Whether you are blessed with a brand new house of worship or a gem on the National Register of Historic Places this manual is your guide to proper planning for regular inspection and maintenance of the structure. This easy-to-follow guide was written by an historic preservation consultant with the lay person in mind.
Everyone wants to protect and maintain their house of
worship for generations to come, but buildings don’t come with instruction
manuals. Until now. Contact us today to receive your free copy of
“Maintenance Plans for Houses of Worship.” Call 877.622.8973 or CLICK HERE to email us now.
An excerpt from the FREE guide:
Call 877.622.8973 or CLICK HERE to email us now.
Call 877.622.8973 or CLICK HERE to email us now.
An excerpt from the FREE guide:
The most important component of any plan to preserve a structure,
historic or otherwise, is maintenance.
As soon as a building is constructed or rehabilitated, the natural
process of deterioration begins.
Preservation has been defined as "the act or process of applying
measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an
historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and
stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the on-going maintenance and
repair of historic materials and features rather than extensive replacement and
new construction."[1]
Regular inspection and maintenance of systems will extend the service
life of each and will help preserve the integrity of historic building fabric.
If the building is properly maintained, deterioration may be minimized or even eliminated.
Maintenance is the most cost effective method of extending the service life of
a building system. By logical extension,
maintenance is the key to preservation. When maintenance has been deferred, and
a problem suddenly rears its ugly head, it is not uncommon for the reaction to
be swift and inappropriate. The use of
the wrong materials and methods will often cause worse damage to building
systems and irreplaceable historic building fabric.
Call 877.622.8973 or CLICK HERE to email us now.
When considered in the long
term, the cost to maintain historic structures is significantly less than the
restoration of historic systems and materials, and it creates far less
disruption to building occupants. When a property owner or manager creates a
maintenance program for their building, it is strongly recommended that they
seek the counsel of a preservation consultant, building envelope specialist and/or
experienced contractor. The maintenance program should clearly identify and
describe courses of action that are specific to the building. Every structure,
no matter how small, should have a written guide that includes:
•
Lists and schedules for
periodic inspections of each system.
These should be set-up in a ‘checklist’ format, to ensure uniformity of
procedures over time;
•
Blank elevations of the building
to be marked up during inspections and after any work takes place;
•
A full set of actual
photographs that comprehensively document the conditions of the entire
structure as well as a digital copy of each.
This album will grow over time;
•
An emergency list of
contractors who can be called upon in an emergency, especially HVAC,
electrician, plumber, and roofer;
•
Individualized procedures for
the handling of the individual systems and materials of the building; and,
•
Hard copies of completed
reports that document all work and inspections.
Include copies of estimates, contracts, warranty cards, paint colors,
mortar recipes, materials sources, and any other information that will be
needed by future stewards of the structure.
Maintenance
is the most important preservation treatment for extending the life of any
building. It will slow the natural
process of deterioration and prolong the natural service lives of the materials
of the building envelope. A written
maintenance plan will help preservation planners organize, schedule
inspections, and guide the work necessary to for a historic building. When a
property owner or manager creates a maintenance program for their building, it
is strongly recommended that they seek the counsel of a preservation consultant,
building envelope specialist and/or experienced contractor. The maintenance
program should clearly identify and describe courses of action that are
specific to the building. Every house of worship, big or small, historic or
not, should have a written maintenance guide.
When the full life cycle of a building is considered, there is no
smarter money spent than that spent on maintenance.
[1] National Park
Service, Nationwide Programmatic Agreement Toolkit for Section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, glossary of terms
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