Preserving Heritage: Monitoring an 1880s Farmhouse in France
Project Overview
Nestled in the Grand-Est region of France, this farmhouse dates back to 1880. The building, cherished for its heritage, has seen some wear over the years, and its barn walls show cracks, raising concerns for its owners. Concerned about the potential spread of these cracks, the owners sought a monitoring solution to determine whether immediate repairs are needed or if they can take time to plan a more thorough renovation.
Monitoring Solution
With cracks appearing in multiple locations, the farmhouse owners required a system capable of simultaneous, scalable crack monitoring. They opted for TotaLite’s innovative solution to test its efficiency, starting with two cracks.
Here’s how we set it up:
1 TotaLite Sensor positioned centrally in the barn.
4 Prisms placed around each crack, with one on each side for precise measurements.
This configuration allows for accurate monitoring of the crack movement and lays the groundwork for scaling up to cover all the critical areas if the trial goes well.
First Observations
TotaLite provided exactly what the owners were looking for in a structural health monitoring system: simplicity, speed, and flexibility. The installation took less than an hour, incl. configuration, baseline setting, and full access to insights via the TotaLite Dashboard. The system’s design means we can easily scale to the other cracks in the walls as well. The sensor is small which is nice that it has limited impact on the building’s aesthetics.
Looking Ahead
With encouraging results so far, the owners plan to expand TotaLite monitoring to cover all critical cracks. This case demonstrates how TotaLite brings heritage preservation into the digital age, providing powerful insights with minimal disruption.
"Knowing that we can track any shifts in the structure in real-time has been incredibly reassuring. With TotaLite, we’re confident that we’ll have the information we need to plan renovations without rushing decisions."