Traditional and Non-traditional Wood Repairs

Teleconference via Zoom
Thursday, June 24, 2021
5:00 - 6:00 PM (EST)

What do we mean when we speak about traditional versus non-traditional repairs for wood? Can traditional repairs include materials and methods other than carpentry and wood? Are non-traditional repairs solely meant to encompass the use of modern technologies and materials?

Doug Evans will talk about traditional repairs for wood as they are understood in the 2017 ICOMOS Principles for the Conservation of Wooden Built Heritage. This will look at the idea of authenticity of repairs; what options the repair team (carpenter, engineer, archaeologist and architect) have in their traditional repair toolbox; and how to procure repair work for wooden structures including surveying, specifying, costing and contracting.

Doug Evans is a heritage conservation consultant, trained as an architect, and with over 40 years’ experience in the construction industry including 37 years specialist professional experience in the conservation, repair and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and ancient monuments. He gained his post-graduate degree in Building Conservation at the Architectural Association in London, England.

Doug is an expert member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and is founder and Chair of the ICOMOS-UK Wood Committee and the ICOMOS Canada Wood Committee. Doug was a Trustee of ICOMOS-UK, and was Treasurer and Vice-President of the ICOMOS International Wood Committee (IIWC) for 3 years between 2017 and 2020. In 2018 he organized the ICOMOS International Wood Committee’s 21st international symposium in York, England. Doug's work has received various awards including the RIBA National Award 2015 for the Sheffield Cathedral Gateway Project; and the Sussex Heritage Trust Award 2013 for repairs to the Great Barn at Great Dixter in Sussex England.

By the time Rick Ortega is introduced to a timber structure it already exhibits evidence of structural failure -- material damage, broken members or joints, excessive deflections or changes in geometry. The root cause, or causes, is any one, or a combination of the four “D’s” – damage, deterioration, defect, or design flaw.

The remedies at our disposal include:

• removal and replacement,

• abandon in place and install new structure next to it,

• reduce stresses on it by removing existing loads or providing new supports and load paths,

• overlay new structural elements to share stresses,

The eventual structural repair always involves a combination of these remedies and, for him, the integration of epoxy repair methods. This presentation will include the discussion of two structural epoxy reinforcement methods that he has integrated into his approach to repairing timber structures for the last 40 year.

Richard I. Ortega is a structural engineer who has specialized for over 40 years in building diagnostics, architectural conservation and the technical and structural engineering issues related to building defects. He founded Ortega Consulting, in 1987, to specialize in structural engineering, and in the engineering and technical aspects of historic preservation; in particular, in building diagnostics, building assessments and evaluations, environmental and structural monitoring programs, and architectural conservation. He has worked as a consultant to architects, engineers, institutions, museums, owners, and government agencies at the local, state, and federal level. He has extensive experience in the evaluation of damaged structures, especially masonry and timber, and has devised innovative solutions to repair and reinforcing them. His projects, both historic preservation

Ortega Consulting, in 1987, to specialize in structural engineering, and in the engineering and technical aspects of historic preservation; in particular, in building diagnostics, building assessments and evaluations, environmental and structural monitoring programs, and architectural conservation. He has worked as a consultant to architects, engineers, institutions, museums, owners, and government agencies at the local, state, and federal level. He has extensive experience in the evaluation of damaged structures, especially masonry and timber, and has devised innovative solutions to repair and reinforcing them. His projects, both historic preservation and new construction, have received numerous awards from professional, technical, and public organizations.

In 2002, Ortega joined the Preservation Design Studio at RMJM (previously Hillier ARCHITECTURE) as Director of Preservation Technology with the charge to provide design review and technical oversight for all preservation projects. In this capacity, he directed numerous building conditions assessments as well as the subsequent documentation to effect repairs. In 2010, Ortega joined two colleagues from RMJM and founded the Heritage Design Collaborative to apply their expertise in the furtherance of heritage preservation design.

Ortega has been a regular lecturer in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, School of Design, at University of Pennsylvania and the Preservation Engineering Program in the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

In 2007, Ortega was elected to the College of Fellows of the Association for Preservation Technology in recognition of his contributions to the field of preservation engineering.

Materials Discussions are scheduled for one hour with two short presentations by the speakers followed by discussion.

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