Protocols · §I — V · what we’re paid to do
Five protocols. Six gates.
Every project we take passes through five offering categories and six method gates. The protocols define what kind of work you’re asking for. The gates define how we work it. The two are orthogonal.
Protocols · the five offerings
Method · the six gates
In order. No skipping. The same six gates whether the room is 80 ft² or 80,000.
A project becomes a project once it passes Gate M1 and the client signs a Gate M2 risk register. Pricing is built around the gates, not the deliverables. Every gate has a fixed deliverable, an estimated duration, and a clear handoff.
M1 · Walk & ribbon
Two weeks of instrumented baseline before we propose anything. We deploy 8–24 sensors at the site, walk the building twice, interview the staff who manage the collection, and produce a 14-day climate ribbon. We will not sketch a setpoint regime until we have read what the building is doing on its own.
Deliverable: 14-day ribbon & observation log · 2 weeks · $4,500–$11,000
M2 · Risk write-up
A written risk register, in the Michalski tradition, listing every object class in the collection against the ten generic agents of deterioration (incorrect humidity, incorrect temperature, light, pollutants, pests, fire, water, dissociation, physical force, criminals). For each cell of the matrix, a defensible verdict: at acceptable risk, at controllable risk, at unacceptable risk. The register names an ASHRAE class proposal.
Deliverable: risk register · 2 weeks · $7,500–$22,000
M3 · Mechanical schematic
Single-line, dual-redundant where the risk register requires it, with envelope and control-zone overlays. Submitted as a stamped PA-PE drawing set. Reviewed with the client. Reviewed with the client’s conservator. Revised. Re-stamped. Issued for construction.
Deliverable: stamped drawing set · 3–6 weeks · 8–14% of construction cost
M4 · Build & commission
Construction. We hold our own controls. We subcontract heavy ductwork and structural penetrations. The build-out closes with a two-week quiet ramp during which the system runs on a published equilibration plan and the collection is not yet returned to the room.
Deliverable: built & commissioned system · 4–14 mo. · varies
M5 · Equilibration
Bring the collection to setpoint at no more than 1 °C and 2% RH per week. We have run an 18-month equilibration once (the cordage warehouse). We have run a four-week equilibration twice. The duration is dictated by the collection’s history and not by the construction schedule.
Deliverable: equilibration log · 2–18 mo. · per retainer
M6 · Standing watch
A 24/7 telemetry contract with quarterly conservator-readable reports. We respond to alerts inside one hour during business hours, two hours after-hours; we are on-site within four hours for any retainer site within 90 minutes’ drive of Lawrenceville. The contract renews annually.
Deliverable: ongoing telemetry & quarterly reports · ongoing · per retainer
Pricing
Fixed-price by gate, never time-and-materials.
Every gate has a fixed price, agreed before the gate begins. Construction (M4) is the exception, where prices float against the materials market and we publish a not-to-exceed. We do not bill in fifteen-minute increments. We do not pad an hourly rate so that we can pretend we’re cheap.
A typical gallery project (Class AA, 4,000–6,000 ft², full re-mech) lands between $480,000 and $1.4M total construction, with engineering and commissioning at 9–14% of that. A typical private-collection retrofit (one or two rooms, existing residential envelope) lands at $35,000–$140,000.
- Gate M1
- $4.5–11k · 2 wk
- Gate M2
- $7.5–22k · 2 wk
- Gate M3
- 8–14% of construction
- Gate M4
- varies, NTE
- Gate M5
- $2–9k/mo retainer
- Gate M6
- $22–64k/yr retainer
- Total
- $32k–$1.6M+
References & further reading
- ASHRAE Handbook — HVAC Applications, Chapter 24 “Museums, Galleries, Archives and Libraries.” ashrae.org.
- Michalski, S. “The Ideal Climate, Risk Management, the ASHRAE Chapter, and Proofed Fluctuations.” Getty Conservation Institute. PDF.
- BS EN 16893:2018, Conservation of Cultural Heritage. bsigroup.com.
- NPS Conserve O Gram series. nps.gov.
- IPI Dew Point Calculator. dpcalc.org.
- Image Permanence Institute, RIT. imagepermanenceinstitute.org.
- Conserv environmental monitoring platform. conserv.io.