Mapping Pattlerns of Cracking and Moisture Migration in Early Brickwork and Replicating Shell Lime Mortar

Abstract

This paper reports three aspects of an ongoing building archeology project at the MacPheadris-Warner House (ca. 1716–23) in Portsmouth, N.H., U.S.A. One is the use of a portable moisture meter to map rising damp levels and areas of water infiltration through brickwork. The second is the mapping of crack patterns and other defects on exterior elevations. We will also refer to a second site, the Juliette Gordon Low House in Savannah, Georgia, in discussing the problem of crack mapping. The third project is an ongoing attempt to replicate a shell lime mortar.