PAVILION VI

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REPAIR AND RESTORATION

APPROACH TO RESTORATION WORK

The installation of new utility systems has often been the most damaging renovation activity in historic buildings, partly because overly sophisticated systems designed to provide unnecessarily high levels of comfort for the occupants were installed. Such systems often require large amounts of space for equipment in the building and cause the destruction of much original building fabric in order to conceal piping and ductwork. Although the exposed pipes and radiators of the existing circulating hot water system in Pavilion VI are not visually compatible with the historic character of the building, very little historic fabric -- only that from a few small-diameter holes -- was removed when the system was installed.

The restoration of a significant historic building such as Pavilion VI requires compromises. In almost all cases, the introduction of a new heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system will have some visual effect on the historic interiors and will cause destruction of some historic building fabric. In order to minimize these effects, new systems for significant historic buildings should be designed to provide acceptable comfort levels but should not be expected to provide the highest levels of heating and air conditioning that would be found in an entirely new structure. New utility systems should be designed by engineers who specialize in the insertion of modern systems in historic buildings. This design work should be directed by restoration architects to ensure that the integrity of the building is protected through the selection of the least intrusive systems. Original Jefferson-era construction, even that which is normally concealed such as the sound-proofing in the floor construction, should not be disturbed or removed for the installation of mechanical systems which have a life expectancy of little more than a generation. The systems must be skillfully designed so that they provide adequate levels of comfort while meeting these building conservation requirements.

Concern for the preservation of all original building fabric should be extended to other sections of the building such as windows, doors and hardware, plaster walls and ceilings, and floorboards. Where windows need to be rehung in order to function properly, all original components should be preserved and stabilized, using consolidants where required. Where elements such as window stops are missing, exact replicas of the originals are to be installed. Never should original stops be replaced with new elements for cosmetic reasons or for the convenience of the construction crew. Similar care should be used when removing original doors. In many cases, the hinges are still attached with original handmade screws. If these screws must be removed, they should be carefully labeled and stored so that they can be returned to the same holes when the door is rehung. In the same manner, damaged original plaster should be patched. No entire wall or ceiling surfaces should be removed because it may be easier for workers to provide entirely new surfaces. Original wood trim should not be disturbed or removed. Where damage has occurred, the elements should be stabilized and repaired in situ.

Pavilion VI retains, like many of the other pavilions, many elements of the original Jefferson-period construction and significant later nineteenth-and early twentieth century changes and additions. These elements must be carefully preserved during the restoration work.

EXTERIOR

ROOF

In the same manner, the rear addition should be covered with a replica of its first roofing, also using terne-coated stainless steel. However, this roof should consist of 14 x 20 inch pans, rather than the smaller pans used by Jefferson. It should be installed in a standing seam pattern, which is typical of late nineteenth-century roofing technology.

MASONRY WALLS

1. Clean exterior brick walls using a mildly acidic masonry cleaner.
2. Remove all deteriorated mortar and recently installed Portland cement pointing and replace with lime-rich mortar matching original in color, texture, density and tooling. After repointing, settlement cracks should be monitored to determine if movement has been arrested.
3. Remove efflorescence and other staining from brickwork using mild chemical cleaning agents that will not damage the masonry.
4. Replace badly spalled bricks.
5. Correct exterior drainage to help prevent rising damp.
6. Repair roof gutters and leaders to prevent leaks into exterior brickwork.
7. Remove surface mounted telephone cables and electrical conduit from brick walls. Provide underground telephone service.

WINDOWS

1. Remove all loose and flaking paint using hand-scraping techniques.
2. Repair deteriorated wood using epoxy consolidants and fillers.
3. Replace deteriorated putty and repaint sash.
4. Rehang all sash for proper operation and to reduce excessive air penetration.

INTERIORS

Generally, the building should continue to be used as it has been recently, with the more formal entertaining spaces and the kitchen on the first floor, family bedrooms and a study of the second floor, and informal living spaces and guest bedrooms in the basement.

In Pavilion VI, the construction of the rear wing has made the insertion of bathrooms on all floors possible without disturbing the original building. Nevertheless, the issue of how to deal with bathrooms, as well as kitchens, throughout the Academical Village is one that deserves considerable attention. As a minimum, bathrooms and kitchens should be located in the rear extension so that the original building is spared the mutilation caused by the cycles of installation, removal, and replacement of plumbing that occur every few decades. Damage to the original building from accidental leaks also will be avoided if plumbing is confined to the rear wing.

BASEMENT

1. If archaeological investigations provide evidence of an original brick floor, replace concrete with brick set in a mixture of sand and clay in original pattern in original section of house.
2. Remove existing exposed heating pipes and radiators throughout basement.
3. Remove existing exposed electrical conduit throughout basement.
4. Repair deteriorated window and door trim.
5. Renovate bathroom.

FIRST FLOOR

1. Replace deteriorated and moisture-damaged plaster.
2. Rake out settlement cracks and replaster.
3. Repair deteriorated woodwork, including cornices.
4. Remove disused electrical junction boxes in ceilings.
5. Remove existing exposed heating pipes and radiators.
6. Remove existing exposed electrical wiring and conduit.
7. Renovate kitchen and pantry.
8. Renovate lavatory.
9. Remove built-in bookshelves and replace missing woodwork.

SECOND FLOOR

1. Replace deteriorated and moisture-damaged plaster.
2. Rake out settlement cracks and plaster.
3. Repair deteriorated woodwork, including cornices.
4. Remove disused electrical junction boxes in ceilings.
5. Remove existing exposed heating pipes and radiators.
6. Remove window-mounted air conditioners.
7. Renovate bathrooms.
8. Clean and conserve frescoes in Room 205 (see Appendix).

UTILITY SYSTEMS

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1. Replace entire electrical distribution system.
2. Remove existing lighting fixtures and install fixtures appropriate to historical quality of building.

HVAC SYSTEM

1. Remove existing HVAC system, including pipes and radiators.
2. Investigate installation of new forced air HVAC system to provide heating and air conditioning. Mechanical equipment required for the new system should be located in the mechanical areas beneath the student rooms and in the attic of Pavilion VI.
3. In order to provide air conditioning, the new HVAC system should be connected to the university's central chilled water system when it is constructed.

PLUMBING SYSTEM

1. Replace entire existing plumbing system as part of the construction work for the new bathrooms and kitchen.

FIRE DETECTION / SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS

1. Install fire detection system throughout building.
2. Connect fire detection system to university's central reporting facility.
3. Investigate the installation of fire suppression system (sprinklers) in the basement and attic. Because of the damage that would be caused by the installation of a sprinkler system throughout the first and second floors, it is recommended that those floors not be sprinkled.

APPENDIX

ROOM 205

WALL PAINTING CONSERVATION REPORT: ORIGINAL TECHNIQUE AND PRESENT STATE OF PRESERVATION

On October 7, 1989, the wall and ceiling paintings were inspected by Paul M. Schwartzbaum, who completed the following report. He found that the 600 to 700 square foot area of wall paintings were executed in true buon fresco technique; they were painted according to the Italian Renaissance technique by which the artist used no binder with the pigments, but mixed them only with water (or lime water) and applied them to a fresh lime plaster. A chemical reaction occurred when the lime putty (slaked lime or calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) came into contact with air containing carbon dioxide (CO2). This reaction resulted in the conversion of the lime putty into calcium carbonate (CaCO3). As a result of this reaction, the pigments were trapped, or fixed, in the hard, insoluble network of crystals.

This technique, which probably originated in Hellenistic times, ensures a highly resistant paint surface. When only inorganic (mineral) pigments are used, as appears to be the case here, the result is a pigmented surface that is also highly resistant to the deleterious effect of light.

STRATIGRAPHY

Walls

1. Brick exterior walls and interior chimney mass; wood stud interior walls.
2. Expanded metal lath attached with galvanized steel nails.
3. Approximately one cm. of fairly coarse lime and sand intonaco (finishing coat or render).
4. Very thin pigment layers applied with water, with no evidence of any organic binder such as glue, casein, gum, or egg.
5. Greasy surface dirt.

Ceilings

1. Compressed fiber board nailed to wood joists.
2. Same as walls.
3. Same as walls.
4. Same as walls.
5. Same as walls.

The plaster, which in this case appears to be only a single layer, was applied in the traditional Italian form of giornate . Since the term à fresco means that the painting is executed on "fresh" render, plaster is applied only across an area that can be completed by the artist in one painting session, usually one day. Hence the term giornate, or day's work, for such a segment of work. Segments are applied in succession and must overlap to produce the whole composition. Unless very carefully smoothed in an effort to disguise them, the joints are usually visible, especially when examined with a raking light that accentuates surface irregularities. The joints in the Pavilion VI frescoes are quite apparent and can be counted to determine the amount of time the original artists needed to paint the composition. Twenty work days are discernable. It appears that the ceiling took five days, the walls fourteen days, and the donor portrait one day.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE TECHNIQUE

The plaster is very coarse and grainy, because the sand was not sufficiently sieved. This condition, plus the fact that the paint was applied with too much water, gives the paintings a cartoon or comic book appearance. Also, the artists drew the outlines first in black pigments and then colored in the areas, which reinforces this impression. The artists often left large gray areas unpainted to serve as the ground or background. Occasionally a few white highlights have been superimposed on these areas. An example of this is the scene to the left of the portrait. Although these highlights might be mistaken for salt accumulations, they are definitely painted.

A more common fresco technique employs a very fine, smooth, and even layer of intonacino (fine finishing plaster), which fills in the irregularities of the render and provides a more luminous substrate on which to paint. Each pigment is mixed in the right proportions into a thicker and slightly more "pasty" paint. A more experienced fresco painter would have added some lime to the brighter colors to brighten the palette. In addition, the irregularities of the fresco surfaces trap airborne particles of dirt and soot, resulting in the formation of the gray layer that covers the frescoes and increases the dingy appearance caused by the gray preparatory render.

The frescoes are securely attached to the lath, which is in turn firmly secured to the brick masonry. There are fewer than twenty obvious instances of detachment; they occur where the galvanized steel nails hold the metal lath in place. Where the galvanized coating has failed, the nails have corroded. The accumulated corrosion has exerted pressure on the plaster above and around the nails. This condition is most visible in the ceiling and in the ceiling-cornice intersections. Because of the response to thermal variation, some separation through the plaster joints has developed in the corners.

PORTRAIT

WOODWORK

CLEANING TESTS

Test cleanings were also conducted on the architectural woodwork. It appears that a very light cleaning with an extremely dilute solution of ammonium carbonate in water can be safely applied. This process will be sufficient to recreate the original polychromatic harmony between the cleaned frescoes and their architectural frames.

OTHER ISSUES

SENSITIVITY TO LIGHT

HUMIDITY

RECOMMENDED TREATMENT

WALL AND CEILING FRESCOES

1. The fresco surfaces should be cleaned with a "Wishab" sponge.
2. Any small areas of loose plaster should be reattached with an appropriate adhesive, probably a 15% solution of Rhoplex AC34 acrylic in water.
3. Corroded galvanized steel nails should be removed.
4. Areas of loss should be filled with lime and sand, similar to the original.
5. Areas of lost paint should be impainted with reversible, light-resistant water colors of the highest quality.

Portrait

1. Same as above.
2. Same as above
3. Areas containing old repairs should be removed mechanically.
4. Same as above.
5. Areas of lost paint should be reconstructed using a modified tratteggio method, a system used in Rome to reconstruct a loss using a series of small vertical lines that are not visible to the casual viewer but can be detected by interested professionals.

Woodwork

1. Woodwork should be cleaned with a very dilute (less than 2%) ammonia-based solution.
2. Areas of lost paint should be inpainted with a light-resistant, acrylic-based paint, such as Bocour or Magna Color.
3. If necessary, the surface should be waxed.

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