Simon Fraser University Stopping the Slide to Mouldy Oldie

Simon Fraser University turns 50 next year, and to celebrate the institution is undertaking a major makeover for one of its most problematic buildings.

As The Tyee reported in September, the university's five-year capital plan, released in 2011, found 53 per cent of the university's buildings were in "poor" condition. Much of this is due to underfunding of ongoing or deferred maintenance for campus buildings, which is supposed to be covered by the provincial government's Routine Capital Fund.

The fund, which also covers campus safety and security, greenhouse gas reduction, and disability access projects for post-secondary institutions, provided Simon Fraser $2.2 million in the 2013/14 school year.

But by its own calculations, the university estimates it needs $600 million for deferred maintenance and building renewal. The graduate student union, which released its own report on deferred maintenance last year, puts the estimate at $27 million annually, or 1.5 per cent of the $1.8 billion it would cost to replace every building on the Burnaby campus.

Simon Fraser's chief safety officer Terry Waterhouse said there has been no indication from the B.C. government that its share of the funding will increase this year. Instead, the institution will have to cover the costs.

"It has to come from our core budget," he said, adding "it is a financial strain on public institutions when they have to absorb these significant remediation projects."

Still, the university has begun significant work on its Education Building, which Waterhouse said has provided more challenges in terms of air quality and mould than any other building on the Burnaby campus.

Education building hit hard

In the past year, mould and air quality issues in the 40-years-plus Education Building have forced a roof replacement and an interior renovation of the gymnasium, several classrooms and offices, and the graduate programs wing.

Waterhouse said his office received several complaints of air quality issues in the building in recent years. It quickly removed the mould.

But the complaints kept coming, so last summer the university contracted an engineer to assess the building envelope. That revealed several areas where water was seeping in, including the roof and several windows, so Simon Fraser fast-tracked the roof replacement and ordered air quality tests in and outside of the building, as well as mould collection and analysis.

Some of the worst hit areas were the gym, where soundproofing panels on the walls had trapped moisture to create a breeding ground for mould; and the grad students' lab, where foliage growing next to windows trapped moisture and caused mould to develop around window frames.

While Waterhouse said there were several different kinds of mould found in the building, the university did not care if the mould was "black" or "green": it was all removed.

"All moulds are potentially problematic when they're present," he said. "So we look for the presence of mould and overall the quantity of mould. And if mould is present, we remediate it."

'We'll continue to be vigilant'

In addition to removing mould, the university renovated affected areas to look more modern than the 1970s brown tile and exposed wooden beams currently sported throughout the building. White walls, large bright windows, and desks that look Ikea-esque are a change from the dated style.

While some classes and faculty were temporarily moved in summer 2013 so their spaces could be renovated, most of the 500 students and faculty who use the building on a daily basis are now back in the Education Building. Since October, however, the graduate students' lab has remained a construction zone, with a plywood door and a sign warning all who enter of the danger inside.

The project isn't finished and already the university has spent $1 million in the last year, mostly on replacing the roof. A second assessment, this time focusing solely on the graduate programs wing where Waterhouse said significant mould and air quality issues were discovered, will provide more detail on the work that still needs to be done. Results are expected at the end of May.

"We will continue to work on it until it is completely rectified, and once we have the report we will have a much clearer sense of how long it's likely to take and what are the priority areas that have to be treated immediately," he said, adding a cost estimate will also be determined from the report.

The work will never really finish, though. In order to ensure students and faculty health isn't at risk again -- and that repairs can be made before the problem becomes too costly -- Waterhouse said assessments will identify which areas need to be monitored more carefully.

"We have an ongoing program of monitoring and response, so we'll continue to be vigilant," he said, adding his office is also asking faculty, students, and staff to report any issues they see, or breathe in, immediately.

It's all part of the university's new deferred maintenance program, which Waterhouse said isn't finished but promises will be comprehensive and entirely university-funded. "Ongoing maintenance in this type of environment, especially given the age, is becoming an increasing challenge," he said.