General

The American Heritage Dictionary of Science

Barnhart, Robert K. New York: Barnhart Books, 1986.

Testing...

Materials Handbook

Brady, George S. and Henry R. Clauser. 1929. 13th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991.

will review later

The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture

Fleming, John, Hugh Honour, and Nikolaus Pevsner. Baltimore: Penguin Books Inc., 1967.

will review later

The Builder's Dictionary

Hawksmoor, Nicholas, John James, and James Gibbs. 1733. Reprint, Washington: The Association for Preservation Technology, 1981.

will review later

Building Early America: Contributions toward the History of a Great Industry

Peterson, Charles E., ed. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1976.

Written by one of the handful of people that founded architectural conservation in the US. Paul Buchanan's chapter is a must read if you want to work on 18th century US architecture.

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

Tufte, Edward. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press, 1983.

Envisioning Information

Tufte, Edward. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press, 1990.

Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative

Tufte, Edward. Cheshire, Connecticut: Graphics Press, 1997.

Tufte's books discuss how to clearly convey complex information to an audience of varying sophistication.

The Penguin Dictionary of Science

Uvarov, E.B. and Alan Isaacs. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1993.

more later...

Lime

Chemistry and Technology of Lime and Limestone

Boynton, R.S. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1980.

The Bible. If you are interested in lime and the unusual ways in which it behaves and can be manipulated, this is the book to buy.

Building with Lime

Holmes, Stafford and Michael Wingate. London, England: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1997.

Interesting description of real world attempts to work with local limes of varying qualities and useful small-scale kiln construction information.

Lime and Limestone: Chemistry and Technology, Production and Uses.

Oates, J.A.H. New York: Wiley-VCH, 1998.

No Boynton, but another useful book on lime chemistry.

Masonry

Practical Building Conservation: Brick, Terracota & Earth

Ashurst, John and Nicola. New York: Halsted Press, 1988.

Part of a great series with basic principles and sound advice.

Brickwork: History, Technology and Practice. Volumes 1 and 2.

Lynch, Gerard. London, England: Donhead Publishing Ltd., 1994.

Fascinating and informative historic grounding in masonry technology.

The Forgotten Art of Building a Good Fireplace

Orton, Vrest. 2nd ed. Dublin, New Hampshire: Yankee Books, 1987.

Based on Count Rumsford's studies; How to rebuild or repair a well-functioning flue.

Operative Masonry

Shaw, Edward. 1832. Reprint, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI.

All the masonry math you could ever need. Guidance on construction of through-bonded walls and those bonded around rubble fill.

The Weathering of Natural Building Stones

Schaffer, R.J. 1932. Reprint, Shaftesbury, Dorset, Great Britain: Donhead Publishing Ltd, 2004.

Report of the Building Research Institute. Possibly the finest masonry study series of all time covering environmental degradation of stone and masonry. The 1932 version is best. The more recent versions spend much time renouncing the 1970s version.

Testing Sieves and their Uses

Cleveland, Ohio: 1963, The W.S. Tyler Company.

Useful if you want to understand underlying ASTM guidelines.

Porous Building Materials: Materials Science for Architectural Conservation

Torraca, Giorgio. Rome, Italy: ICCROM, 1988.

Mind-expanding exploration of moisture in buildings.

Metals

Practical Building Conservation: Metals.

Ashurst, John and Nicola. New York: Halsted Press, 1988.

A good foundation to understand underlying corrosion chemistry, current treatments, and to point the way to improved treatments

The Colouring, Bronzing and Patination of Metals.

Hughes, Richard and Michael Rowe. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1991.

The title says it all. If you have the patience, you'll find 15 ways to achieve almost any finish with most alloys.

Paints & Finishes

Painting Materials

Gettens, Rutherford and George Stout. New York: Dover Publications, 1966.

The starting point for learning about the history of paint and finish materials and their components.

Practical Graining and Marbling

Hasluck, Paul N. New York: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1911.

Will review later

Plaster & Stucco

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Wood

Practical Building Conservation: Wood, Glass, & Resins and Technical Bibliography

Ashurst, John and Nicola. . Aldershot, Hants, England: Gower Technical Press Ltd., 1989.

Wood conservation basics.

Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material.

Forest Products Laboratory. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, 1987.

An essential reference.

Epoxy

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Miscellaneous

The New Science of Strong Materials

Gordon, J.E. 1968. Reprint, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1976.

An insight into the mind of 1960s engineers.

Dampness in Buildings

Gratwick. R.T. New York: Halsted Press, 1974.

Exhaustive review of moisture in buildings, but not infallible in its conclusions.

The Care of Old Buildings Today

Insall, Donald. 3rd ed. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1975

Probably the best early career book for anyone wanting to work with old buildings.

Corrosion of Building Materials

Knofel, Dietbert. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1978.

MOVE TO METAL. Brilliant exploration of corrosion processes (mostly metal)

The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques

Mayer, Ralph. New York: Viking Press, 1970.

Nobody should be without this book if they plan a hands-on life with art or buildings.

Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook

Rice, Prudence M. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Introduction to archaeological methods and identification of source clays and aggregates.