Drying costs

Whether the items are taken to a freeze-drying or dehumidification firm,
the major or national  Disaster recovery firms all charge about the same
amount per cubic foot.  The additional charges would include freight,
labor to pack, clean and rebox, and any additional handling.

Average costs:  $45-$65/cubic foot or about $2-$5 per book. For
manuscripts go with the cubic foot cost, because archivists should know
how many linear feet they have.  Figure in costs for reboxing in
document boxes if this is how your items are stored.

If your insurance agent is asking, the cost of drying and even rebinding
some (about 10%) is 25% of the cost of replacing each title.   Obviously
manuscripts are unique so the appraisal must guide savings.

Drying time takes anywhere from 4-8 weeks depending upon how the boxes
were packed before freezing, how wet the items were and the drying
process.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me
directly.

Miriam Kahn
Preservation Consultant
MBK CONSULTING
60 N. Harding Road
Columbus, OH  43209-1524
614-239-8977

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:25
                Distributed: Wednesday, October 5, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-8-25-001
                                  ***