Masonry Products for Historic Buildings, Technical Preservation Database

NPS Preservation Assistance Division

Under a cooperative agreement directed by the Preservation Assistance Division of the National Park Service, Washington, D.C., the Center for Architectural Conservation at the Georgia Institute of Technology has compiled a list of products used on the exterior of historic masonry buildings. Although few of these products are manufactured specifically for application to historic masonry surfaces, many of them are used--sometimes indiscriminately--on historic masonry. The same product that may be well-suited for application to a modern, manufactured masonry material may actually cause aesthetic or physical damage to a historic masonry material. Likewise, a product appropriate for use on siliceous masonry may abrade or discolor calcareous stone. Thus, while listing will not indicate definitively which products may be suitable to use on historic masonry, or on which type of historic masonry,neach entry contains as much information as possible on each product in order to aid the consumer in making informed preservation decisions. The products included here have been compiled from suggestions by preservation specialists and architects working in the National Park Service, in State Historic Preservation Offices, and in the private sector. The listing is not comprehensive, and will continue to be updated and expanded. The Center for Architectural Conservation prepared a list from these suggestions, augmented with additional products, and designed a questionnaire which was sent to manufacturers of all products included on the list. Manufacturers contacted were asked to complete a questionnaire on each of their products included on the list, and to return it to the Center for Architectural Conservation along with complete product specifications. In addition, manufacturers were asked to provide the name and location of historic masonry buildings that had been treated with a particular product. It is hoped that information supplied in this last category, "Project Examples", will offer the user the opportunity to obtain further "case study" information on the performance of specific treatments, and to follow up on projects listed there either by contacting the product manufacturer’s representative, or, in some cases, the State Historic Preservation Office. Upon receipt of information on these products, the Center for Architectural Conservation, which had previously developed a micro-computer program for the project, sorted through and entered relevant data using dBase III Plus software, in order to store the data and allow for ease of updating and future expansion. The program is designed to allow for quick searching by product treatment types, masonry material types and by product manufacturers. The program is part of a larger technical preservation information system developed by the Center for Architectural Conservation which at this time includes a listing of material testing laboratories for historic buildings. The listing of Material Testing Labs for Historic Buildings is available for $7.00 from the Center for Architectural Conservation, Georgia Institute of Technology. Listing does not constitute an endorsement, either expressed or implied, by the National Park Service or the Georgia Institute of Technology of the manufacturers or products included here. Comments on the usefulness of this information and suggestions for additional products are invited and should be addressed either to Anne Grimmer, PAD-424, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127, or to John Myers, Center for Architectural Conservation, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332.

Masonry Products for Historic Buildings, Technical Preservation Database

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