Mold will be the first thing to go in the Blue Building’s future renovation plans. Air quality will be under consideration prior to any work being done.
“We’ve included the services of two additional firms in the request for proposals,” said AEI president Peter Metts. “These will be subcontractors. Specifically, they will be to address the mold issue in the basement.”
The first subcontractor will be a testing service that will evaluate air quality, test spores and have them evaluated prior to any work taking place. Then, a second subcontractor will undergo a cleanup effort, also called remediation.
“After the cleanup, the first subcontractor will come back and test again to make sure the air quality is good and the mold is gone,” said Metts. “At the same time this work is being done, we have to take care of the water intrusion around the perimeter. We can take the mold out of the building but unless we cure the problem, it will come back.”
Metts says the cleanup will be easier than future prevention.
“Water is coming in almost around the entire perimeter of the building,” said Metts. “The problem with mold is once it is in place it just replicates and spreads. Cleaning the mold isn’t difficult. The problem is addressing the issues that allowed the mold there in the first place. It’s much more extensive work than the actual mold clean up.”
Mold remediation cost is estimated at less than $10,000, while preventative measures to stop the water from entering the building will be in excess of $10,000. The actual cost will be known when bids are received.