Structural assessment · Longueuil
Structural assessment in Longueuil
Structural assessment evaluates the condition of a concrete structure with non-destructive test methods, before a repair, an alteration or a regulatory verification in Longueuil. Construction drawings and later alterations are the starting point for framing the assessment questions.
Longueuil
Working in Longueuil
For an assessment project in Longueuil, the construction drawings and later alterations help frame the survey questions. Before strengthening, a change of use or a slab check, specify the areas and parameters useful to the engineer. An apparent discrepancy must be interpreted with the precision of the method and the structure’s records. Collecting information does not replace a conclusion on conformity or capacity.
Original drawings and later modifications sometimes contradict each other, and that contradiction is settled before the survey rather than during analysis. A filled opening, a rebuilt bearing or an unrecorded addition change what the survey should find, and therefore what deserves flagging as a discrepancy.
When a discrepancy appears anyway, the report is better describing it than ruling on it. Noting that an item is not where the drawing places it is a useful observation; concluding why rests with the engineer, with the complete documents at hand.
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
- Gather construction drawings and known alterations
- Specify the areas and parameters useful to the engineer
- Confirm with the City whether the planned modification requires a permit
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.
The “veterans’ houses” on Labonté and De Maricourt streets and the Normandie and Bellerive developments form relatively uniform groups. For an extension or an added storey, the engineer may want to know the foundation thickness and whether reinforcement is present; indicate whether neighbouring houses of the same type have already been documented. In Greenfield Park, on part of chemin de Chambly in Saint-Hubert and on part of Labonté and De Maricourt streets, exterior changes fall under a site planning and architectural integration program (PIIA): check this procedure before setting a work schedule.
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 Longueuil.
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.
Are drawings of a new building sufficient?
They provide useful context. A survey documents existing conditions in the relevant areas, subject to the method’s limitations.
Does a gap between drawings and survey mean non-conformity?
Not on its own. An apparent discrepancy must be interpreted with the method’s precision and the structure’s records. Conclusions on conformity belong to the responsible professional.
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 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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