the essential
The most spectacular operation of the Sainte-Catherine church renovation project has just begun with the installation of an umbrella above the building.
On this Monday morning, the maneuvers were long and meticulous so that the immense crane from the Dartus Levage company finally found its place in the narrow rue des Girondins, at the foot of the Sainte-Catherine church. The crane found its place for a period of 3 days, the time to install an “umbrella” above the church which will protect the interior of the building from bad weather while the roof is completely redone. The first phase therefore, of a major project which will stretch over several years.
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Scaffolding, “umbrella” on the roof: how will the gigantic construction site of the Sainte-Catherine church in Villeneuve unfold?
This first phase of work concerns the roofs, frames, facades and upper windows of the nave. The covers will be completely redone. To solve the problem of rainwater drainage, copper hanging gutters will be installed on all of the roofs of the church, except for the four side chapels which are too small to accommodate gutters. In the attic of the nave, the large metal beams will be revised, brushed and treated, while the entire network of purlins and rafters, which is very damaged, will have to be completely repaired. The facades, partly damaged by water runoff from the roofs and in places covered with moss and algae, will be treated with algaecide and repointed.
“8 tons up to 10 meters high and 2 tons up to 45 meters”
Jonathan Laroche is responsible for installing the scaffolding for the company “Patrimoine échafaudages” and he closely monitors the hauling of the elements necessary for installing the umbrella. “This is really the classic type of work that we carry out. Our specialty is the installation of these scaffoldings on national heritage buildings. Here, the roof is only 16 meters high. I was able to intervene to much more dizzying heights. Here, it is more the configuration of the premises which may seem to be a problem. But by working on heritage buildings, Jonathan Laroche is used to working in an urban environment, with the constraints that this entails. “Of course, the proximity of the houses on one side, that of the bell tower on the other, we have to be very careful with the movements of the crane’s boom. But normally, everything should go well. Between now and Wednesday , everything must have been installed, barring any last minute surprises.” “This crane with a span of 45 meters is the only one that Dartus Lifting has” indicates the crane driver. As for its lifting capacity, “it is 8 tonnes up to a height of 10 meters and 2 tonnes at a height of 45 meters”.
And this impressive construction site inevitably leads to some changes in the traffic in this district of the center of the bastide. This is why rue des Girondins will be closed to traffic for these three days, from rue de Penne in the south to rue des Frères-Clavet in the north. Pedestrian access will be maintained, and rue des Frères-Clavet will have two-way traffic (from rue des Girondins to rue de la Fraternité) in order to allow access to the garages located on rue des Girondins. And above all, we must not forget that rue Ozanne (at the rear of the church between rue des Girondins and rue Sainte-Catherine) is closed to pedestrians. “These are things that happen too regularly” noted Jonathan Laroche. “We work here constantly, and when the fences are removed to gain access to the material stored here, we are forced to redirect pedestrians out of the construction site area, which can be dangerous.”
