Helsinki repairing schools with mildew problems

The City of Helsinki has conducted a questionnaire survey covering the capital's entire school network in order to find out the repair needs of the city’s school buildings.
     
In next year’s budget proposal the city has allocated EUR 42.6 million to school renovations alone, while the entire sum for all renovations in the budget is EUR 93 million.
      Pekka Hapuoja, the head of the Premises Center of the city’s Real Estate Department, says that the budget proposal for 2009 involves ”several dozen schools” that are to be renovated in the course of the next five years.
      A total of EUR 14 million out of the EUR 41.9 million reserved for new construction has also been reserved for schools.
      A shortage of money is not to be blamed for the present repair backlog, according to Hapuoja. The repair needs of the capital’s schools have been prompted by recent surveys.
     
Sometimes repair projects are delayed as one has to find out first what exactly has to be repaired and after that construction plans have to be made.
      The head of the Premises Center notes that sometimes things are bound to pile up when buildings reach a certain age and unfortunate circumstances occur.
      ”As for schools, another question is how to find other suitable premises to replace the classes if needed, as it is not very easy to arrange”, Hapuoja concludes.
     
One of the schools suffering from dampness and mildew problems is the Kulosaari Primary School. The school building has been undergoing repairs for years as the premises have smelt like an earth cellar while the school’s pupils and the staff alike have been suffering from a number of mildew-related symptoms.
      A decision on a renovation was already made before real dampness and mildew problems were revealed last spring.
      During the summer the building underwent some emergency repairs in order to prevent microbes from entering the classrooms. Old district heating pipes and sewers were also given a refit job.
     
The Environment Centre stated yesterday that the school can be used when the new term begins in a few days, even though the repairs were still far from complete.
      Some parents do not understand why money is used to renovate the old building, as according to their calculations, the estimated price of a new building would be only about EUR 2 million higher than the sum the renovation of the old school will cost. In terms of percentages, the cost of the renovation work is 81% of a new building.
      The city itself has previously regarded a renovation project as worthwhile provided that it does not cost more than 70 per cent of the price of completely new premises.
      According to the parents’ calculations, a renovation and an annex to the old building would cost 86% of the price of a larger entirely new school building.
      However, the officials at the Real Estate Department itself have not yet calculated how much the renovation of the Kulosaari Primary School would eventually cost, and the project planning is under way.
      Final decisions on all projects in excess of EUR 5 million are made at the City Council.
     
In the meantime, some parents are contemplating whether or not they should let their children go to school before the renovation starts and before pre-fabricated units are set up in the school yard to replace classrooms undergoing repairs.
      Some of the school staff have taken leave until the units arrive.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Faulty furnace blamed for symptoms among school pupils (14.9.2004)

See also:
  Hospital districts call for national programme for fungus damage repairs (11.2.2008)

Links:
  Helsinki Real Estate Department: Premises Center
  Finnish Environment Institute