauges, environmental sampling or time-lapse photography, can also be a useful component of condition assessments by documenting changes occurring in a specific material or group or materials. Information gained from monitoring can offer scientific evidence to complement our other services. In certain situations, monitoring can be a stand-alone treatment, or installed after treatment to ensure that conditions are stable to protect finished work. It can also be a useful informational tool to help make treatment recommendations.
Treatment Implementation
Conservation treatment varies with the specific objects and their constituent materials. MCC constantly strives to identify and implement treatments that are both effective and conservative, so that maximum respect is afforded to the original works created by architects, artists and craftsmen. In ideal situations, selection of the most appropriate treatment is guided by information obtained through a combination of condition assessment, documentation, testing, analysis and monitoring. Treatment can include: cleaning (non-chemical, chemical, mechanical, abrasive and non-abrasive, laser, etc.), consolidation, pinning, repointing, mortar compensation, stabilization, injection grouting, repatination, finishing, in-painting, and structural stabilization. The pictures below are from a laser testing session. The photographs on the right were taken before and after stabilization, compensation, and inpainting of a plaster object. The photographs below were taken during laser cleaning testing.
