Documenting for a better conservation: The use of consolidants and water repellents in conservation interventions of stone Portuguese monuments

Abstract

The present article intends to gather the available information about consolidants and water repellents, which were applied in restoration campaigns in Portuguese monuments.The survey was based on documents from the ex-DGEMN (General Directorate for National Buildings and Monuments) and ex-IPPAR (Portuguese Institute for Architectonic Heritage) archives, concerning the period between 1952 and 2002. It was noticed that in 30% of the interventions the information about the used product was lacking and from the other cases, only in the most recent interventions rigorous documentation was found. Results also show a generalised used of alkoxysilanes. Owing to the importance of documentation past restoration interventions, a data-sheet for documenting the use of consolidants and water repellents is proposed.

Keywords

• Monuments
• Stone
• Treatments
• Documentation
• Consolidants
• Water repellents