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1LA VILLITA MAINTENANCE MANUAL

San Antonio Conservat ion Society

LA VILLITA MAINTENANCE MANUAL2 0 1 5 C o n d i t i o n s a n d M a i n t e n a n c e S c h e d u l e

2 LA VILLITA MAINTENANCE MANUAL

In the summer of 2015, the San Antonio Conservation Society contracted historic preservation specialist Miriam Tworek-Hofstetter to conduct a condition assessment of the La Villita Historic District and write a corresponding Maintenance Manual. All photos courtesy Miriam Tworek-Hofstetter. “Rapid Building and Site Condition Assess-ment” courtesy of the National Center For Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), Natchitoches, LA.

Cover Image: Exterior wall of Otto Bombach House and Store

Copyright © 2015 San Antonio Conservation Society

Introduction

Buildings / Conditions / Schedules01 Bowen/Kirchner House02 Losana House03 Canada House04 Tejeda House05 Herrera House06 Kitchen07 Guadalupe House08 Weaving Building09 Bolivar Hall10 Village Gallery11 Copper Gallery12 Starving Artist Gallery13 Little Church of La Villita14 Florian House15 Faville House16 McAllister House and Store17 Barber Shop18 Cos House19 Arneson Theater20 Dosch - Rische House21 New York Star Cleaning and Dye Works22 Shafer House23 Esquida / Downs / Dietrich House24 101 King Philip V Street25 Cirilus Guissi House26 The Gray - Guilbeau House27 The Otto Bombach House and Store

PlazasJuarezO’Neill Ford SquareMaverickNacional

AppendicesA Inspection ChecklistsB Glossary of ConditionsC Standards & GuidelinesD Selected Resources

Table of Contents


A. IntroductionPreservation of Historic Buildings

The best way to preserve a building is to maintain it properly. Regular inspection and maintenance serve to identify deterioration at inception, and prevent develop-ment of a larger problem. In the case of historic build-ings, like those in the La Villita Historic District, regular maintenance is even more critical as historic materials are impossible to replace: when a 19th c. adobe block is lost, it is lost forever. In order to preserve buildings in La Villita, one must first have a basic understanding of their historic materials, and secondly commit to a regular schedule of inspection and maintenance.

Historic Building Material

Generally speaking, there are two primary principles to keep in mind when dealing with La Villita buildings:

• Historic building materials are less rigid than build-ing materials used today

• Historic building materials were expected to react to the environment, rather than be sealed off from it

These characteristics become problematic when modern materials and techniques are applied to historic buildings. For example, rigid portland cement plaster will damage less rigid masonry units that were originally coated with soft, lime base cements. Also, watertight latex paint will seal in moisture that would have evaporated through tra-ditional, permeable limewash.

Many deterioration problems currently found in La Vil-lita have been caused by inappropriate action that does not account for these characteristics.

Inspection & Maintenance

Appropriate maintenance techniques carried out on a regular basis will prevent the loss of irreplaceable his-toric material and are economically efficient and envi-ronmentally sound. At minimum, building inspections should be done yearly, and often more frequently de-pending on wear, degree of use, and extreme weather events. Adequate drainage from the roof and around building foundations should be observed on a daily basis

by tenants.

While it is tempting to allow seemingly insignificant dam-age to go unfixed, deferred maintenance will weaken the building, making it especially susceptible to damage in extreme weather. Deferred maintenance also turns small, inexpensive, easy-to-fix problems into expensive, long-term rehabilitation projects.

Using this Manual

This Manual describes specific conditions of each build-ing and recommends a schedule for inspection of build-ing elements and maintenance tasks. Manual users may refer to building chapters for all pertinent information on each building. General recommendations are also summarized at the end of this Introduction chapter. Chapters are divided into the following segments:

• History&BuildingDescription A brief history of the building and short physical description

• CharacterDefiningFeatures A list of character defining features. A “character defining feature” is any architectural component that embodies a build-ing’s historic significance. For example, adobe con-struction is a building method traditionally used in Texas during the 1800s. A feature such as this enables viewers to observe a piece of history first-hand. If the adobe structure had to be replaced, the build-ing would lose this effect and its historic significance. Character defining features must be preserved and remain visible to the public.

• BuildingMaterials A list of building materials.

• Special Considerations A brief description of maintenance problems specific to a building. Special considerations are added as applicable.

• Conditions andMaintenance Schedule A de-scription of 2015 building conditions with recom-mended schedule for inspection and maintenance tasks.

• AnnotatedDrawings Drawings of all elevations with annotated conditions. The Annotated Drawings are keyed to MasterFormat, which is a standard for categorizing building materials in architectural draw-ings (see Appendix D: Selected Sources).


Appendices are included for quick reference:

A. Inspection ChecklistsB. Glossary of ConditionsC. Standards and GuidelinesD. Selected Resources

An InspectionChecklist is included for use during reg-ular inspections. The Checklist is divided into “As Need-ed” and “Biannual” sections. Maintenance staff and building tenants may refer to the “As Needed” checklist to conduct and record weekly or monthly inspections. Close, regular monitoring and recording of building conditions is essential to identifying the symptoms and sources of deterioration.

The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) in partnership with Heritage Preser-vation and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works developed a Rapid Assess-ment form to quickly record building conditions during emergencies. The form is included in Appendix A for reference.

The Glossaryof Conditions provides definitions and photographs of conditions used in the manual and on the annotated drawings. StandardsandGuidelines in-cludes the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Pres-ervation, and a link to the City of San Antonio’s Guide-lines for historic building maintenance. Finally, SelectedResources lists reference guides used for this manual, and other useful sources for research on La Villita and historic materials conservation. General Recommendations

While many deterioration phenomena found at La Villita correspond to individual buildings, the following recom-mendations are relevant to all:

Appropriatefinishes Avoid applying modern finishes to historic materials. Products like latex paint, portland cement, or commercial products advertised as “water-proof ” will seal in moisture, salts, pollutants, etc., that will likely cause the deterioration of structural compo-nents. Instead use traditional coatings like limewash, lime cement, and oil (alkyd) paints where appropriate.

PlasterA very hard plaster is widely used among build-ings in La Villita. When possible, it is recommended that this plaster be replaced with a traditional lime plaster. Lime plaster is preferable because it is water permeable, self-healing, and less damaging to the structure. A plaster professional who is accustomed to working with historic adobe structures should be consulted before patching damaged plaster and in the event of plaster failure. For buildings coated in softer plaster, a recommended for-mula for stucco with high lime content and low cement content is as follows: 1 part lime 1/4 part cement 3 or 4 parts sand to workability

A soft lime stucco for buildings constructed 1700- 1850 uses the following ratio: 1 part lime 2 parts sand

Mortar Mortar is a sacrificial material and should be weaker than the masonry units it is applied to. This will prevent the cracking and fracturing of masonry units. Mortar mixes for repointing must match historic mortar in softness, color, and aggregate as closely as possible.

Exposed, corroded metal lathing. West Elevation, 02 Losana House.

Limestone block deteriorating as mortar remains intact. East elevation, 27 Otto Bombach House and Store.


CleaningWhen cleaning, always use the gentlest means possible to prevent material loss. Also, be sure to test cleaning method on a small, inconspicuous area to iden-tify any possible unwanted side effects before application to entire building. Usually, water washing in the following ways constitutes gentlest means possible:

• Soaking Prolonged spraying or misting with water

• WaterWashing Low (<100 psi) or medium (<300 psi) pressure water spray and scrubbing with natural bristle brush

• Water Wash with Detergents Low to medium water spray, use of non-ionic detergent, scrub with natural bristle brush, rinse with low- to medium-pressure water spray

• SteamLow pressure hot water washing

Avoid “powerwashing” and holding nozzle close to building surface; this will almost certainly damage build-ings at La Villlita. Consult with an architectural conser-vator before using any treatment more aggressive than those listed above.

SiteRecommendations A serious effort must be made to keep drainage clear, and prevent water from pooling around building foundations. Historically, many build-ings in La Villita did not have gutters or downspouts on all elevations. In those cases, drainage at grade must be improved to encourage water movement away from the building’s foundation. On a regular basis, remove plant and tree debris from roof and foundation, clear gutters and downspouts, trim back trees and plants growing close to buildings, and remove planters and flower beds within three feet of building foundations.


History & Building Description

The Bowen/ Kirchner House was built between 1851-1873 by either John Bowen or Auguste Kirchner. The building was used as a residence by a series of owners, and purchased in 1940 by the City of San Antonio. Since then, it has served as the La Villita Project House and as a Red Cross training center. Today it houses the La Villita Stained Glass workshop and showroom.

The Bowen/Kirchner House retains its historic size: it is a one-story building with side-gable. The rear room is covered with a shed roof. Masonry walls have been at-tached to the west and south elevations, and iron fences attached to east and south elevations. Stone steps with iron rails lead to the main entrance on the north eleva-tion.

Character Defining Features

• Building Shape: Single story, Gable roof• Materials: Caliche block structure, Stucco coating,

wooden windows and surrounds• Interior Spaces: Single room width• Exterior: Minimal decoration, casement windows,

shutters

Building Materials

Like other caliche and adobe buildings in La Villita, the Bowen/Kirchner House will suffer the most dam-age when water infiltrates wall interiors. Water can be drawn into the walls from cracks and holes in the stucco. Consequently, it is very important that all coatings are well-maintained and allow for water evaporation. Caliche block is calcium rich and will be damaged by any acidic treatments or cleaning agents applied to it.

List of Materials

• Caliche block structure• Cement plaster and paint coating• Metal standing seam roof• Wooden doors, window frames, shutters, door and

window surrounds• Iron fence, railing• Limestone steps, attached masonry walls

01 Bowen/Kirchner House

North Elevation, 01 Bowen/Kirchner House.


Special Considerations

Damage to Plaster and Exterior Walls

Along with numerous hairline and medium cracks in paint and plaster, three locations of extreme plaster de-terioration have been identified on the exterior of the Bowen/Kirchner House:

• Plasterlossbelowdrainagepipeonsoutheleva-tion. This damage exposes the caliche structure to plant growth and biological colonization. Water from the drain also pools along the foundation.

• Plasterlossalongfoundationof westelevation. Water infiltration through the damaged west facade is causing corrosion of metal lathing, which was in-stalled to help plaster adhere to the caliche. As this lathing corrodes, it will expand, damaging the cali-che. The lathing will also lose strength, and may ul-timately fail, causing extensive loss of plaster and exposure of the caliche.

Before repairing the plaster, the cause and extent of damage must be determined by an architectural conser-vator with experience working on masonry walls coated in cement plaster. It is likely that moisture has traveled into parts of the wall now covered by plaster, and dam-age extends far beyond what is visible.

01 Bowen/Kirchner House

Deterioration at drain, South elevation, 01 Bowen/Kirchner House.

Fracture in plaster, West elevation, 01 Bowen/Kirchner House. Exposed lathing; active corrosion; West elevation; 01 Bowen/Kirchner House

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