Ion Chromatography Test in the Conservation of Fort Margherita, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia: Fid-Bau Portal

Ion Chromatography Test in the Conservation of Fort Margherita, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Tan, Chin Ling / Ahmad, A. Ghafar

In Malaysia, rising dampness is one of the most common building defects in heritage building, especially the masonry structural heritage building which is built of bricks. The dampness or moisture brought the soluble mineral salts from the ground and damaged the masonry building structures through capillary effect. The salt residues inside the columns, walls and other structures will weaken its structural stability. Besides that, high salt contamination in masonry structures of a heritage building will cause extensive crumbling and damage of wall plaster especially the lower part of the walls. According to National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645) and Guidelines on Heritage Building Conservation (2017), the implementation of scientific tests in heritage building conservation practice in Malaysia is encouraged and recommended by the National Heritage Department of Malaysia [1, 2]. Thus, ion chromatography test or salt test is conducted in heritage building conservation projects to investigate the level of salt embedded in the columns, walls, structures and components of a heritage building. This paper is based on the study on documentation recording the ion chromatography test conducted in the conservation of Fort Margherita, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia (2012–2014) such as the ion chromatography test report and the final conservation report. The result of the ion chromatography test on the conservation of Fort Margherita, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia (2012–2014) was evaluated based on the literature review on ion chromatography. The research findings revealed the purpose and basic procedure in conducting the ion chromatography in masonry heritage building conservation in Malaysia.