If you must caulk, remember latex caulk is bad. Latex and mold love each other like Romeo and Juliet, with equally tragic consequences.
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anna Rosenbluth
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2013 4:23 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Sealing an Historic House Museum
Hi All,
I work at an historic home from the 1920s. The house is owned by the city and many of our repairs must go through city maintenance. We recently took a tour with the heads of maintenance to discuss some issues we have with the structure of the home, mainly the many gaps under doors and windows that let in water, dirt, and pests. While trying to discuss how the gaps could be filled we were asked if we could just seal them up using paint (exterior house paint which is used on the trim of the house) or caulk.
The doors and windows are never opened, so it would not effect how we use them. Also, the house is climate controlled, so I do not think we would be risking the "breathability" of the home. That said, I am no expert. I would like to get some feed back so I can provide maintenance with specific reasons why this method would not be good (or perhaps why it would be...)
Here are my concerns:
1. What materials would be best? Is Caulk stable/inert? Is there a product out there that could fill gaps/seal the house that is stable/archival? What about their suggestion of painting them shut from the outside using the house paint that is already on the house (and they happen to be planning to paint this month)?
2. Would sealing things shut cause issues with the breathability of the house? The house has an HVAC system.
3. How reversible would caulk really be? I know we could score it with a knife to break the seal, but would we be able to actually remove the caulk?
Any advice on how we could seal these gaps would be appreciated. We would like to avoid actually having to rebuild things or replace original features of the house. Hiring a carpenter to do large repairs is only in our budget for major issues like rotted windowsills or thresholds.
I would love to hear what other historic homes have done to deal with the issue of sealing gaps, so we can better guide our maintenance team in their repairs.
Thank you in advance for your advice.
-Anna Rosenbluth
Collections Specialist
Campbell Historical Museum and Ainsley House
=========================================================
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).
This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the named individual. If you are not the named individual you are strictly prohibited from disseminating, distributing, or copying this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. The sender expressly reserves all privileges and confidentiality which might otherwise be waived as a result of an erroneous or misdirected transmission. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version. No employee or agent is authorized to conclude any binding agreement on behalf of Scott & White Healthcare or any affiliated entity with another party by email without express written confirmation by the CEO or the Vice President of Supply Chain Services. Scott & White Healthcare www.sw.org
=========================================================
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).
|
