About

Mission Statement

Against a backdrop of projects that span four decades of American conservation practice and the development of new processes for approaching work on existing buildings (as distinct from new construction), this site seeks to educate building owners and contractors about what is possible with preservation of original building fabric, providing a toolbox of preservation techniques to fit a range of building problems.

About

This site contains the accumulated experiences of conservators working together to solve problems and expand the conservation toolkit. While preservation of buildings is often seen as a construction activity, anyone wanting to preserve historic buildings holistically needs to blend craft skills, an understanding of materials, the budgeting and organizational skills of a good manager, and the critical-thinking skills so rarely promoted in modern education. This site draws on the work of many craftsmen, historians, architects, archaeologists, engineers, scientists and conservators over the last forty years to provide historical context to the development of new treatments, with the addition of a fundamental education in materials principles necessary to work on historic buildings.

Contact

This site is a labor of love that can only be added to around the daily grind of making a living. As such, we will not be able to respond directly to any inquiries, but will be happy over time to respond indirectly to topics requested by our readers. Thanks for your understanding and patience. If you would like to receive an email whenever new material is added, send us an email at info@preservationscience.com with the subject line "preservationscience.com updates"