I remember researching this back in the 1990's when pile driving was
going on in the construction of the Bruton Heights Education Center at
Colonial Williamsburg. I believe that the project manager had
commissioned a soil study and they asked the conservation department
for vibration standards. In looking into this, the only published
studies had been done on works of fine art (paintings) in transit, in
order to assess crate design.

The issue with pile driving is that the vibration will either be
dampened or amplified by the soil and bedrock that it travels through
as well as the building medium, and finally the storage or exhibit
cases that house the collections.

During the pile driving we had one building in particular, that was at
least a mile away, where we had objects dancing on shelves - while the
heart of the collections were unaffected - and they were much closer
to the construction site.

The construction and the vibration is going to happen - I can assure
you of that. So you need to spend your time and resources is assessing
the risk to your collections.

I would recommend walking through your collections, identifying the
most sensitive medai at risk (glass, ceramics, etc.), and then
assessing their current storage or exhibit situation and taking action
to secure them while the consturction is going on. Sometimes, it is
just a matter of quake wax, other times you may have to remove
objects, leash them, or redesign their mounts (armatures attached to
wall can act like tuning forks on occaision).

If you have a staff conservator then get them invovled in a big way.
If not, then consider bringing in a contract conservator who has
experience in this sort of risk assessment, and who can submit a
report.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California

=========================================================
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).