Concrete scanning · Longueuil
Concrete scanning and GPR in Longueuil
In Longueuil, concrete scanning with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) locates rebar, conduits and other embedded items before you core, drill or cut a slab, wall or column. Openings in a condominium or industrial building are best located precisely before the visit.
Longueuil
Working in Longueuil
In Longueuil, an opening in a condominium or industrial building must be located precisely before the visit. Provide the floor, the plan grid lines and the type of opening, along with any sign of post-tensioning. A recent building may contain embedded items whose actual position must be verified. For several openings, provide a common plan for the plumbing, electrical and ventilation teams so a consistent survey area can be defined.
In an industrial building, the planned opening frequently passes through a structural slab rather than a simple topping, and the nature of the element changes what the survey should show. Provide the floor level, the grid lines and the purpose of the opening, since a duct penetration and a load-bearing anchor do not call for the same locating accuracy.
Where the building is recent, the possibility of a prestressed slab has to be raised explicitly, even without a drawing to support it. A cable profile varies from one end of the span to the other, which rules out any conclusion drawn from a single measurement point. Flagging that doubt early guides both the method and the margin to allow around the target point.
In Longueuil, a permit is required before new construction, demolition or the modification of a building. Some requests, such as interior renovations or exterior repairs, can be processed online almost instantly.
Preparing your project in Longueuil
- Give the floor, plan grid lines and type of each opening
- Report any information about a post-tensioned slab
- Check whether the related permit request can be submitted online to the City
From Old Longueuil to Saint-Hubert, building stock to read before you intervene
Established as a seigneury in 1668, Longueuil developed slowly until the 1847 railway and the Victoria Bridge, built between 1850 and 1860; its growth as a port town and railway bridgehead then became tied to Montreal’s, and was consolidated by the Jacques Cartier Bridge, inaugurated in 1930, whose south approach has a concrete deck and substructure. The Old Longueuil heritage site, cited in 1993, has more than 950 buildings, about 455 of them with strong heritage potential, clad mostly in brick, stone and wood siding. The Saint-Antoine stream there was filled in in 1957.
The City has four village cores: Greenfield Park, Le Moyne, Saint-Hubert and Old Longueuil. Labonté and De Maricourt streets group so-called “veterans’ houses”, and the Normandie and Bellerive developments were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Seaway, the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine bridge-tunnel, Route 132 and Autoroutes 10, 20 and 30 have also reshaped the urban landscape.
In Saint-Hubert, the airport inaugurated in 1927 hosted a military base whose facilities closed in 1968, the year Autoroute 30 was built. The airport area mixes low-density industrial, institutional, commercial and residential buildings, with the Canadian Space Agency headquarters since 1993 and large industrial buildings built since the beginning of the 21st century.
Around Saint-Hubert airport, recent large buildings stand next to structures inherited from the military base and a few run-down buildings south of chemin de la Savane. Before an opening or anchoring, specify which construction phase the target slab belongs to and whether the building has been extended: the joint between two phases deserves to be surveyed separately. For a hangar or workshop still in operation, have the operator establish the equipment traffic areas and the time slots when the floor can be cleared.
How ground-penetrating radar works
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) emits high-frequency electromagnetic waves and records their reflections at boundaries between materials with different properties, such as concrete and steel. The ASTM D6432 guide describes this investigation method.
GPR is also one of the non-destructive test methods for in-place concrete reviewed by the American Concrete Institute (report ACI 228.2R-13).
Method, preparation and GPR limitations
When to request a scan, how to prepare the survey, how to use the findings and what ground-penetrating radar cannot see are all covered on our concrete scanning in Quebec page. This page only covers what is specific to Longueuil.
Frequently asked questions
Does concrete scanning damage the structure?
No. GPR is a non-destructive test method: the device moves over the concrete surface without drilling or coring it.
What can ground-penetrating radar detect?
Usually rebar, conduits and other embedded items whose electromagnetic properties differ from those of concrete. Readability depends in particular on depth and on the condition of the concrete.
What if a post-tensioned slab is suspected?
Mention it in the request, with available drawings. A scan alone does not authorize drilling a post-tensioned slab: the work must be approved by those responsible for the site and structure.
Sources
- ASTM D6432-19, Standard Guide for Using the Surface Ground Penetrating Radar Method for Subsurface Investigation
- American Concrete Institute, ACI 228.2R-13, Report on Nondestructive Test Methods for Evaluation of Concrete in Structures
- Ville de Longueuil: Construction, rénovation, démolition (in French)
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec: Site patrimonial du Vieux-Longueuil (in French)
- Ville de Longueuil: Cadre de gestion du patrimoine architectural des sites patrimoniaux, 2018 (in French)
- Ville de Longueuil: Plan directeur de la zone d’innovation en aérospatiale (in French)
- The Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated: Jacques Cartier Bridge, about
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