Hello Erin!

I agree with Russ. Getting objects out of harm's way is the best plan of attack... bear in mind HOW you are going to move them, the path, the method of moving, the weather... for example, I had scheduled movers to return objects to the Carriage house of the McFaddin-Ward House after it was restored with a new roof. They were supposed to have done it this morning... Good thing we noticed rain - let alone a hurricane - and I changed the reinstall to a day without rain yesterday. Good to schedule a rain date and use an extended forecast to help plan the move.

Another token of advice is to be sure to check often the objects that have been moved or "protected." Numerous reasons for this, but the change in environment means that your good intentions to get objects away from construction and dust may backfire by not maintaining watch over things covered or shut away in a store room. Security, mold, uninformed staff who may turn a corner and injure themselves or objects by accident...

As for the HVAC itself, give the building and system time to adjust itself before reintroducing collections. Furthermore, the new system should have MULTIPLE MONITORING POINTS for temp and RH and multiple VENTS- not just one on each floor but several of each spaced out across the floor. Rooms facing south or near trees will react differently to external changes to temp and humidity, which means that the internal temp/RH may be just fine near the central control but not in other rooms. While many systems are supposed to self-monitor and adjust to different conditions, you will still need to have HOBO units spread out to monitor it. All this described an ideal situation that is costly, but in the long run preventative measures cost less than conservation and can prevent irreparable damage to your objects.

Finally, maintain communication with all vendors and members of staff so that the good work being done to one aspect of the house does not hinder progress elsewhere because of scheduling issues. 

Ware
>----- ------- Original Message ------- -----
>From: Russ Arledge <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Sent: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:17:09
>
>Hi Erin,
>
> 
>
>Pack-up all of your objects and move them off-site
>until the restoration
>project is completed!
>
> 
>
>OHS owns/manages 56 sites around Ohio;
>approximately half are sites with
>collections, and quite a few of those sites are
>historic structures,
>e.g. Adena Mansion, Harding Home, Dunbar House,
>Grant Boyhood Home, etc.
>I have found it is imperative that the objects are
>removed from the
>building(s) and stored off-site while renovation
>work is taking place as
>it is virtually impossible to keep dirt, plaster
>dust (very abrasive),
>etc from migrating on/into objects regardless of
>how well they are
>packed and protected.
>
> 
>
>Next week I am returning furniture to one of our
>managed sites, where we
>just completed paint, wallpapering and floor
>covering in several rooms.
>There was never any thought given to working around
>the objects or
>storing them on-site; we simply removed the objects
>from harm's way
>until the work was completed. One benefit to
>removing the objects is
>while they are in temporary storage (our
>Collections Storage Facility),
>I can examine each object and any
>cleaning/conservation treatment,
>exhibit prep work can be performed before the
>objects are returned to
>the site.
>
> 
>
>Hope this helps,
>
> 
>
>Russ
>
> 
>
>Russell P. Arledge
>
>Collections Facility Manager
>
>Collections, Historic Preservation & Statewide
>Outreach
>
>The Ohio Historical Society
>
>1982 Velma Avenue
>
>Columbus, Ohio 43211-2497, USA
>
>614.298.2051 // Fax: 614.298.2096
>
>e-mail: mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
>Visit our Web site: http://www.ohiohistory.org/
>
> 
>
>________________________________
>
>From: Museum discussion list
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>Behalf Of Erin Crissman
>Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 1:30 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Your experiences with
>restoration process
>
> 
>
>Hello List:
>
>Within the next 6-12 months, Historic Cherry Hill
>will be embarking on a
>large restoration project on our 1787 historic
>house.  There are three
>major areas of work: window re-build and/or repair,
>HVAC design and
>installation, plaster repair and wallpaper
>replacement. 
>
>My question for you all is in regard to the process
>and care of
>exhibited collections during that process. If
>anyone has experience they
>would like to share, I would certainly welcome it. 
>We are going to be
>making field trips to two large local historic
>sites who recently
>completed restoration, but wanted to get a message
>out further afield to
>collect as many responses as possible. Thank you! 
>
>
>-- 
>Erin Elizabeth Crissman
>Curator
>Historic Cherry Hill
>523 1/2 South Pearl St.
>Albany, NY 12202
>www.historiccherryhill.org
>[log in to unmask]
>p.518.434.4791
>f.518.434.4806
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L.W.S. Petznick, Ph.D.
Curator of Collections
McFaddin-Ward House
725 N. 3rd St
Beaumont, TX 77701
409.832.1906

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