NCPTT

NCPTT is soliciting oral and poster presentations that focus on research and innovation in cemetery conservation and preservation for the NCPTT’s Nationwide Cemetery Preservation Summit to be held in Nashville, Tenn., October 19-21, 2009.

he main objective of this research project is to better understand the failure strength and the modes of failure of different types of mechanical anchor systems in stone masonry.

NCPTT’s comparative research on cleaners for cemetery headstones will be featured as part of the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute’s workshop on microbial colonization of stone. The workshop will be held April 20-22, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Visual inspection of the Chapel indicated that lateral movements, meteoric and ground water, and soluble salts are the main causes of deterioration of the Chapel’s facade and walls.

Materials Conservator Jason Church demonstrates how to properly reset stone grave marker.

This video documents the repair of damaged drystone walls in the popular Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park.

It is extremely difficult to determine how much of the deterioration observed on stones is due to “acid rain” since its action is not limited to one mechanism. Rather, it results from the interaction of various mechanisms, many of which also occur in natural weathering.

This video shows how to build small drystone retaining walls from beginning to end; laying out the shape, digging the foundation, determining the wall angle, building the face, packing the back, and leveling the top.

Sensitive building materials such as calcareous stone are subject to accelerated deterioration by several agents. These may be physical processes such as freeze-thaw cycles, chemical processes such as reaction with sulfur dioxide gas, or biological processes such as attack by microorganisms.

The Ellsworth Rock Gardens were determined eligible for the National Register in 1998, as an extraordinary and unique American art environment and outstanding example of mid-twentieth century vernacular landscape architecture.

The video is a primary training resource, providing graphic instruction on how to repair, rebuild and relocate stone walls and rock fences.

Molly McGath, NCPTT summer intern, is studying interactions between air pollution and limestone treated with commonly used chemical stone strengtheners.

NCPTT will host four interns in its materials research program this summer: Molly McGath, Catherine Arseneaux, Candida D’Avanzo, and Paige Isaacs.

$695 per participant. Topics Will Include: Condition Assessments, Conservation Ethics, Protection, Cleaning, Stone Loss Repairs, Bases and Resetting, Adhesion & Reinforced Repair, Consolidation.

2006 NCPTT Grant to Harvard University, “Development of a Rapid Indicator of Biodeterioration of Historic Stone.” Biodeterioration plays an important role in the degradation of stone in historic buildings, monuments, and archeological sites.

A new Perkin Elmer Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectrometric microscope was recently installed in the NCPTT research labs.

Development of a Rapid Indicator of Biodeterioration of Historic Stone. Ralph Mitchell, principal investigator, and Christopher J. McNamara, of Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences worked to identify microbial species for possible use as a microbiological indicator for identification of stone deterioration.

Materials Conservator Jason Church demonstrates how to properly reset stone grave marker.

Materials Conservator Jason Church demonstrates how to properly clean a stone grave marker.

NCPTT will broadcast its first telnet course, “Essentials in Cemetery Monument Care,” on Jan. 30, 2007 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST.