Maintaining monuments

[Maintaining monuments = "Keeping a monumental building in a good shape to protect former culture, industry or science"]

Sometimes people think "Let’s just wait a little while...", not realizing that delays in maintaining a monumental building can lead to very unpleasant surprises. Repairing damage often entails considerable additional changes.

For instance, the longer you wait before maintaining wooden window frames, the larger the risk of moisture reaching the wood and of the frame rotting away. In some cases, repair becomes impossible and new window frames must be installed. Sometimes it is possible to remove old window frames from the façade and have them fully restored in a special workshop. This is especially the case with old buildings that are no longer completely vertical or whose angles are no longer true, such as many buildings in Amsterdam. Certainly the window frames on the rainy side – the west or south side – of the building often must be entirely replaced. The costs of this depend on their profile, details and window panes.


	Carpenter Gerard


	“You have to make each bit of wood fit and each bit is different, you really must think well about the things you do. Will it rot in the future, how am I going to make it, what tools will I use and which care can I take so it will be okay for decades. For me that is the challenge, just to make good work which makes the customer very content and in which you also can use your chisels and saw.”

Wooden window frames becoming more popular
In recent decades, plastic and aluminum window frames became more popular than the familiar wooden window frames, but now the trend is changing again. First of all, plastic and aluminum turned out to be not so maintenance-free as people thought. Plastic window frames remain at their best if they are cleaned regularly and waxed every six months. If this isn’t done, the contamination becomes deeply ingrained in the plastic and can no longer be removed.

Regular waxing is also vital for aluminum – certainly if you want to prevent corrosion. Once corrosion has struck, however, a primed aluminum window or door frame can be painted. Light metal will remain the material for frames in tall buildings, such as the Rembrandt Tower in Amsterdam. Nonetheless, it is expected that the old, reliable wood frame will eventually win over plastic in other buildings. But also wood requires maintenance: every two years, the paintwork must be checked, paying special attention to horizontal parts, on which water can pool. Effective cleaning will increase the lifespan of all three materials.


	Carpenter Joan


	Joan is a precision carpenter and finds it a real honour to work in these old buildings. "They made things beautifully in 1600 - 1700, so already three to fourhundred years old. I have respect for that. You really have to take the time; you must not rush through it. At the Cannenburgh they have more attention for what they do, the quality of the work is high. It really gives me satisfaction that I can work with them now."