Hi Aliya, Thirteen years ago I worked as an architectural conservator on the restoration of the historic Gamble House in Pasadena. We worked with the management and staff of the Gamble House with an Historic Site protection plan for the contractors and the staff. The restoration was on the exterior of the structure, including a new roof, and not on the interior. The house continued daily tours during the project with some disruptions where the main entrance or areas of the building had to be roped off for safety. It worked well but required a lot of planning and coordination. If you are doing interior restoration work while tours are going on then that can be much more difficult, because you will not only have physical barriers and traffic by the contractors, but things like loud noise, dust, chemical fumes from paint, adhesives, and cleaning products, but also a lot of dust at times. So you have to balance your desire for tours for the safety and comfort of the public. So I think you really think this through in detail with ALL parties involved. You don't want to slow up the contractors and you don't want to put the public in a situation where they can't hear or are bothered by the ongoing construction. Perhaps you can identify days when the activity inside the house is non-existent or light or in other areas away from the tours, and also the days when activity will be heavy, loud, and messy. The contractors will have a punch-list of their schedule or activities, which is usually reviewed in a walk-through with the architects and engineers every week. A member of your staff should be on those walk-through's and have a copy of the weekly punch list for your planning. On busy construction days perhaps you can do an exterior tour on the grounds around the house. You interpreters should also explain why the restoration is important and what is going on. The public loves to hear about what is being done to preserve history. A good friend and former colleague of mine is the Historic Preservation Coordinator with the City of Annapolis and we both worked at Colonial Williamsburg many years ago. She can really help you on many of these issues. I am happy to send you her contact information if you would like it. For visitors who are disabled or who have mobility issues, you have to make those limitations highlighted on your website , literature, and especially at the point of purchase for the tours. You have to have it in large font and not small. You really want to make people aware before they arrive, if possible. You have to train your staff that it is unacceptable to allow anyone who many pose a risk on the tours to not be allowed inside. And maybe this is where you could offer an exterior tour. Even if they sign a waiver, if an accident happens or they have a bad experience, it will not end well. Be polite but very firm on this. Cheers! Dave David Harvey Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant Los Angeles CA USA www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com On Tue, Nov 28, 2017 at 8:43 AM, Aliya Reich <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Dear all, > > I work for a small nonprofit that caretakes a number of historic > buildings, and I would love to know if anyone has advice or ideas about the > following situation, as we are struggling with finding the right balance. > > My nonprofit has recently begun a restoration project on a historic house > under our auspices. It is an active construction site right now, as this is > an extensive, multi-year project. There are tripping hazards, lots of dust, > and narrow stairs that in some cases do not have handrails. It is a > potentially perilous (but not actively dangerous) site. > > We will be offering monthly hard hat tours of this site for the public, in > addition to special group tours. For people to come inside the house, they > are required to wear hard hats and closed-toed shoes, as well as sign a > waiver. This waiver was written collaboratively between my nonprofit, the > lead construction company, and respective legal departments. In addition, > we send out emails to the groups or individuals ahead of time restating > these requirements and also mentioning that the site may be difficult to > navigate for anyone with limited mobility. We also repeat this at the very > beginning of every tour, before we enter the house. In addition, inside the > house, we have chairs available and at least one staff member onsite in the > event that someone needs to take a break, begins feeling sick, or feels > unable to navigate part of the tour. > > The challenge is this: we have had a few experiences so far where people > with mobility issues have decided to take the tour (even knowing the risks > and disclaimers), and there have been some near-misses and almost-incidents. > > My question is, how do your organizations balance being friendly, > inviting, and welcoming with keeping visitors and guests safe? Do you ever > step in and deny someone from being able to participate on a tour? Do you > communicate the risks and then simply trust a visitor’s judgment about > his/her own abilities? > > I would be grateful for your responses and feedback. Thank you very much! > > Sincerely, > > Aliya Reich > > Public Programs Coordinator > > Historic Annapolis > > > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).