Diagnosis and assessment of a historic timber structure in La Casa del Corregidor, using non-destructive techniques

Abstract

This paper presents the assessment of the timber structure of “La Casa del Corregidor” building, a singular historic building in Cuenca (World Heritage City). The building is scheduled for restoration in the near future. The study made use of both non-destructive (NDT) and semi-destructive (SDT) techniques. A thorough experimental campaign and inspection were conducted on all the old wood elements across the eight floors of the building. More than 1,200 elements of Pinus sylvestris L. wood were inspected. The data collected in this campaign allowed a mechanical evaluation of the timber elements. The following NDT and SDT were used: visual inspection, microphotography, moisture meter, stress-wave measurements, and resistance drilling. These techniques made facilitated the identification of the wood species, detection of natural defects and decayed areas, and estimation of the physical and mechanical properties of the timber elements. The experimental results were statistically analysed using a multidisciplinary approach to determine the scope of the intervention on the structure to meet the new use and its structural requirements. The final report produced at the end of the inspection was made of colour plans describing the singularities, natural defects, timber decays and damages of each single member. The results obtained will orient the building's conservation work. These findings support a minimal intervention, since more than 95% of the structural elements were found to be in good condition.