Conserving Buildings: Guide to Techniques and Materials, Revised Edition

By Martin E. Weaver

Book Overview

The updated paperback edition of Weaver's landmark work--the essential manual on materials and procedures for restoring buildings Conserving Buildings, Revised Edition, is the ideal resource for anyone involved in the maintenance, restoration, or rehabilitation of historic buildings. The book combines practical information on the characteristics, composition, and deterioration of building materials with detailed coverage of state-of-the-art conservation methods, fully updated in this edition with current developments in research and practice. The book contains: * Systematic treatment of all major building materials--stone, ceramics, masonry, cement-based materials, metal, glass, synthetic resins, and polymers * Valuable instruction on the restoration and renewal of foundations and footings, slate roofing systems, materials, and other structural details * Easy-to-follow procedures for conducting structural building surveys * Over 150 photographs and line drawings, plus case studies from Columbia University's acclaimed Center for Preservation Research * Newly expanded references, with accessible sources of further information Whether used as a hands-on sourcebook or a technical desktop reference, Conserving Buildings, Revised Edition, is the manual of choice for architects, engineers, preservation professionals, historic building owners, and students.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471509450
• ISBN13: 9780471509455
• Release Date: November 1992
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 0.8" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

a necessary guide

Martin Weaver was a professor of mine and his reputation in the field of historic preservation/conservation is/was (he died a few years ago) well known among those of us in the profession. The book is an excellent resource, very detailed and yet easy to read, and you can be assured of its accuracy as it's written by a true, hands-on conservator using his own experiences to illustrate the methods he talks about.

Conserving Buildings

This book tells you how best to conserve either historic buildings or modern buildings. It shows how insects may be a problem, how pollution can affect buildings, and then goes on to explain how best to approach various restoration issues. The book covers plaster and concrete, architectural metals, and brickwork, to name a few. In a way it is like what you might hear on This Old House or some other renovation television program. There may be a limited target audience for a book like this, but having it on the bookshelf of the Facilities Manager may be a wise investment.

Complete technical reference

I bought this to learn more about building materials--wood, stone, concrete, metals--and was not disappointed. Each chapter begins with a summary that's authoritative but friendly. And interesting. You'll learn, for example, that the trick to making a hydraulic cement is to add some siliceous mineral to the limestone before firing in a kiln. The Romans used volcanic rock; modern Portland cement producers find it in certain clays. You'll realize none of these materials can stand up to water, which eventually returns them to their more chemically stable states, changing concrete into limestone, smelted metals back to ores (rust), and turning wood into food for other living things.What follows the introductory discussion is probably too technical for non-professionals--references to ASTM standards, specifications for water jet delivery in gallons per minute and PSI when cleaning stone, and tips for making your own epoxy using bulk chemicals, complete with Dow Chemical part numbers.I was a little disappointed by the presentation--B/W photos by the author and very basic drawings--but I suppose that's all that's needed for a book like this.

If only I had opened this book before the exam.

A wonderful reference tool for the professional conservitor, or even the "Matha Stewart" home fixer-uper.