Man has a great influence on changes and distortions of historic buildings. From his actions, conscious or unaware of the value of the monument, original proportions are violated, harmony and beauty of the decor, as well as the logic and purposefulness of the structural system.
Many historic buildings, especially the laity, has undergone various adaptations or reconstructions during use according to the preferences of the owners or the style prevailing in a given era. Often these changes, maybe even on purpose, were carried out spontaneously without expert advice and participation, therefore unaware of even the consequences of their activities.
The durability and load-bearing capacity of masonry structures were particularly unfavorable: changing the vaults into a beam cover or vice versa - removing flat ceilings and replacing them with vaulted coverings so fashionable in the pseudo-Gothic period, punctures and widening of window and door openings, removal of load-bearing walls to increase the usable space, liquidation of slopes, disassembling pillars and pillars, removal of tie rods, entering the console, attaching brackets for balconies and galleries, introducing additional partitions dividing larger rooms, etc.. Such modifications changed the original static system, weakening of spatial ties, deformation of working sections and as a consequence irreversible damage.
Serious damage occurs as a result of overloading the structure or a change in the nature of the load, e.g. from static to dynamic. In times past, and not even that distant yet, many architectural structures valuable for the national culture, including the sacred ones, have been converted into warehouses, warehouses etc.. Careless storage of various types of materials and equipment caused damage to the walls, ceilings and interior decoration of monuments.
Quite a common phenomenon, causing a premature loss of the technical value of a historic building, it is inadequate to carry out maintenance or there is no concern for the durability of the object at all. The beginning of the bad thing most often lies in a leaky or damaged roof covering. Water and wind pass through the cover, destroying first of all the covering itself and, in turn, the roof truss and the structure located under it. Particularly large damage can be caused by clogged or damaged gutters, downpipes, poorly constructed hoods, etc.. Similar damage occurs with roofs with improperly shaped slopes, preventing rapid discharge of precipitation or supporting the maintenance of water for a long time, snow, ice. Moisture in rooms, or the development of more moisture than normal in them, it favors condensation of steam on the inner surfaces of walls and ceilings, and this in turn, even without dissolved chemicals, it destroys the interior design.
No concern for monuments, changes in utility functions, exposing historic buildings to a different type of burden, than it was foreseen during construction, in particular, overloading of the load cells, lack of planned and technologically correct maintenance of the building itself, as well as adjacent areas, often abandoning and creating favorable conditions for the demolition of materials for various purposes, magnify the sources of the causes causing the damage, and consequently premature destruction of historic brick buildings.