Restoration of historical timber building: a Malaysian case study

part

of

the

timber

floor

was

being

restored

to

the

existing

state

4

Roof

40,156.00

401.56

14

143,530.00

703.58

32

Case

study

1

Works

involved

includes

the

installation

of

temporary

roof

and

restoration

of

roof

frame

Case

study

2

Works

involved

includes

the

restoration

of

roof

timber

frame.

Treatment

was

done

to

the

existing

timber

frame

(

continued

)

Table I.

Restoration cost for

case study 1 and 2

314

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Case

study

1

Case

study

2

GFA

(M2)

100

GFA

(M2)

204

Item

Description

Total

cost

(RM)

Cost/M2

(RM)

%

Total

cost

(RM)

Cost/M2

(RM)

%

Remarks

5

Staircase

16,216.00

162.16

6

––

0

Case

study

1

Works

involved

includes

the

demolition

of

existing

staircase

and

construction

of

new

staircase

6

Wall

44,500.00

445.00

16

32,717.50

160.38

7

Case

study

1

New

wall

installed

and

to

match

the

existing

material

and

design

of

the

existing

wall

Case

study

2

33%

of

timber

wall

was

being

replaced

with

a

new

wall.

The

existing

timber

wall

were

treated

7

Door

9,600.00

96.00

3

19,550.00

95.83

4

Case

study

1

Basically

there

are

only

3

nos

of

timber

door

and

the

works

involved

includes

testing,

removal

of

existing

door

leaf

and,

supply

and

install

a

new

door

Case

study

2

8

nos

of

timber

door

and

the

works

involved

includes

testing,

removal

of

existing

door

leaf

and,

supply

and

install

a

new

door

8

Window

54,850.00

548.50

19

5,175.00

25.37

1

Case

study

1

There

are

only

20

nos

of

timber

window

and

the

works

involved

includes

testing,

removal

of

existing

window

and,

supply

and

install

a

new

window

Case

study

2

Only

6

nos

of

timber

window

being

replaced

and

the

works

involved

includes

testing,

removal

of

existing

window

and,

supply

and

install

a

new

window

9

Wall

finishes

19,140.00

191.40

7

9,338.00

45.77

2

Case

study

1

The

works

involved

were

testing,

scraping

the

existing

painting

and

painting

works

(includes

undercoat

and

gloss

paint)

Case

study

2

The

works

involved

were

testing,

scraping

the

existing

painting

and

painting

works

(includes

undercoat

and

gloss

paint)

(

continued

)

Table I.

315

Restoration

of historical

timber

building

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---

Case

study

1

Case

study

2

GFA

(M2)

100

GFA

(M2)

204

Item

Description

Total

cost

(RM)

Cost/M2

(RM)

%

Total

cost

(RM)

Cost/M2

(RM)

%

Remarks

10

Floor

finishes

14,371.00

143.71

5

––

–

Case

study

1

The

works

involved

were

testing,

scraping

the

existing

painting

and

painting

works

(includes

undercoat

and

gloss

paint)

11

Ceiling

finishes

7,800.00

78.00

3

5,060.00

24.80

1

Case

study

1

New

veiling

timber

board

was

installed

Case

study

2

The

existing

ceiling

is

still

in

good

condition.

Only

painting

works

involved

for

this

element

Total

building

cost

285,485.00

2,854.85

100

447,870.50

2,195.44

100

Table I.

316

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4.1.3 Analysis on both case studies

. Case study 1 shows that the most influential

elements are upper floors, windows, walls and roof whereas, case study 2 shows that the

most influential elements are the frame, roof, upper floors and walls The upper floors,

roof and walls appeared to be the most influencing elements in both case studies. These

three elements play a big role in influencing the restoration cost for both historical timber

building. The Scope of restoration works play a big role in the overall cost of the

restoration of these two buildings as the quantity and quality of works need to be

preserved and conserved depending on the structural safety assessment and the

materials itself that may includes the original materials, structural systems and

techniques. The availability of skilled workers also influenced the restoration cost as

proven in the case study 1, where there was a difficulty in finding a skilled worker who

specialised in constructing the wall. Akintoye (2000) stated that the main factors

influencing cost estimates include the complexity of the project, scale and scope of

construction, current market condition, method of constructions, site constraints, client

’

s

financial position, the buildability of the project as well as the location of the project.

4.2 Questionnaire survey analysis

There were 30 questions posted in the questionnaire, which were handed directly to the

respondents. The respondents were selected from quantity surveyors, consulting firms

and the contractors who are involved in conservation projects. In all, 64 per cent of the

respondents were quantity surveyors while 36 per cent are contractors.

Figure 3 shows that 65 per cent of the respondents do involved in timber restoration

projects while 35 per cent of the respondents do not involved in any timber

Roof

32%

Wall

7%

Upper Floor

17%

Frame

36%

Door

4%

Wall Finishes

2%

Window

1%

Ceiling

1%

Figure 2.

Cost of restoration

for timber house

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Yes

No

Contractor

3

3

3

3

Quantity Surveyor

4

10

4

10

Figure 3.

Respondent

involvement in

restoration of

historic timber

building

317

Restoration

of historical

timber

building

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---

restoration project. This is due to a limited number of historic timber building

restoration projects available in Malaysia. The cause of problems in historic timber

buildings restoration and the respondents

’

feedbacks were tabulated in Table II.

From the mean value obtained, it shows that

“

Termites

”

got the highest score with

μ

¼

4.45 while

“

Mechanical failure

”

scored the lowest score of

μ

¼

3.10. It also shows

that the timber has a higher probability of being attacked by termites, followed by

fungi, improper preservative method, weathering as well as other factors such as the

attack from other insects as well human caused or mechanical failures.

Figure 4 shows that 80 per cent of respondents choose the original material for

timber replacement while only 20 per cent of respondents prefer new materials to

replace the damaged part of timber. Respondents who prefer original material believed

that the restoration should try to maintain the original design, material and techniques

as much as possible. Different types of timber have different strength and composition.

Therefore, it is important to use or replace the damaged timber with the original

material. In total, 20 per cent of the respondents who chose to replace damaged timber

with new materials has in the opinion that it should be replaced using a new material in

order to suit with the era and using more material can be more economical and such

material are more durable. Totally, 10 per cent of the respondents are believed that the

timber was readily available whilst 35 per cent of the respondents viewed that it was

difficult to obtain while the rest remained neutral (Figure 5).

From the mean value in Table III, the lack of analysis on the damaged building got

the highest score with

μ

¼

4.05. This shows that the restoration was done with less

testing and analysis on the extents of the damages level. This creates problems in the

repairing and restoration process. Hence, it is important that the historic timber

building should undergo full testing and analysis to obtain all the needed data before

Factors

Mean

SD

Rank

Termites

4.45

0.510

1

Fungi

4.15

0.587

2

Impropriate preservative method

3.95

0.826

3

Weathering

3.85

1.040

4

Other insects

3.80

0.616

5

Human caused

3.65

1.040

6

Mechanical failure

3.10

1.165

7

Table II.

Ranking of the cause

of problems to

historic timber

building based on

respondent vote

Other new material

Original type of material

4, 20%

16, 80%

Figure 4.

Choice of material

to replaced

damaged timber

318

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the implementation of any restoration work. It is vital to investigate the cause of

damage and use the most appropriate preservative methods to prevent further

damages to the buildings. The lack of awareness and interest among contractors

showed the lowest score of

μ

¼

3.65. This shows that the contractors are generally not

interested in the project and do not have proper knowledge on the restoration of

historic timber buildings. Insufficient data of the restoration project and impropriate

preservative method also obtained the similar mean.

From the mean value in Table IV, the availability of material got the highest score

with

μ

¼

4.35 while the degree of damage got the lowest score of

μ

¼

4.10. This shows

that the factors affecting the restoration cost depends highly on availability of material,

followed by the complexity of project, availability of workmanship, method of

restoration, condition of site and degree of damages.

5. Conclusion

Restoration of damaged structures is important in order to conserve timber historical

buildings. This paper identified the most crucial building elements influencing cost for

35%

10%

55%

Neutral

Readily available

Difficult to obtain

Figure 5.

Availability

of timber

Factors

Mean

SD

Rank

Lack of analysis of the damaged building

4.05

0.999

1

Impropriate preservative method

4.00

0.858

2

Insufficient data of the restoration project

4.00

1.026

3

Complicity of the restoration part

3.85

0.875

4

Poor workmanship

3.75

1.070

5

Lack of awareness and interest by the contractor

3.65

1.040

6

Table III.

Timber restoration

process problems

Factors

Mean

SD

Rank

Availability of material

4.35

0.489

1

Complexity of project

4.30

0.733

2

Availability of workmanship

4.20

0.696

3

Method of restoration

4.20

0.696

3

Condition of site

4.15

0.745

5

Degree of damage

4.10

0.912

6

Table IV.

Factors affecting

cost of timber

restoration

319

Restoration

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timber

building

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timber restorations works in Malaysia. Building cost accounted for greater percentage

of the contract sum in timber building restorations works. In terms of elemental cost,

the upper floors, roof and walls appeared to be the most influencing elements in

the examined case studies. These three elements play a big role in influencing the

restoration cost for both historical timber building. The understanding of the

restoration process is vital to ensure the authenticity and significance of a historical

building is being kept. The importance of preservation is highlighted in the fact that,

there appeared to be a large percentage who agreed to replacing damaged timber with

the original material (same type of timber), despite difficulty in obtaining the material.

The most destructive agent of timber degradation identified were termites, others

included fungi, improper preservative method, weathering and other insects.

It was also revealed in the study that restoration costs were highly affected by the

availability of material, availability of skilled workers, while the degree of damage of

the timber building elements was not a big factor affecting restoration costs.

Lack of analysis on the damaged building, lack of awareness and interest among

contractors, insufficient data of the restoration project and impropriate preservative

method were identified as the factors posing difficulties and challenges to timber

restoration projects. Although the availability of material can be the main factor

affecting the cost of timber restoration, most respondents still belief that the restoration

process is crucial to replace the damaged timber with the same type of timber. While

the predominant problem with historic timber buildings was identified to be termites,

lack of analysis of the damages in the building was the main catalyst for the restoration

of the buildings. The restoration process is one which has to be clearly understood.

The nature and extent of each scope of works is crucial to assist in estimating cost for

timber restoration. Factors influencing the timber restoration cost should be available

to the estimator so they can produce better estimates. The elements that need more

allocation of budget are wall, roof and the upper floors. Thus, maintaining or replacing

these elements with other materials, can help to minimise the restoration costs of timber

buildings. This study can act as a reference for preparation of preliminary estimation of

new restoration projects on historic timber buildings.

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Corresponding author

Professor Azlan Shah Ali can be contacted at: [e-mail]

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