Structural Analysis of Historic Buildings
by Ed Buch, CSI, CCS, AIA

An understanding of basic science is essential to the proper selection of many building materials we specify in our projects. This is the premise of good textbooks on the subject, some of which have as many pages as a large city’s telephone directory. A pleasant exception to this is, “Building Materials Technology, Structural Performance & Environmental Impact”, by L. Reed Brantley and Ruth T. Brantley. (McGraw-Hill, 1996, 325 small pages.) This is a gem of a little book with an emphasis on the chemistry of building materials. The authors are professors at the University of Hawaii; one an emeritus professor of chemistry, the other an associate professor of home economics and interior design.

The book begins with a short and easy to understand chapter on the chemistry of materials. The periodic table of the elements, the structure of atoms, and how chemical compounds are formed are some of the topics included. The difference between organic and inorganic materials is explained and the presentation on polymers is especially useful in understanding the later chapters on plastics, sealants and paint.

The chapters that follow cover the most common materials encountered in building construction. Chapter 2 begins with an interesting presentation on the chemistry of soils. Chapters 3 through 9 include topics on concrete and stone through glass, carpet, and paint. In each case the chemical characteristics of the material are presented, sometimes in great detail. For example in the chapter on concrete, the deleterious effects of sulfates on cement paste and of chlorides on reinforcing steel are described. In the chapter on metals there is an explanation of the iron-carbon phase diagram along with a discussion of the chemistry of corrosion.

The chapter on wood includes sections on the deterioration caused by insects and various forms of rot. Chapter six also includes a description of the chemistry that makes adhesives work. But the most useful portions of the book are those that describe the manmade polymers that are so prevalent in modern building materials. This includes additives used with traditional materials like cement, but also those used in the manufacture of modern high performance adhesives, plastics, sealants, and paints. This is fascinating and useful for anyone who wants to have an in depth understandin g of these materials. It also makes one appreciate the amount of research that goes into the development of even the most prosaic materials today.

It’s one thing to read and appreciate the science behind many building materials in use today and something else again to know the science thoroughly enough to really understand and apply it. This is just too complicated for us to do without experts from industry since we are, after all, architects and engineers, not scientists. While it may have been the author’s intent to help us understand the basic chemistry in the materials we use everyday, the real value of a book goes beyond that. I think it highlights the necessity for us to consult an expert when we want to understand or need to make a decision on the application of many of today’s building materials. This is an excellent little book.

Ed Buch is an architect in the Los Angeles office of Leo A Daly. A Nebraska native, he has worked in Los Angeles since 1988. Prior to that, he worked in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and 5 years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has been member since 1981, and is currently an Institute director from the West Region, CSI.