Preventive Maintenance

Foremen discuss preventive maintenance at the
Governor’s Palace with Roberta Laynor.

Architectural conservators ensure the preservation of Colonial Williamsburg’s exhibition buildings by using an efficient system of temporarily closing sites for preventive maintenance. The process of closing buildings was established in 1982 by Dr. Taylor and former curator Betty Leviner and expanded by architectural conservator Roberta Laynor to now include preventive maintenance for 36 sites per year on a rotating basis. Implementation of the closings has significantly improved the condition of the exhibition spaces by enabling Foundation staff to identify and treat preservation problems before irreparable losses take place.

The architectural conservators coordinate the entire sequence of planning, scheduling, completing, and documenting a "closing" project. Buildings with the highest visitation numbers (such as the Governor’s Palace) are closed each year, while other exhibition sites (such as trade shops) are closed every two to three years. The schedule also depends on holidays, special events, and urgent maintenance needs.

The process begins at least a year in advance when a planning team develops the list of buildings to close. Two months before the project, an inspection generates a list of work to be completed. Approximately two weeks before the project, a meeting takes place to schedule the work. During the project, the work is completed and documented.

The closing project is not simply a building cleaning, but includes a great deal of additional work, including carpentry repairs, painting, mechanical maintenance, conservation treatments, and curatorial changes. Closing a site for preventive maintenance requires meticulous planning and coordination, since as many as two dozen trades may undertake work on a building in just a two-week time frame. A cooperative team effort by all staff members involved in a closing is crucial to its success.

The architectural conservators also evaluate the suitability of the Foundation’s existing and proposed maintenance practices for historic architectural materials in the collection. They establish priorities for treating architectural materials and oversee the implementation of that treatment.

Preventive maintenance activities are then documented to ensure that a record is maintained of all work undertaken while an exhibition site is closed. Collections management as it relates to preventive maintenance means that the documentation for maintenance activities is kept in a systematic way so that future generations will know how these buildings were preserved. All preventive maintenance activities are documented in reports that describe all work that was undertaken.