Building Science

Building Condensate, Icicles and Mold

Challenge:

A newly constructed three-story apartment facility with 150 units was built for an over age-55 occupancy. Visible mold was discovered in occupied units, despite there being no broken pipes and low humidity levels. The elderly population had multiple medical conditions and non-specific health complaints. Building managers were concerned about maintaining the current occupancy rate and their ability to increase occupancy while addressing the problems with the building environment.

Solution:

Our inspection revealed that the mold growth resulted from frost and icicle formation within exterior walls; this was an indication of an underlying building failure. We developed a programmatic strategy to facilitate continued occupancy by implementing a medically monitored sampling plan, held town hall meetings to increase residents' awareness and managed interim remediation activities. Simultaneously, we performed collaborative building science investigations and building re-design solutions. Ultimately, our HVAC outside air re-design criteria and new common area equipment modified building performance to overcome the moisture vapor condensation and accumulation within the building exterior walls.

Reflection:

The high degree of cooperation among owners, contractors and investigators involved in this project was essential to successful resolution. Because we were given the latitude to investigate the problem, we had time to capture data critical to re-engineering. We were able to use our medical oversight to focus and ensure costs were effectively and efficiently directed toward the agreed upon solution path. We were able to uncover the root cause of the problem and avert litigation. The NMAS Group, with our health expertise, environmental knowledge, communication skills, and professional credibility was an integral part of this remediation effort and was able to mitigate risks associated with the construction defect corrections.

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