Residents of Þórshöfn met to discuss the future of the local primary school after mould was detected there for the second time earlier this year. Most are of the opinion that the school should be repaired rather than replaced.
A community meeting was held in Þórshöfn last week about the primary school where mould was found in the spring, for the second time since 2015. The municipal council has presented three options, and residents discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Björn S. Lárusson, municipal manager of Langanesbyggð, said the meeting had been productive.
We were faced with this problem last winter, though it had come up before, and it intensified over the winter. We therefore had very detailed tests carried out, which showed that more than one third of the school is severely mould-infested.
He said that high levels of moisture had also been measured in other parts of the building. It is therefore uncertain whether it is justifiable to repair the existing structure.
Björn said there are three options under consideration. The first, and also the least expensive, is to repair the school in its current form, though he also said comparable examples in other municipalities have not yielded particularly good results.
The second option is to build a new one on the same site, adding rooms to bring the school up to modern standards, as it was originally built in 1944.
Björn said the loudest discussion had centred on repairing the current building, which was unsurprising since that option would cost the least.
Should that be the choice, however, the true condition of the building would need to be examined in more detail.
That means we need to take more samples, to drill core samples from the foundation slab. There is significant moisture, and we do not know where it is coming from.
The building’s [load-bearing foundation] slab lies lower than the surrounding ground, and little is known about the state of the pipes or foundations, as they have sunk beneath the slab.
It will cost money but could also save us in the long run.
At the time, headteacher Hilma Steinarsdóttir said it was a shock to have confirmed that mould was found in a large part of the school.
These are four classrooms and one so-called multipurpose room, two toilets, the teachers’ staff room and workspace, a corridor, a book storage room, and more.
Source: Ruv.is
