For most museums, archives and libraries a dedicated new storage facility, though highly desirable is not at the top of the list when it comes to funding priorities. However, storage is of course absolutely essential across all three disciplines and it is therefore important to make the best use of available space in your existing building, which is usually achieved through the use of a mobile system.
Problems arise when buildings are so old that structurally they cannot cope with the physical demands that such storage systems place on them. In addition, listed buildings are quite often used to house museum collections and this poses problems because of the stringent requirements relating to the design structure and integrity of such buildings. Happily you can overcome such problems with some careful planning and help of a trusted storage partner.
The first step is for you or your storage partner to undertake a full audit of the collection that is to be stored, taking into account size, materials and weight. The results of your audit should allow you to understand the weight loading capacity you require. The results should also give an indication of the type of storage system that will provide the best space optimisation, though your storage partner will be able to advise you on this.
Even if the weight loading capacity of your floor seems too weak to house a mobile storage system, there are ways to overcome such issues, which usually involve strengthening the floor with ‘I’ beam rolled steel channels able to cope with the requiredweight loadings. In a listed building this is still achievable providing the overall structure and appearance of the building remains intact. However, it is always worth familiarising yourself with the restrictions that are imposed to make sure you adhere to the accepted guidelines.
Below is a case study explaining how a mobile storage system was installed in a listed building.
North Somerset Museum Service (Formerly Woodspring Museum)
When Woodspring Museum ran out of storage space for their ever growing collection they called on metalraxstorage to install a mobile storage system to help increase storage capacity.
Woodspring Museum is housed in a listed building with a timber floor. The weight loading of the floor was low, not unlike that of an office floor, which meant that it couldn’t support the weight of a fully loaded mobile system.
To overcome this metalraxstorage did a full inventory of all the goods that were to go onto the mobile system and worked out the overall weight loading required for the mobile. We were able to advise and help the museum with the best design to strengthen the floor to take the required weight loadings.
The original timber floor was then dug up and ‘I’ beam rolled steel channels were laid under the floor. The tracks for the mobile system were then laid on top of the ‘I’ beams and the timber floor replaced between the tracks. This way the structure and integrity of the listed building was left untouched but the floor was sufficiently strengthened to carry the weight of the fully loaded mobile system.
Guidelines for Planning in Old Buildings
- Conduct an audit
- Estimate your growth per annum and multiply by the number of year’s expansion you are planning for
- Survey your existing space to see if you have enough
- Make sure the existing building fabric is adequate (Check floor loadings etc)
- Carefully design your storage layout seeking advice if necessary
- Consider any additional services you may require and how they will interact with your storage design
For further information on right storage for old buildings please see the douments available in our downloads section below:
Managing the preservation of library and archive collections in historic buildings - Guidance leaflet focusing on the environmental problems, affecting library and archive collections, that are common in historic buildings and how they can be tackled.
Musuem collections in industrial buildings - Guide focusing on the selection, design and adaptation of industrial buildings to house and store collections.
Download our vcard