UNIVERSITry PENNSYLV^N1A UBKARIE5 THE COMMON WOOD FLOOR INTERPRETATIONANDTREATMENTOFWOODPLANKFLOORING IN HISTORIC BUILDINGS Andrew D. Gustine ATHESIS Historicf*reservation PresentedtotheFacultiesofthe UniversityofPennsylvaniain Partial Fulfillmentofthe Requirementsforthe Degreeof MASTEROFSCIENCE 2002 T^.T^^ — Supervisor Reader (' ^' Samuel Y. HarrisPE,AIA David DeMuzio AdjunctProfessorofArchitecture Elaine S. Harrington SeniorConservator Furnitureand Woodwork PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt GGrraadduuaallji GGrroouuppCChhaaiirr FrankGJMatero AssociateProfessorofArchitecture UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Acknowledgements I wouldliketoexpressmy humble gratitudetoall thefriends,familyandfaculty whohavecheerfullyguidedandencouragedme inthecreationofthis paper. Especially, I wanttothankFrank Materofornudgingme intothe worldoftransparentfinishesand SamHarrisforhelping me tofocuswithin it, myfatherforhelping me withthe chemistry, my adorabledaughtersforhelpingmetokeepitall in perspective,and most especially, my wife, Leigh,formakingsure I gotitdone. Contents Introduction