Integral rehabilitation of a heritage building with lime mortars

Integral refurbishment carried out on the Royal Tobacco Factory of A Coruña and the current courts of the capital of the Province of A Coruña.

The factory was inaugurated in 1804 and housed 500 cigarreras aged no more than 14 years. This number grew to around 1,400 workers. The first recorded conflicts took place in 1831 and, on 7 December 1857, they had the first women’s strike in Galicia due to poor working conditions and the mechanisation of the factory.

During the 19th century, ten tobacco factories were set up in Spain. La Coruña was the second to be created and ended up being the largest.

In 1999, Tabacalera merged with the French company Seita to create Altadis, which agreed to close the factory in December 2002.

BUILDING, INTERVENTION AND PROBLEM

The factory headquarters has its origins in the warehouses of the Mensajeros Marítimos installed in 1764, adapted as a factory by the architect Fernando Rodríguez Romay. In 1828, the first large extension took place, with which the new factory was created, closed and joined to the old one in 1860. After several subsequent extensions, between 1910 and 1925, some internal structures were removed and the Palloza façade was reformed, which became the main façade, the old one being the side façade, but retaining the poster.

In 2014, refurbishment work began to convert the building into a judicial headquarters. The new facilities were inaugurated on 31 March 2017 and house the Provincial Court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Juvenile Court, among other sections.

The refurbishment involved the complete remodelling of the building while preserving the aesthetics of the exterior façade and interior courtyards.

The walls of the interior courtyards were the ones that in general presented the greatest problems of pathologies and the greatest need for intervention due to their great deterioration (more than 3500 m2).

• Chipping of stone chips and old mortar.
• Cracks and fissures.
• Hair remontancy
• Detachment of limewash layers

The project management asked us for technical advice for the remodelling of the façades of the interior courtyards and our construction solutions in lime mortar, thus preserving the old aesthetics.

The use of our various lime coating solutions was proposed to the site management and the construction company. Thanks to their properties, lime mortars comply satisfactorily with the basic documents; protection against humidity, indoor air quality and protection against noise. The use of lime as a binder gives the mortars a bioclimatic property, allowing the wall to breathe due to its high permeability to water vapour, providing comfort and indoor air quality, as well as waterproofing against rainwater.

ACTION

Preparation of the support

The substrate had to be strong, stable and free of dust, so loose and cohesionless parts were removed and then filled with REVAT® CAL MURO. Stones or rubble were used in the backfill in those areas where significant thicknesses were required.

REVAT® CAL MURO is classified as G-M5 according to EN 998-2.

Regularisation layer

Prior to the application of the finishing coat, the surface of the substrate was evened out.

with REVAT® CAL FONDO mortar. This lime mortar was applied in an average thickness of 50 mm (major planimetry problems), at about 15 mm per layer. A REVAT® 110 fibreglass mesh was included, centred on the thickness of the regularisation layer, to distribute any stresses caused in the building wall, and was particularly recommended for reinforcing the corners of the façade openings. REVAT® CAL FONDO is classified as GP-CSII-W0 according to EN 998-1.

Regularisation and waterproofing layer

Continuing with the regularisation process, REVAT® CAL ENFOSCADO BLANCO was applied, in this case a waterproofed lime mortar with high breathability (water vapour permeability coefficient _6). Its average thickness was 10 mm. The waiting time between coats was at least one day. REVAT® CAL ENFOSCADO BLANCO is classified as GP-CSII-W2 according to EN 998-1.

Finishing and protective coat

The finish coat consisted of the application of a thin lime stucco trowelled on. The REVAT® CAL ESTUCO BLANCO. This was applied by trowel in a thickness of 2 to 4 mm, and the following day, the REVAT® CAL ESTUCO BLANCO, an ultra-fine lime stucco applied by trowel and repeatedly pressed onto the REVAT® CAL ESTUCO base, in thicknesses of less than 1 mm, leaving a highly decorative glossy “water” finish. Finally, as protection and preservation of the entire façade, the REVAT® PROTEC ORG protective waterproofing solution was applied.