Cultural heritage
Maintaining your property
Does your heritage property have peeling paint? Do its rust-eaten gutters fall in lace-like strips? Perhaps it's time to carry out some maintenance work.
As someone who looks after a heritage building, you know such properties offer special rewards but also require special care.
These heritage housekeeping hints will help
you maintain your heritage property.
Why carry out maintenance work?
All properties need maintenance and continuing repair. Heritage places
need to be protected from deterioration. If you take the right approach
to maintaining and repairing your heritage property, you will save time
and money.
Continuing maintenance work to your heritage property allows you
to:
- fix problems promptly
- preserve your property
- avoid major, expensive repairs in the future
It's important to check the state of your building regularly and record your findings in a logbook. Keeping a logbook enables you to:
- know your property
- compile a comprehensive record of work carried out
- plan and budget for future work
- tailor housekeeping and maintenance practices
Heritage housekeeping
hints
Heritage properties need lots of tender loving care to stop them from
deteriorating. Here are a number of housekeeping hints to help you
maintain your heritage property:
Wear and tear
Wear and tear from human use can destroy old
surfaces. Always protect original fabric and furnishings. For example,
runners, mats, and rugs can be used to protect floors.
Humidity
When using heaters in heritage places, minimise
humidity levels to avoid damage to timberwork, paintwork, and
wallpaper. Environmental controls such as sunscreening and air
conditioning can control the temperature and keep your heritage
property in good condition.
Cleaning
When cleaning heritage materials and surfaces,
you might need advice from preservation professionals. For example,
cleaning masonry or stained glass is a specialised job. Using the wrong
technique or product could cause irreparable damage to a heritage
building. Only use neutral pH cleaners to clean historic
buildings.
Waxing
Waxing protects against material abrasion and
wetting. Always check with a professional before using products.
Storage
To prevent fire hazards, material for maintenance
should be kept separate from heritage buildings.
Maintenance checklist
To help maintain your heritage
property, always keep:
- a log book of all maintenance work done on your property
- all historical records, such as details of heritage listings and legal records, in a safe place
- records of colour schemes and tradespeople
- records of termite inspection dates
- records of dates fire extinguishers and wiring have been checked
Last updated: 03 April 2006
