Structural assessment · Laval
Structural assessment in Laval
Structural assessment evaluates the condition of a concrete structure with non-destructive test methods, before a repair, an alteration or a regulatory verification in Laval. Assessing an industrial slab mainly helps prepare the study of a new load or observed settlement.
Laval
Working in Laval
In Laval, a request to assess an industrial slab should specify the planned new load and the information the engineer is looking for. Estimated thickness, rebar locations and indications beneath the slab can contribute to the study without constituting a capacity check. If settlement is present, include observations on water, cracks and changes over time. These elements help separate structural questions from investigations of the slab’s support.
A new load study is prepared from where that load will sit, not from an approximate area. The equipment layout shows where the forces will be taken up, and the grid tightens around those points, leaving the rest of the slab to broader coverage.
Anchors already in place count as much as those to come. Dismantled racking, abandoned bases or filled penetrations leave traces that read on the survey and interpret poorly without history. Flagging what was installed then removed avoids mistaking an old repair for an anomaly.
In Laval, permit requirements depend on the type of project, for example a residential renovation or the fit-out of a commercial space. The City describes each case in its “Trouver mon permis” section: check it before scheduling the survey.
Preparing your project in Laval
- Specify the planned new load or equipment
- Include observations on water, cracks and how they change
- List the information the engineer expects
Île Jésus building stock and your concrete surveys
Until 1965, Île Jésus was made up of 14 municipalities, from Sainte-Rose to Chomedey by way of Duvernay and Saint-Vincent-de-Paul; the merger order is dated August 6, 1965. Laval is at once an administrative region, an RCM and a city, a unique case in Quebec, on a 246 km² territory, the smallest of Quebec’s regions. According to the Centre d’archives de Laval, postwar suburbanization transformed farmland: families of more modest means settled in Pont-Viau or Arèsville, and the bungalow spread through neighbourhoods such as Duvernay.
The older building stock rests on local stone. The Sainte-Rose-de-Lima church, a classified heritage building, was built from 1852 to 1856 on the bank of the Rivière des Mille Îles, using stone taken from nearby quarries. The island’s quarries also supplied stone for the Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul penitentiary; one of them, after serving as a dump, became the Centre de la nature in 1970.
On the industrial side, a refinery once operated in Saint-François, and Laval’s manufacturing jobs are now concentrated in complex processing, such as printing and chemical products. The extension of the metro’s Orange Line added Cartier, De la Concorde and Montmorency stations, opened in April 2007.
Quarries were worked on Laval’s territory; one of them served as a dump before being redeveloped as the Centre de la nature. For a building next to a former extraction or dumping site, mention it in the request: the engineer can then cross-check the estimated slab thickness and the indications beneath the slab with the available geotechnical studies. For a classified heritage building in stone masonry, first have the competent authorities confirm the permissions required before any testing on the structure.
Non-destructive test methods
The American Concrete Institute report ACI 228.2R-13 reviews non-destructive test methods for in-place concrete, including visual inspection, stress-wave, magnetic and electrical methods, infrared thermography and ground-penetrating radar.
Parking garages in Quebec
In Quebec, the Building chapter of the Safety Code requires parking garage owners to carry out a visual verification every year and, every five years, to obtain an in-depth verification report from an engineer. Non-destructive surveys can document the condition of the concrete in support of these verifications.
- Before repairing or strengthening a slab
- Before a change of use or an alteration
- When monitoring a parking garage
- After cracks or spalling appear
Assessment methods, process and limitations
Complementary methods, how the survey runs, what the report contains and what an assessment does not replace are covered on our structural assessment in Quebec page. This page only covers what is specific to Laval.
Frequently asked questions
Does a structural assessment replace an engineer’s opinion?
No. Non-destructive tests provide data on the condition of the concrete; structural interpretation and recommendations are an engineer’s responsibility, as the Safety Code provides for parking garages, for example.
Which structures can be assessed?
Usually reinforced concrete slabs, walls, columns, beams and parking garages, in commercial, industrial, institutional or residential buildings.
Is a settling slab a case for structural assessment?
Assessment can document estimated thickness, rebar and some indications beneath the slab. The cause of settlement may involve the slab or its support: it requires an engineer’s analysis and, if needed, other investigations.
Does an assessment confirm that a slab can carry new equipment?
No. It provides data such as estimated thickness and rebar location. Checking load capacity is the engineer’s responsibility, and other tests may be requested.
Sources
- American Concrete Institute, ACI 228.2R-13, Report on Nondestructive Test Methods for Evaluation of Concrete in Structures
- Régie du bâtiment du Québec: Parking garages, maintenance and inspection
- Ville de Laval: Permis pour la rénovation et l’aménagement d’un espace commercial (in French)
- Centre d’archives de Laval (Community Stories): Se regrouper pour prospérer (in French)
- Centre d’archives de Laval (Community Stories): Banlieue, nouveau standard ! (in French)
- Centre d’archives de Laval (Community Stories): Les carrières, de moteur économique à souci écologique (in French)
- Centre d’archives de Laval (Community Stories): Industries et exportations (in French)
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec: Église de Sainte-Rose-de-Lima (in French)
- Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie: Portrait socioéconomique de Laval (in French)
- STM: Les stations de métro Cartier, de la Concorde et Montmorency ouvriront le 28 avril, 2007 (in French)
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