[MassHistPres] Use of Non-traditional and Synthetic Materials

[Garrett Laws]

Heidi,

We are lucky to be a contractor that is replacing a lot of materials (in
kind) that fail in 100 year cycles for copper and multiples thereof for
slate. There are pros and cons to all situations but taking into account
the longevity of a proposed material in a specific application, location,
use and maintenance requirement is really very important.

PVC (taking into increased expansion and contraction) has benefits where
high moisture is a concern but using it to replicate intricate details in
very sunny locations can have detrimental effects. PVC fences tend to have
poor structure, become brittle over time, end up with a chalky surface and
don't last well. As crazy as this idea might sound, I'd choose a colored
chain link fence over a PVC fence... Why not do another wood fence and
implement a maintenance program with a natural rot protectant?

I don't have any personal knowledge with Fibrex, how does it weather? What
happens when it breaks down?

Many Thanks,
Garrett Laws

www.copperandslate.net
The Copper & Slate Company, Inc.
Fine Roofing and Historic Carpentry
238 Calvary Street,
Waltham, MA 02453
(781) 893-1916

*LEAD FREE SINCE 2008*


On Mon, Aug 7, 2023 at 3:23 PM Nancy Dole via MassHistPres <
masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> wrote:

> West Tisbury has the same question. We are allowing aluminum clad and
> fibrex high quality windows with simulated divided lites in some cases, not
> in others. And we are having an issue with pvc trim repair. Getting a lot
> of requests but it doesn’t blend well with wood. We would love a list of
> manufacturers and models that other historic districts consider on a case
> by case basis.
> The Town had recently applied to replace a wooden picket fence around the
> cemetary with a pvc fence. They are concerned about longevity. We wish
> there were other options.
> Any thoughts?
> Thank you.
> Nancy Dole
> WTisbury HDC
>
> On Aug 7, 2023, at 2:58 PM, Heidi Fieldston via MassHistPres <
> masshistpres at cs.umb.edu> wrote:
>
> Greetings:
>
> We have a question about the policies of other Historical Commissions
> concerning the use of non-traditional and synthetic materials in new
> construction in historic districts:  Are they allowed?  Are there
> limitations on materials?  Does the context make a difference, e.g., dense
> vs. more spread-out?
>
> Thank you for your response.
>
> Heidi Fieldston, Commissioner
> Dedham Historic Districts Commission and Historical Commission
> hfieldston at mac.com
> _______________________________________________
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> https://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres
>
> _______________________________________________
> MassHistPres mailing list
> MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
> https://mailman.cs.umb.edu/listinfo/masshistpres
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.cs.umb.edu/pipermail/masshistpres/attachments/20230807/673dfb08/attachment.html>