Understanding Building Preservation

Building Preservation Research

Being a member of the industry’s trade association, the PCA, means we get access to the top minds in the preservation world. 

Currently, one of the top minds in the industry is Dr Paula Lopez. Having spoken to her at length I can confirm she is a mathematical wizard, and for two years she has been working with UCL IEDE – Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering KTP – on a knowledge transfer partnership.

Assessment Protocols

The partnership has been an opportunity for scientists to get together and study moisture within buildings. The outcome was to develop robust assessment protocols and to design a tool that can diagnose the problem. 

Paula has now developed the tool, and she is continuing to adapt and improve it working with other contributors.

Paula is now employed by the PCA to continue her studies and research. She has now written various papers on damp issues. Within the industry, there has been a distinct lack of well-written and researched articles on effects and remedies.

Building Preservation

Published Research

A problem encountered by many preservation surveyors is the presence of various “salts” in buildings. However, it is not always possible to determine the types of salts present and what solutions are the best to remedy the issue.

Dr Paula Lopez has now released three chapters of these “salt” papers to the industry, allowing surveyors to build on their limited knowledge in this area with the affirmation that these papers have been well-researched and are factual.  

Paper 1 – Types and Sources of Salts

Salts in porous materials: what are they and why are they bad? Where are these salts coming from? How do the salts interact with the environment?

Paper 2 – Salts Distribution in Walls and Decay of Building Materials

How do the salts interact with the porous materials?

Types of damage and deterioration patterns

Paper 3 – Salt Analysis: Diagnosis, Assessment and Treatments

This latest paper summarises the analyses from several laboratories and on-site tests of salt damage and the evaluation of treatments.

Dean has read over these papers to update his knowledge on the topic. You can always be assured that we are doing everything we can to ensure we have the latest and most up-to-date knowledge in the industry.

building preservation

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  1. digitalbeans on 26 August 2022 at 13:43

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