| Summer
2002
Wood
The foundation of historic preservation
By: Susan Steeves
Wood
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Wood science professor
Dan Cassens (top)puts his expertise to work restoring
this century-old barn. (Photo by Tom Campbell)
The haymow of this former dairy barn is now part of Indiana's Center
for Agricultural Science & Heritage. (Photo courtesy Center for Agricultural
Science & Heritage) |
Preserving wood is a bit like having good
health: It's a matter of genetics, luck and proper care.
Whether the wood is in a piece of furniture or part of a
house or barn, a whole host of factors determine whether
it can be preserved, rehabilitated, restored or reconstructed.
"Whether something is worth restoring is
a judgment call," says Mark Kutney, conservator of architectural
materials for Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia. "Before
we do anything, we gather as much information as we can about
a piece. In the case of furniture, we examine the piece:
How rare is it? What's it made of? Is it original? What is
the value? Is the value monetary, sentimental or historical?"
In addition, experts must decide what the
wood will be used for, no matter whether it's for furniture
or a building. If it will be sat on, lived in or used for
tours, the structural soundness is much more important than
if it's just a static museum exhibit.
Dan Cassens and Michael Hunt each became
immersed in converting old buildings into facilities. In
Cassens' case, it's a towering barn built on a Tippecanoe
County farm in 1900, while Hunt's is a 160-year-old Greek
Revival house in downtown Lafayette, Ind.
Although both Cassens and Hunt are wood experts
and Purdue wood science professors, the projects have given
them new experiences in dealing with old wood. Cassens found
that his barn, which was built on the original Morehouse
Farm on what is now Morehouse Road, was mainly constructed
of nailed 2x6-inch boards. This is unlike most such structures
built around that time or before. Farm buildings from that
era usually had huge, 6x6-inch, 8x8-inch or 12x12-inch timbers
that were pegged together, as well as special wood-to-wood
carved joints.
"It was probably a new idea that someone
had around that time and they decided to experiment," says
Cassens of the barn's construction, which is much more like
current building techniques. With its high-pitched gabled
roof, the barn also has some of the old-style timbers with
carved slots, or mortises, into which the shaped end, or
tenon, of another timber fits. Cassens speculates that these
were salvaged from another old barn and used to shore up
the structure 40 or 50 years ago.
Cassens is restoring the barn so that the
exterior looks much as it did originally. The interior will
be adapted for his furniture rehabilitation and restoration
work.
His colleague Hunt admits that when he started
his project, the Hart-Beasley House on Fifth Street, it was "literally
and figuratively on its last legs; it was a shambles." His
goal was preservation and rehabilitation of the abode.
"I had to figure out how to treat and repaint
the wood; the house is a research project," Hunt says. "I've
done things using materials and techniques on the house that
weren't necessarily state of the art. But from networking,
I learned what would work."
The house has taught him much; even though
it's essentially finished, he says he still has unanswered
questions about preservation.
Wood
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