Floor coverings for historic house museums

I have been asked to reevaluate the carpet coverings in the high
traffic areas of the small historic house museum where I work. The
carpet runners that are currently in place are reproductions and
they cover the edges of the historic area rugs. At some point in the
past a hard plastic covering was placed over the runners.
Unfortunately, the plastic covering has become brittle, is stuck to
the wood floor, and moisture is trapped underneath it.

After the old plastic is carefully removed and the carpets and floor
are cleaned, a new carpet covering plan needs to be decided on. We
are leaning to not replacing the plastic and just have the
reproduction runners. However, I would like research the option of
finding plastic covers that are archival, breathable material, and
designed with sloped edges to prevent tripping hazards. I was hoping
to get suggestions from other historic house museums that have dealt
with the same problems and what their solutions have been. Did you
use a new plastic covering and if so which ones?

Hillary Kidd
Curator of Collections
Heritage Farmstead Museum
1900 W 15th Street
Plano, Texas 75075-7329
972-881-0140 office
Fax: 972-422-6481


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 23:31
                 Distributed: Monday, February 22, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-23-31-010
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