Non-destructive assessment of timber in historic buildings

Abstract

Historic buildings are part of our built environment. Many of these buildings are important icons of our past and form part of our heritage and culture. They also provide excellent opportunities for reuse and development and can serve as the focal point for the regeneration of many run down, post-industrial areas. We should all be recycling our newspapers, plastic and glass bottles and should be composting our organic waste as part of the Green Revolution to reduce the amount we, as a society, waste. What better act of environmental awareness is there than reusing our historic buildings and the materials within? A holistic approach to the investigation of historic timber using non-destructive techniques to inspect and examine timber in situ for strength-reducing defects combined with repairs undertaken with the minimum of interventions, where practicable, can facilitate the reuse of original structural timber and can contribute to the ‘recycling’ of historic buildings. Moreover, the ‘recycling’ of such buildings and the materials therein can result in the construction industry exerting less pressure on our natural resources and reducing its carbon footprint.