A note of thanks to David Harvey from the Sherman County,
Oregon museum folks! Lots to think about!
Sherry Kaseberg
Museum Coordinator


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Harvey" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 8:45 PM
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Vinyl Flooring in Storage


> Sherry,
>
> Well, first, anything will probably be better than raw plywood in a
> collections storage area.
>
> In terms of the conservation concerns. You need to look at both the
> floor tile material and the proposed glue. Just having someone
> recommend a tile brand is next to useless because manufacturers change
> their formulations all the time, there can be significant differences
> from lot to lot, or in different color or pattern compositions.
> Conservators often assess materials intended for collections storage
> or exhibitions using the qualitative Oddy test, in which a small
> sample of the material is placed in a clean test tube with a measured
> amount of deionized water, cotton wool, a clean silver coupon id
> suspended from the stopper, and then it is placed in a lab oven and
> heated to simulate accelerated aging for weeks. If the coupon has any
> visible tarnish or surface effects at the end of the test then the
> material is indicating a negative for use near collections.
>
> To get a faster assessment (in a matter of days) I once had to submit
> a material to a commercial lab for a mass spec gas chromatograph
> headspace analysis. In this test a measured sample of the material is
> placed into the machine and incinerated - the gaseous volatiles are
> analysed and this can tell you if organic acids and sulphur compounds
> are elementally present and in specific concentrations. In the case ot
> my material we had positives for both. This test is expensive and it
> is best suited for only looking at a single sample or two, not a
> multitude that can be easily done by the Oddy test as previously
> described.
>
> The glues can be a differnet issue - often by exmaining the MSDS
> (material safety data sheets) for such products a conservator can
> glean insight into potential problems, and also contacting the
> manufacturer can sometimes be helpful. Usually any adhesive that is
> low - voc (volatile organic compounds) and "green" is usually better
> then one full of organic solvents.
>
> So, if you have access to a conservator to consult with you on this,
> you can go a long way towards at least avoiding the worst flooring
> products out there. But as I said at the start, you can't get much
> worse than the raw plywood that you already have.
>
> Cheers!
> Dave
>
> David Harvey
> Conservator
> Los Angeles, CA
>
>
> On 1/15/08, Sherry Kaseberg <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Interested in advice and/or specifications for vinyl flooring for use in
>> artifact storage rooms. Present flooring is plywood, unpainted.
>>
>> Sherry Kaseberg
>> Museum Coordinator
>> Sherman County Historical Museum
>> Moro, Oregon
>> www.shermanmuseum.org
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