School boards and parents are discovering that schools they labored hard to raise money to build in the last 10 years or so are subjecting their children to mold and indoor air quality problems.
Many of these problems can be attributed to choices made in building materials. Some materials provide a ready food source for mold. Roof leaks, wall leaks, window leaks or plumbing failures have even led to the destruction of materials installed to protect the buildings.
These observations are at the heart of a new book called “Are You Building a School or a Liability?” written by Chris Huckabee and Kyle Montgomery and published by the Brick Industry Association, the Masonry Contractors Association of America and the National Concrete Masonry Association. The book calls attention to a serious problem with school buildings.
“The use of porous and paper-based products as the substrate of an exterior wall system has given rise to many, if not most, of the mold-related issues that building owners face today. These products are destroyed by mold. In fact, the mold actually consumes this material as a food source,” said the...