It is a colossal project that of the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, badly damaged by a violent fire in April 2019.
After the Scierie des Géants in Craon, another Mayenne company is taking part in this extraordinary project. This is Cruard Charpente. Along with three other companies in France (Le Bras Frères, Asselin and Métiers du bois), the company from Simplé in the south of Mayenne won the call for tenders launched by the public establishment in charge of the restoration of the cathedral for the realization of the oak frames of the spire and the transepts.
A pride for the Mayenne company. “Yes, it is the emblematic construction site of the moment” rejoices the general manager of Cruard Charpente, Aurélien Lefèvre. “To have the chance to be able to rebuild this very special arrow is a chance for a carpenter. This is a very complex, very technical file. Being able to do it again is something that will make the company grow.“
Cruard Charpente is particularly specialized in the restoration of historical monuments. To his credit, the renovation of the castles of Chenonceaux, Azay-le-Rideau, Sainte-Suzanne or currently, the Louvre Museum and the castle of Villers-Cotterêts.
A giant workshop in the east of France
The site will mobilize around twenty Cruard Charpente workers. A work of eight months in the workshop then there will be six months of work on site. And it has already started explains Aurélien Lefèvre: “we are doing the work of receiving the wood. We check that what has been sawn corresponds to the order that was placed. We check the quality of all the wood we will need to be able to carve the frame. We will then begin a prototype phase. Assembly prototypes are made to validate the design details with the chief architects. Drawings and cutting will begin in early 2023.“
The group of four companies took possession of a gigantic common workshop in the east of France in order to be able to carry out this construction: “we are going to carve the whole of the frame there. It is a work that is obliged to be carried out in the same place. We cannot separate the arrow into four pieces and shape its four pieces in the four corners of France.“