ATTITUDES ABOUT OLD BUILDING

by MERLE E. BRANDER

BRANDER CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY, INC.

For some engineers old structures recreate the past; to others old structures are simply interesting conversation starters at professional gatherings or over coffee; but the preservation of old structures, particularly old concrete construction, is, above all, an effective way to make the past serve for the future.

The American Society of Civil Engineers is currently debating the addition of a proposed eighth Fundamental Canon to the Code of Ethics. That canon states that “Engineers shall perform services in such a manner as to sustain the world’s resources and protect the natural and cultural environment.”

The buildings and other structures in and around which we function daily are clearly our environment and the products used in construction are clearly derived from our natural resources. It behooves us then to consider carefully the ways that we can preserve what has already been constructed and minimize use of the natural resources that are becoming increasingly scarce. The old adage of years ago, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” is as important for us today as it was for our forefathers, and engineers can make that happen by designing appropriate, effective, lasting repairs and reconstructions for old buildings that might otherwise have been destroyed and replaced with new, at much greater cost to the building owner and to our natural resources.

Americans are enamored with things that are new, perhaps because we are accustomed to abundance and throwaway or because we see ourselves as the young, bold, innovative nation in a world of older, stodgier nations. Advertisers prey on our desire for newness. Seldom do you hear a product advertised as “the same old thing you’ve been using for years”. Such messages are beginning to creep into the marketplace, however, because Americans are finally, slowly, beginning to realize the value of preserving, rather than replacing, what we have. In the case of structures, besides the fact that is can be more practical than rebuilding, preservation is a way to retain our cultural heritage and protect our limited resources.

Before preservation of old structures becomes a truly viable option for the country as a whole, however, there are some attitude adjustments that must be made, particularly by engineers and architects who are taking the responsibility for seeing that the buildings are properly repaired or reconstructed so they are safe and efficient for use today and in the future.

1. The first is that, it’s just another building that needs repair.

It is one thing to design a building from the bottom up. It is quite another thing to design repairs for a building that has been in place for many years, has been repeatedly exposed to a wide variety of environmental conditions, and likely has had several modifications and changes of usage since construction. Special consideration must be given to the general history of the building, the known or likely modifications that have been made, and the various uses that may have resulted in severe exposure conditions. It is even helpful to discern whether previous building owners had sufficient capital to make high quality repairs intended to be long-term or whether it is more likely that repairs were hastily and cheaply made for the immediate use without concern for the future of the building. Every old building has a history. Sometimes it can be found in files, drawing boxes, and corporation meeting notes. More often it will be found on the walls in the form of stains and old repairs, on the floor in the form of cracks and holes, and on the structural framing in the form of corrosion or distortion. That history should never be ignored or discounted.

Knowledge about the specific building is helpful, but to effectively restore an older structure you will also need to know about previous building practices and materials commonly used in past construction. Scholarly study is a term that typically echoes through the halls of academia, as though it was a pursuit reserved exclusively for academicians, however scholarly study is appropriate for any profession, and for an engineer or architect embarking on a restoration project, it is essential that some literature research be done. The unique problems encountered with older buildings and the special procedures that can and should be used to evaluate older buildings have been discussed at length in various conferences, conventions, seminars, books, and technical journals. ACI alone has a wealth of resources that can be used to learn more about investigating, evaluating, and specifying repairs for older buildings. Those of us who have been entrusted by law and professional ethics to work toward the good and safety of society are obligated to at least be familiar with and apply the tools of the trade provided by our peers and those who have preceded us. Simply put, if you do not want to work at understanding the unique problems of older buildings, leave the restoration of those to someone who does.

2. The second attitude that must be changed is the idea that an existing building, in this case an older building, is a single entity to be evaluated mainly as a whole.

When a new building is engineered, each component and material is specified, however there is a temptation to judge an older building as a single unit, without giving proper consideration to the individual components and materials that make up that unit. As each component is specified for a new building, so must each component be assessed for old buildings. There is no shortcut to a final assessment of the potential of a building to perform adequately for the future. Every available piece of data about the construction, existing condition, use, modification, and exposure of that building should be taken into account. Judging the building as a whole without due consideration to the individual components that make up that building is much like the golfer who drives for the pin on every swing. He might make a “hole in one” every now and then, but most of the time he will miss the mark, while the golfer who plans a strategy that effectively and efficiently leads him to the pin, one leg of the course at a time, will more often walk away with the prize.

3. The third attitude that is prevalent is the idea that buildings designed and built under an outdated code cannot reasonably be reconciled with today’s standards.

There is no question that current codes are much more exhaustive than were codes of years ago. There will be many new requirements to be considered if a building constructed according to a 10-page 1910 code is to be renovated for use in 1994, with a code of volumes, but it is not an impossible or even particularly imposing task to make that adjustment as long as you have the right tools for the job. While our requirements have increased, so has our ability to test, examine, and structurally analyze. Skeptics have said that engineers ignore what they don’t know how to test. Well, we need not ignore, because nowadays we have a wide variety of test equipment, improved test methods, well honed consensus standards, and computerized analysis that can give us the information we need to translate the 1910 construction to modern day use. It is up to the knowledgeable professional to identify the proper tests for the circumstance and apply those tests to acquire the information needed to make a reasonable evaluation of the suitability of a building or building component for use in the modern setting.

4. Finally, we need to counter the prevailing attitude that new is better.

For the most part, new is nice. It’s fresh, clean, and sturdy, but what is new today will be old tomorrow. Hopefully we have been farsighted enough to build into today’s buildings the durability that will stretch that tomorrow many years into the future. When today’s new buildings become tomorrow’s old buildings, they will have, in some small way, impacted the lives of many people, just as the older buildings around us have. We need to respect, if not the buildings themselves, then at least the lives of those who have worked, played, achieved, failed, and generally lived in those buildings. The wear and tear, the modifications, the damage, the effects of wind, rain, and fire- all have significance not only to those who endured those times and circumstances, but also to those of us in the modern world who are trying to determine from what we have come and to what we are going. We are a young country by the world’s standards and we have not yet truly captured the spirit of a lasting heritage We need to begin to rid ourselves of our throw away mentality and look toward sustainability, endurance, and permanence.