PROJECT DETAILS

/ CONTEXT The former chapel of the Franciscan Missionary of Mary was built in 1896 and was part of Quebec City’s heritage.  The building had an historical character and initially was to be preserved and integrated into an existing condominium project.However, due to the instability of the building, the developers and the City of Quebec opted for the demolition of the chapel.
/ PROJECT Delsan AIM was the chosen contractor to demolish the building in preparation for the continued construction of the neighboring new condominium building.  The chapel building was five stories and was constructed of wood framing and an exterior masonry façade including granite stones that were to be salvaged for historical purposes.  Due to the building location and the recovery of historical components, the project presented multiple technical challenges.
/ SAFETY MEASURES From the beginning of the project, a procedure to secure the structure was put in place.  In order to prevent the building from moving and to limit the risks of damaging the new condo building, the building was reinforced from the interior using steel cables.
/ MANUAL INTERIOR STRIPPING During the first phase of the project, Delsan AIM proceeded with the manual interior stripping of the two top floors of the building.  This involved precision demolition work as the exterior granite stones along with two towers needed to be salvaged for the planned reuse of these historical components in the future construction.
/ MECHANICAL DEMOLITION The second phase of the project consisted of the mechanical demolition of the remaining building.  The complexity of this project was due to the restrictive work conditions with the new condo being only 25 feet from the chapel.  During the work, Delsan AIM used a combination of excavators with specialized attachments including a demolition boom extension, which facilitated the safe demolition of the building without any damage to the neighboring structure.
/ HEALTH AND SAFETY MEASURES Delsan AIM established a health and safety program specific to the work, which included engineering procedures and a dust control program.