[MassHistPres] Power washing

[Valerie Norton]

Happy
Your instincts are right....
I would not recommend power washing anything but a deck.  An historic
building should very carefully be prepared for repainting, by  scraping,
heat gunning and then finally sanding.  The water can be driven into
locations that have not been wet before and also actually getting all the
moisture out prior to repainting will be impossible.  Then you are trapping
that moisture only to force wood rot or paint peeling.
Finding a painter that is well versed in historic structures and
construction is paramount to the life of the building¹s fabric.

Valerie Norton

Norton Preservation Trust
Building Artisan's Preserving Nantucket's Historic Structures



On 11/1/07 3:11 PM, "DiFranzaDesigns at aol.com" <DiFranzaDesigns at aol.com>
wrote:

> Good afternoon:
> 
> Does anyone have any thoughts on power washing an 1829 building on the Common
> in our Center Village Historic District before it is painted? It has a
> combination of clapboards and plank cladding.  My instinct is to say "no," but
> I'd 
> appreciate hearing the pros and cons.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Happy DiFranza, Chairman
> North Reading HDC
> 
> 
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