Scholarly record
THE MAPPING OF MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF HISTORICAL MORTARS FOR SUSTAINABLE REPAIRS
Abstract
Historical and old buildings with their distinctively decorated facades constitute an integral part of city centers or villages and create unique architecture. Most of these important buildings are attacked by refurbishment interventions with the use of incompatible modern rendering materials affecting appear of facades and causing their different service life-related problems. To ensure material compatibility between historical rendering materials and newly prepared alternatives requires special attention. Technical and material base oriented surveys are essential for the proposal of any sustainable repair. This paper is aimed at the survey of selected historical buildings with the collection of hard cement-based renders from their facades. Renders samples were further subjected to laboratory tests providing their physical properties (bulk density and open porosity) and strength parameters (flexural and compressive strengths). Experimental results revealed the diversity among render types and their material properties from rendering materials with high mechanical resistance resembling fine-grained concrete up to colored high porous renders witch limited strength. Obtaining experimental data and imagination about the behavior of facade materials of the past is one step for preserving unique expressions of our old/historical buildings. On this basis can be further developed appropriate repair rendering composites and establish conservation procedures for saving their valuable facades.
Publication details
References8
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