Restoration and Conservation of Historic Concrete Buildings & Structures

Although a growing number of concrete buildings are listed as monuments, conservation specialists have still to become acquainted with the history and properties of historic concrete. Even though the structural history is frequently addressed, only little is known about the composition and surface finish of historic concrete. For the conservation of historic concrete buildings, generally ordinary repair techniques, which have been developed for modern concrete, are applied. From a technical point of view, their performance is not always satisfactory, as the properties of historic concrete can deviate from modern concrete. From a conservation point of view, additional threats exist, because requirements such as respecting the historic material and heritage values are commonly not considered. An uncritical application of repair approaches and a lack of knowledge on historic concrete induce the risk of loss of historic evidence and historic material. Therefore, the aim of this CPD is to discuss a real concrete conservation approach, which takes into account the specific properties and the heritage values of historic concrete.

The presentation, ‘Restoration and Conservation of Historic Concrete Buildings and Structures’ will cover the latest British Standard – BS EN 1504 – Products and Systems for the Protection and Repair of Concrete Structures (which it is now mandatory to use on all contracts where public money is being spent!), detail what an investigation and condition survey should consist of and what the advantages are of carrying one out prior to deciding on the repair methodology, touch on the pro’s and con’s of various methods of concrete repairs, explain what corrosion prevention is and where it can be used and go through some case studies/projects that CRL have carried out.

 

The Presentations