Renovation of the historical monument of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Laurent in Eu

The renovation of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Laurent in Eu is underway. Here is all the information on this major project, which began three years ago.

State of play of a sixty-metre high building site

The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Laurent in Eu, located in the Seine Maritime region, was originally the place of worship of a sixty-metre-tall abbey that was destroyed during the Revolution. The building has been a listed monument since 1840, which brings its own set of constraints, both for the renovation itself and for assembling scaffolding.

The renovation of this historical monument consists of three different phases:

• A first phase on the spire, which has been on the brink of collapsing for many years,
• A second phase on the renovation of the roof, the framework and the gargoyles in the chancel of the church,
• A third phase on the two sides of the church, with the installation of an umbrella.

In order to examine the scale of the project, a drone was used to scan the building structure, allowing the recovery of point clouds to better design the scaffolding structure before starting the project.

60 tonnes of scaffolding for the renovation of a fragile historical building

Tubesca-Comabi was part of the renovation of this listed old building, starting with installing the scaffolding in early April 2019 and finishing in early July 2019. There were several difficulties on the site: the fragility of the monument; the height of the building, requiring a four-metre high scaffold to span the entrance of the church; low wind resistance and various weather hazards.

Two installations were put in place before starting to renovate this church. The first is on the car park, with a first four-metre high fence made of ribbed sheet metal, on self-stabilising concrete blocks to avoid damaging the ground. The second is a base for the craftsmen, serving as a bungalow with a small meeting room, a cloakroom and sanitary facilities.

Assembling such a scaffold, which reached a height of 80 metres, was particularly complex. On churches in general, the geometry means a particular assembly is required. On the Collegiate, the assembly was even more complicated, as extreme vigilance was needed due to the fragility of its spire. The latter, made of oak wood, dates from the 19th century for the most part, but at its base there are still beams from the 14th century. Supports were positioned around the spire to assemble a class 6 scaffold (ref. Tubesca-Comabi M363). The aim of the renovation of this historical monument is to remove the old spire and replace it with a new one.

Moreover, it was not easy for the teams on the terrain to launch the construction. The weather conditions delayed the work because the scaffolding had to stop being assembled. A custom-made temporary umbrella (with a thermo-welded sheeting) was installed to keep the workers’ area out of the rain.

From the top of the scaffolding, there is a direct and unanimous observation: the Collegiate is in a poor condition. The passageway around the boom has collapsed in some places, tiles are missing and due to several centuries of wind, the spire leans to the west.

For Sophie Togni-Devillers of the heritage department at Eu town hall, as for the twelve companies that will be working on the site, the challenge is particularly complex because it involves preserving as many historical pieces as possible.

Currently, the scaffolding used for the work on the chancel is in place and is being assembled for the final restoration stage for the two transepts. Two umbrellas will soon be installed, up to 30 metres high. The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.

It is therefore a high level project for Tubesca-Comabi and the eleven other companies working on the site. Between the very fragile spire and the framework, some of which dates back to before 1428, both meticulousness and efficiency are needed!

Tubesca-Comabi has an assured expertise in large-scale projects and in the renovation of historic buildings that give rise to specific problems. Do you need a custom-made solution? Contact us!