Monitoring Structural Cracks in an 1880s Farmhouse in Pressigny, France

Built in 1880 and located in France’s Grand-Est region, this historic farmhouse holds deep personal and cultural value for its owners. Over time, cracks began appearing in the barn walls, raising concerns about potential structural movement and whether immediate intervention would be required.

Rather than rushing into costly repairs without clear evidence, the owners wanted objective data to understand whether the cracks were actively evolving or simply the result of natural ageing.

Their goal was simple: gain reliable insight into structural behaviour while preserving the building’s character and avoiding unnecessary disruption.

Challenges

The farmhouse presented several monitoring challenges:

• Multiple cracks appearing in different locations

• Limited tolerance for intrusive equipment in a heritage structure

• Need for scalable monitoring if further movement was detected

• Desire for fast installation and immediate insight

• Requirement for ongoing visibility without repeated site visits

Traditional inspection methods would have provided only periodic snapshots, making it difficult to identify subtle trends or confirm whether the cracks were actively progressing.

The owners needed a solution that could deliver continuous, precise measurements with minimal impact on the building.

Solution

To evaluate structural movement, TotaLite was deployed as a pilot monitoring system.

The setup included:

• 1 centrally positioned TotaLite sensor inside the barn

• 4 prisms installed around each crack, with targets placed on both sides to capture relative movement

This configuration enabled sub-millimetre tracking of crack displacement while allowing easy expansion to additional areas if required.

Installation, including configuration, baseline measurement, and dashboard access, took less than one hour. Once live, the system immediately began delivering continuous displacement data via the TotaLite cloud platform.

Thanks to its compact size, the sensor blended discreetly into the space, preserving the farmhouse’s visual integrity while providing real-time structural insight.

renovation.

Results

TotaLite delivered exactly what the owners were seeking: clarity, confidence, and flexibility.

Key outcomes included:

• Immediate access to live crack movement data

• Rapid installation with minimal disruption

• Ability to monitor multiple cracks simultaneously

• Scalable setup for future expansion

• Continuous insight without repeated on-site inspections

Encouraged by the initial results, the owners plan to extend monitoring to all critical areas of the structure.

As Stijn Welage, the property owner, explains:

“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.”

This project demonstrates how autonomous optical monitoring can support heritage preservation, providing actionable structural insight while respecting the character of historic buildings.