Plastics and Buildings

I was listening to a story on NPR this morning on the effort required to fix the dome of the State Capitol building in Denver.  Seems like years of rust and corrosion from whether are making it unstable.  So now the taxpayers are looking at a significant bill to repair the thing.

Not my main idea here, but it's really frustrating to me that our lawmakers need these ornate buildings to work in.  It says we're all about appearance and not so much about substance.  I want to see some state build a capital building that is purely practical.

Okay.  So since we've already inherited old buildings that we're not likely to tear down.  Why not protect some of them with a layer of clear plastic.  Wouldn't it preserve a lot of buildings in whatever state they're in?  I know this isn't practical for entire buildings, but things like a dome seem like they could have their life extended by a coating to keep the weather and other elements away.  Also, would a coating like this add strength to buildings that may not be very strong?  What about coating buildings in earthquake prone areas like this?

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