As part of the refurbishment of the storage shelter at an Action store in Colombiers, in the Hérault, MCI Construction worked in two stages: the first devoted to taking down and rebuilding the damaged wall, the second to carrying out the façade renovation with a traditional crushed finish.
The aim was to repair the masonry for the long term, to strengthen the elements that give the wall its stability and to recover a finish in keeping with the existing work.
Before the works began, we set up the site and made it safe. Protective sheeting was laid on the ground, in particular beneath the cement mixer and across the areas used to store materials, so as to protect the existing surfaces.
The shelter wall showed significant cracking and damage. The affected sections were therefore carefully taken down so that the work could start again from sound, properly reinforced masonry.
As the demolition progressed, we found that the existing stiffener posts had not been built as expected: both the infill concrete and the strengthening reinforcement were missing. This considerably reduced the rigidity of the structure and called for the areas concerned to be rebuilt in full.
Once the wall had been taken down, the rubble was sorted, loaded and taken away to a waste-recycling centre. The working area was cleaned before the rebuilding began.
The wall was rebuilt in concrete blocks bedded in mortar. New reinforcement was placed in the stiffener posts to strengthen the masonry properly.
Once the blockwork was complete, formwork was set up for the levelling course along the top of the wall. Ready-mixed concrete was then poured into the stiffener posts and into the levelling course, to create a continuous, reinforced whole.
The mortar and the concrete used were ready-mixed products, giving a consistent mix well suited to the site.
- setting up and protecting the site
- taking down the cracked low wall and the weakened areas
- taking the rubble away to a waste-recycling centre
- rebuilding in concrete blocks bedded in mortar
- placing the reinforcement in the stiffener posts
- setting up the formwork and pouring the concrete to the posts and the levelling course
- truing up, checking and a full clean-up of the site
Once the new masonry had been built and left to dry, a second stage was arranged to carry out the external finish to the structure.
The site was protected again with sheeting on the ground, in particular across the areas where the façade product was mixed and used. A ready-mixed façade render was then applied to the new surfaces and to the areas to be made good.
The façade renovation was carried out to a traditional crushed finish. Particular care was taken over ruling off the render, over the junctions with the existing surfaces and over the overall evenness of the finish.
When the works were complete, the protective sheeting was taken up and the whole area was cleaned.
This project replaced cracked and inadequately reinforced masonry with a structure rebuilt with reinforced stiffener posts, a concrete infill and a concrete levelling course.
The second phase of the works restored an even appearance thanks to the façade renovation in a traditional crushed finish.
MCI Construction carries out masonry work, repairs to damaged walls, rebuilding, the creation or repair of stiffener posts and façade renovation in Colombiers, Béziers, Narbonne and the surrounding towns and villages.
