Structural Rehabilitation-Faculte St. Jean

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Although Faculte St. Jean has been through recent renovations, it still requires a few structural corrections. Due to these renovations, a majority of the windows and masonry have already been replaced, repaired, or restored; however, there is still room for improvement.

A moisture problem was detected throughout the building. In a couple of the upper-level classrooms, some of the ceiling tiles had a brownish discoloration that could be safely assumed as water stains. There was also slight wood deterioration and paint chipping around the window frames, which again can also be due to the high moisture content. In order to repair the roof, walls, and window borders, sealant may be used to prevent water from seeping into the building.

The water entry was also evident throughout the older brickwork of the building. Efflorescence on the face of the brick, which is due to the dampness, could eventually cause the brick surface to crumble.

Hairline cracks were detected in the mortar as well, indicating water seepage. To correct the defective mortar joints, repointing is a solution for maintaining the brick masonry.

As stated earlier, because of the recent renovations, many of the windows have already been repaired or replaced. The few of the older windows remaining, are single-pane windows that offer little resistance to heat transfer. This is a negative factor, especially for the conversion of classrooms into seniors' residences. Comfort and energy savings are important in the renovation case; therefore replacing these windows with dual-pane windows would be an effective solution.

Some of the older doors in the school had a few gaps where air infiltration occurred. It wouldn't be necessary to replace the doors, although insulations or seals should be placed to maintain reasonable air tightness.

In order to recycle Faculte St. Jean into private seniors' apartment residence, these structural changes would have to be made in order to keep the new occupants content.