S.E.M. Applications to the study of the damage and restoration of historic buildings: the Oquendo House (16th century) and the Deputation Palace (19th century) (San Sebastián, Basque Country)

Abstract

The studies on the deterioration and restoration of buildings have increased in the last decades. The role of Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) as a tool for textural studies of both damaged and restored rocks is important since it enables to us to identify both the style of penetration of consolidating products inside altered rocks and the solidification textures into pore spaces. We have compared the results of the application of the products Sicof SM 296 and Consistone FS+A on Eocene sandstones of the Oquendo House and of the Deputation Palace, both buildings at San Sebastián city. As observed from S.E.M. and different laboratory tests, the Sicof SM 296 seems to be the most efficient consolidating product for the restoration of such Eocene sandstone materials since it occupies even the smallest pore spaces very homogeneously and leaves a certain degree of remaining porosit