Continuation of work on the spire of the cathedral

The spire of the cathedral continues its renovation. Until the end of September 2020, a 400 tonne crane will allow teams to raise the platform supporting the scaffolding for the 2nd phase of the site.

It’s hard to miss it!

Arrival Thursday September 10, 2020, Place de la Cathédrale and installed along Notre-Dame, rue du Change to rue des Bonnetiers, the 400-ton crane, which rises to 120 meters in height, is working hard -feet to raise the beams above the current platform around the boom.

These beams will support a new platform which will accommodate the scaffolding necessary for the proper functioning of the second phase of the renovation of the spire of the cathedral.

Built in the 19th century by the architect Alavoine and culminating at 151 meters in height, the latter is eaten away by corrosion which endangers its structure.

Begun in 2018, the restoration works consist in the depollution of metals, their cleaning, the renovation or replacement of certain cast iron parts, the application of an anti-corrosion treatment and the painting.

Pollution control is one of the most critical phases of this renovation.

In fact, in 1914, lead minium had been deposited as a protective layer on cast iron to prevent corrosion.

It is for this reason that the site is completely confined, like an asbestos removal site.

• Start of the 2nd phase in the fall

This involves removing cast iron elements to restore or replace them, allowing teams to access the structure to continue stripping it.

These elements will then be reassembled to be put back in place before painting the arrow and its mesh.

From November, we will proceed with the plumbing, once the scaffolding has been reassembled on the new platform, installed at a height of 85 meters.

This operation will be followed, from January 2021, by the intervention of the Technival Industrie company, located in Charente, which works on metal, on cast iron parts to be dismantled to be restored or directly replaced by new ones.

The restoration will finally tackle the skylight, the upper part of the spire, then the central part of the stool located 151 meters high.

The painting can then be carried out.

Non-polluting, these paints can then be used in places over the years, without having to resort to complete metal stripping.

Like the first level of the arrow, unveiled at the end of the summer, Rouen residents will discover a two-color arrow.

The first, brown, dark, will cover the steel-corten, which reinforced the internal structure of the spire at the end of the 1970s to increase its resistance to the wind.

The second, bluish verdigris, will cover the original part dating from the 19th century, namely the outer cast iron mesh of the spire.

At the very end of the work, announced for 2024, the rooster and the cross, which culminate at 151 meters in height, will leave for Parisian workshops to be gilded with fine gold.

Financed by the State under the supervision of Richard Duplat, chief architect of historical monuments, the restoration of the spire amounts to 13 million euros.

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