Stratford Hall Smokehouse Invisible Timber Consolidation
Northern Neck, VA: 1994
The smokehouse is located southeast of the Great House at Stratford Hall, situated in Virginia's Northern Neck. Believed to have been built in the 18th century, the building's function changed from a smokehouse to a storage space sometime in the 19th century. The core of the smokehouse's corner brace was badly deteriorated from extensive termite damage, yet the original tooled surfaces remained intact. So often deteriorated timbers such as this are totally discarded and replaced with new wood. This loss of original material is unnecessary. Our challenge in this project was to strengthen the core and consolidate the surface without changing the appearance of this visible structural member. All of our previous consolidation experience had been on hidden elements in which the darkening epoxy would have no effect on the finished appearance. This was our chance to pioneer an invisible consolidation repair.
Working with conservation leader Morgan Phillips, we modified the warm sand bed method of consolidation developed by Polish conservator Wieslaw Domaslowski. Our experimentation found an alcohol-dilutable resin that bound the wooden fibers of the deteriorated timber while maintaining a porous surface. The timber was soaked in dilute resin, wrapped tightly in plastic, and cured overnight in a sand-filled box along with a heating element. The sand, when packed tightly, eliminated the air spaces between the plastic wrap and the timber. This kept the alcohol from evaporating to the surface.
The goal of surface consolidation is to strengthen the remaining surface of the original material and increase its flexibility, while maintaining its color and appearance with a water permeable and more UV stable material. By experimenting and modifying an existing method we were able to create the results that addressed the structural needs while maintaining the integrity of the original material. The result: a structural timber with all of the original tooled surfaces intact that could be returned to service in the smokehouse without any change in appearance.