In mid-May we visited the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Brno University of Technology to attend a seminar organized by the International Association for Science and Technology of Building Maintenance and Monuments Preservation (WTA), whose mission is to promote research and its practical application in the fields of building and monument restoration.
The one-day seminar was divided into two thematic sections. The first one was about professional chemical wood protection, where an interesting lecture was given by our colleague Jaroslav Strnadel, who has many years of practical experience with the development of Bochemit products.
In the second section, experts from practice presented methodological procedures for the rehabilitation of wood and wooden structures. We learned about the traditional and non-traditional methods of repairing them, we were introduced to examples of implemented repair of emergency conditions of roof frames in selected religious buildings in Slovakia, or practical possibilities of diagnosing the condition of wood. Above all, emphasis was placed on the fact that the restoration of the monuments should be carried out in a refined and artisan manner, so that when the work is completed it should not be noticeable that any restoration work had taken place at all.
There is no doubt that practical experience is non-transferable and the restoration of monuments mainly requires the art of true craftsmanship. And it is not "just" skilled hands, but also the right tools, the right material and above all the right impregnation and technological procedures. All these attributes together breathe a "new" meaningful life into the monument.
