The purpose of this project was to develop improved consolidants for restoration of stone damaged by weathering. Conventional consolidants are organic polymers or silica gels, which are simple materials that do not permit matching of a range of properties of the stone.
Later improvement of the suspension procedure resulted in consolidants that are much more stable and fluid. Stone treated with the particle-modified consolidant (PMC) increases dramatically in stiffness and strength. Most impressively in a sodium sulfate test, the PMC provided better protection than a commercial silicate consolidant.
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NCPTT is soliciting oral and poster presentations that focus on research and innovation in cemetery conservation and preservation for the NCPTT’s Nationwide Cemetery Preservation Summit to be held in Nashville, Tenn., October 19-21, 2009.
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This video shows how to build small drystone retaining walls from beginning to end; laying out the shape, digging the foundation, determining the wall angle, building the face, packing the back, and leveling the top.
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he main objective of this research project is to better understand the failure strength and the modes of failure of different types of mechanical anchor systems in stone masonry.
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NCPTT’s comparative research on cleaners for cemetery headstones will be featured as part of the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute’s workshop on microbial colonization of stone. The workshop will be held April 20-22, 2009 in Washington, DC.
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Visual inspection of the Chapel indicated that lateral movements, meteoric and ground water, and soluble salts are the main causes of deterioration of the Chapel’s facade and walls.
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Materials Conservator Jason Church demonstrates how to properly reset stone grave marker.
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This video documents the repair of damaged drystone walls in the popular Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park.
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It is extremely difficult to determine how much of the deterioration observed on stones is due to “acid rain” since its action is not limited to one mechanism. Rather, it results from the interaction of various mechanisms, many of which also occur in natural weathering.
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Sensitive building materials such as calcareous stone are subject to accelerated deterioration by several agents. These may be physical processes such as freeze-thaw cycles, chemical processes such as reaction with sulfur dioxide gas, or biological processes such as attack by microorganisms.
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