Structural assessment · Saguenay
Structural assessment in Saguenay
Structural assessment evaluates the condition of a concrete structure with non-destructive test methods, before a repair, an alteration or a regulatory verification in Saguenay. A structural survey is framed on a precise question, not on a general worry.
Saguenay
Working in Saguenay
In Saguenay, an assessment often accompanies a project whose municipal process goes through the commercial counter. The survey itself is framed on what the engineer is trying to establish: the condition of an area, the layout of reinforcement, the presence of anomalies in part of a structure. Describe how the building is used, the levels involved and the access constraints. Areas that will stay out of reach should be named, since they will appear as such in the report.
Saguenay directs permit requests to two separate counters, Info-permis résidentiel and Info-permis commercial. A survey that supports work in a commercial or institutional building is therefore not prepared in the same place as a residential project. Identifying the right counter before planning avoids a round trip when the application is filed.
Preparing your project in Saguenay
- Name the levels and the portions of the structure actually involved
- Identify in advance the areas that will remain out of reach
- State how the building is used and what that imposes on the survey
Saguenay, a city of aluminium and wood, seen from the concrete
Saguenay produces one third of all the aluminium made in Canada, according to Promotion Saguenay, which also describes the forest industry as inseparable from the regional economy. Port de Saguenay notes that the Chicoutimi pulp mill was, in the early 20th century, the largest mechanical pulp mill in the world, and that aluminium smelters developed from the 1920s onward thanks to the hydroelectric potential and the possibility of building a deep-water port. Opened in 1985, the Grande-Anse marine terminal handles, among other goods, lumber, pulp and paper, industrial salt and coal.
In the Jonquière borough, the Arvida heritage site covers 178 hectares and includes more than 800 buildings, mostly detached single-family houses built between 1926 and 1950. The Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec describes series construction: in 1926, Arvida Works started 270 houses and finished them in 135 days, notably by reusing four forms to pour the foundations, and the houses were built from 34 standard plans. Brick dominates in institutional and commercial buildings.
Nearby, the Arvida aluminium bridge, built in 1949 and 1950, is the first bridge in the world made entirely of aluminium. It links the former town of Arvida to the Shipshaw II generating station, its deck includes concrete, an aluminium alloy forms the layer separating the aluminium from the concrete, and the structure was restored in 1995 and in 2013.
Arvida’s brick institutional and commercial buildings, and more broadly an industrial base developed from the 1920s onward, have often been extended at different periods. Before the survey, rebuild the timeline of the parts of the structure and state which period each targeted area belongs to.
For a building located in the Arvida heritage site, check the rules governing interventions before planning destructive testing, and tell the engineer what the non-destructive survey will need to document in their place.
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 Saguenay.
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.
What happens to an area that is out of reach on the day?
It is recorded as not covered. A useful report separates what was examined from what was not, rather than suggesting complete coverage.
Can a building in operation be surveyed?
Yes, allowing for occupancy. The working area has to be clear for the duration of the survey, and the available windows are agreed before the visit.
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 Saguenay: Construire et rénover (in French)
- Promotion Saguenay: Key sectors
- Port de Saguenay: Historique (in French)
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec: Site patrimonial d’Arvida (in French)
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec: Pont d’aluminium d’Arvida (in French)
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