From the excavation to the gable, your shell stays with one firm.
KNOP Bauunternehmen builds the complete structural shell in Mönchengladbach, from the dig through foundations, concrete and masonry to the finished cast stair. One firm, one programme, one person to call about everything that has to carry load.
- Scope
- Groundworks, foundations, concrete, masonry, stairs
- Led by
- Viktor Knop, master bricklayer and concrete builder
- Plant
- Own cranes, formwork and vehicle fleet
A shell fails at the seams, never in the middle
Six handovers sit between the first bucket of soil and the roof connection. That is exactly where the delays appear that afterwards belong to nobody. We carry out all six ourselves, so there is no waiting in between and no argument about blame.
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Site and excavation
We take on the site plan, the levels and the ground as we find it.
A secured excavation with a load bearing, cleanly levelled base.
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Base and foundations
We take on the foundation drawings and the structural engineer’s figures.
Strip footings and floor slab reinforced, poured and true to dimension.
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Basement tank and waterproofing
We take on the specified construction method and the water load case.
The tank stands closed, with every connection prepared.
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Walls and bracing
We take on the floor plan, the wall thicknesses and every planned opening.
The storey stands plumb and in line, with lintels and recesses in place.
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Slabs and stairs
We take on the slab layout, the rebar drawings and the stair geometry.
Slab and flight poured in one operation, with no later fitting work.
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Connection for the following trades
We take on the requirements of the carpenter, roofer and services engineer.
Bearings, penetrations and connection levels are exactly where they are needed.
Partial packages are possible. Where another firm supplies the rest, we take on individual stages.
Discuss the handoversWhat actually has to happen on a shell construction site
Eight pieces of work that together make the structure. All of them are carried out in house, with our own people and our own plant.
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Groundworks and civil works
Excavation, battering, backfill and the service trenches underneath. Everything below finished ground level belongs to the same contract as the building above it.
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Foundations and floor slab
Strip footings, pad footings and the floor slab, reinforced and poured to the engineer’s figures. Levels and grid lines are checked before the pour.
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Concrete work
Walls, columns, downstand beams and slabs in concrete and reinforced concrete. The concrete is placed, compacted and cured until it reaches the specified strength.
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Reinforcement
Mesh, bar and prefabricated cages to the reinforcement drawings, with laps, splices and the required cover to the steel.
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Formwork
Panel formwork, slab formwork and purpose made formwork. The formwork carries the full pressure of fresh concrete and fixes every edge long before the concrete arrives.
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Masonry
Basement masonry, load bearing external walls and internal walls, used wherever masonry suits the structure or the budget better than concrete.
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Concrete stairs
Flights and landings are formed, reinforced and cast with the element they connect to. Poured on site rather than fitted afterwards.
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Alteration and refurbishment
Openings, new lintels, extensions and repairs in existing buildings, propped and managed like any new build stage.
The scope is agreed per project, from a single wall opening to a complete apartment building.
Ask about a tradeTell us what is going to be built
One sentence about the project and a number we can reach you on. Everything else we settle by phone or on the plot itself.
What helps us most
- Where in Mönchengladbach the plot is.
- What is to be built, from an extension to an apartment building.
- Whether construction and reinforcement drawings already exist.
- When the groundworks should start.
If one of those is still open, ask anyway. We will tell you what is missing for a firm price.
Your enquiry has arrived
We have your details and will come back to you on the number you gave us.
Equipment that follows the programme
A firm that owns its cranes, formwork and vehicles waits neither for hire plant nor for a delivery slot. That is why there is no empty day between two pours here.
- Cranes
- Our own cranes for formwork, reinforcement cages and wall units. Lifting is part of the contract, not something bought in later.
- System formwork
- Frames, beams and forming faces from our own stock. Recesses and awkward angles are formed to measure.
- Vehicle fleet
- Excavators, tippers and transport in house, so that spoil and materials move at the same pace.
- Training in house
- We train bricklayers and reinforced concrete builders. The people who learn here work on the same sites afterwards.
Pace on a shell site does not come from hurrying. It comes from nothing being missing.
Agree a date
Eight photographs from our own archive
Groundworks, foundations, reinforcement, masonry and stairs on KNOP Bauunternehmen sites. Tap a photograph to see it full size.
All photographs come from the picture archive of KNOP Bauunternehmen.
Mönchengladbach, district by district
Mönchengladbach is an independent city and a wide one. The distance between Hardt and Odenkirchen changes a construction programme noticeably. We build across the whole city and in the districts that border it.
Within the city, among others
- Rheydt
- Odenkirchen
- Giesenkirchen
- Wickrath
- Hardt
- Neuwerk
- Holt
- Eicken
- Windberg
- Bonnenbroich
And around it
- Korschenbroich
- Jüchen
- Viersen
- Willich
- Schwalmtal
- Erkelenz
- Wegberg
- Grevenbroich
- Neuss
Your town is not on the list? Ask anyway. What matters is the project, not the postcode.
Shell construction in Mönchengladbach
Anyone building in Mönchengladbach settles everything that follows during the shell stage. Wall thicknesses, openings, floor heights and connections are all fixed in those weeks, and correcting them afterwards is expensive. KNOP Bauunternehmen builds complete structural shells here and takes on groundworks, foundations, formwork, reinforcement, concrete and masonry as one continuous package.
The firm has been led since it was founded in 2008 by Viktor Knop, a master bricklayer and concrete builder. It works for private clients, for developers and for architects, on new build as much as on existing buildings: openings, new lintels, extensions and refurbishment belong to the programme just as much as a complete apartment building.
Beyond the city we work in the surrounding area, among other places in Korschenbroich, Jüchen, Viersen, Willich, Erkelenz and Wegberg. For a first price the project, the location and the drawings are enough, if the drawings already exist.
What clients settle before they award the work
Six questions that come up in almost every first conversation.
What counts as the structural shell and what does not?
The shell covers the load bearing and space forming parts: the excavation, footings, floor slab, basement and storey walls, columns, downstand beams, slabs, stairs and the rising masonry. Roof, windows, screed, building services and fit out are not part of it.
You are based in Monheim am Rhein. Do you still build in Mönchengladbach?
Yes. The registered office is in Monheim am Rhein and the work is carried out in the surrounding region, Mönchengladbach included. The office moved there in 2019 precisely in order to widen that region for our clients.
Will you take on only part of the shell?
Yes. Formwork, reinforcement, concrete, masonry and groundworks are all available separately where a developer or another firm supplies the rest of the shell.
What do you need in order to price the work?
For construction we need the construction and reinforcement drawings. For a first conversation the location, the project and the timescale are enough. If something is missing we will say so on the first call.
When can a slab be struck?
As soon as the concrete has reached the strength required for it. That depends on the element, the concrete mix, the temperature and the curing, and it is decided on site rather than by the calendar.
Do you build through the winter?
Concrete is placed in cold weather too, with an adjusted mix, longer striking times and protection against frost. In continuous frost or persistent rain a stage is moved by a few days rather than allowing the quality to suffer.
The shell begins with a phone call
Tell us what is to be built. We will look at the drawings and come back with what you need in order to decide.