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Moisture damage. Hammarby Sjöstad, StockholmExtensive moisture and mildew damage occurred in the autumn and winter of 2000 during construction of buildings at Hammarby Sjöstad at Stockholm. The extent of the damage was such as to necessitate the replacement of entire wall structures, with the corrective work being monitored by an independent group of experts.The building contractor has now rectified or replaced all the damaged materials. Where the damage was restricted to the occasional blue stain fungus marking or mildew growth, such areas have been planed or ground away.The cause of this trouble is indefensible. The contractor should have exercised better control during transport and erection, in order to prevent damage from having occurred so widely. However, once it had occurred, it was at least tackled correctly, in the right order: determining the extent of the damage, investigating what had happened and why, followed by rectification and replacement. All this was monitored by the experts group.Today, the buildings are carefully checked for moisture and mildew. They are dry, and there are no growths that were caused by the water damage.As far as future new projects are concerned, the experts group suggests that Skanska and other large contractors and purchasers should specify clear quality requirements in respect of the risk of moisture and mildew damage, not only in connection with design detailing and the choice of materials, but also in connection with purchasing of materials for the work. This applies particularly to wood products that are to be built in, with particular emphasis on the absence of mildew, blue stain fungus and moisture. Materials should be inspected on delivery and in connection with using/incorporating them in the work. It is particularly important that materials and the workplace are protected from the weather. |