Buildings today are built to maintain a healthy indoor environment and an efficient energy usage which is probably why damages caused by dampness has increased since the 1960’s. A study between year 2008 and 2010 showed that 26 percent of the 110 000 examined houses had damages and flaws caused by dampness that could prove to be harmful later on. This means that one out of four bathrooms risk the chance to develop damages by dampness. Approximately 2 percent of the houses had already developed water damages. It is here where the problems appear. A house or a building that is damaged by water of dampness need time to dry out before any renovation can take place. This means that damaged parts must be removed and allowed to dry out, this takes a long time to do and the costs are high and at the same time it can cause inconvenience to the residents. Here is where the Air Gap Method enters the picture. The meaning with the method is to drain and dry out the moisture without the need to perform a larger renovation. The Air Gap Method is a so called "forgiving"-system that is if water damages occur the consequences will be small. The Air Gap method means that an air gap is created in the walls, ceiling and the floor where a heating cable in the gap heats up the air and creates an air movement. The point is to create a stack effect in the gap that with the help of the air movement transports the damp air through an opening by the ceiling. The aim of this thesis is to examine if it’s necessary with the heating cable in the air gap and if there is a specific drying out pattern of the water damaged bathroom floor. The possibility of mould growth will also be examined. The study showed that the damped floor did dry out even without a heating cable, but as one of the studies showed signs of mould growth it is shown that the risk for mould growth is higher without a heating cable. There was a seven days difference in the drying out time between the studies with and without the heating cable; this difference can be decisive for mould growth which is why the heating cable is recommended. The Air Gap method is quite easy to apply in houses with light frame constructions simply by using a smaller dimension on the studs to create the air gap in the floor and walls. The method can also be applied in apartment buildings with a concrete frame by using the room-in- room principal. When renovating existing bathrooms it’s easier to use prefabricated elements to create the air gap in the floor and walls. ~ ~

För att efterleva Regeringens miljöpolitik har Boverket tilldelats ansvaret för miljömålet God bebyggd miljö. Boverket är en myndighet som arbetar för Riksdagens miljömål och skall vid behov förslå åtgärder för miljöarbetets utveckling. I Boverkets Byggregler finns krav som måste följas för att uppnå ett fuktsäkert byggande. Som förslag på hur dessa krav ska uppnås nämns Svensk Byggindustriers metod ByggaF – Metod för fuktsäkert byggande. ByggaF är en dokumentsamling med mallar, checklistor, kontrollpunkter och rutiner. Dessa dokument kan då ligga till grund för att upprätta en metod som säkerställer fuktsäkerheten under alla byggskeden. Skadefall har studerats i syfte att påvisa hur ByggaF fungerar och nyttan i att använda det. I samtliga av de behandlade fallen har kopplingar kunnat finnas till ByggaF, som kan förhindra problematiken. På så vis har dess täckningsgrad bekräftats. Kontakt har upprättats med flertalet aktörer i branschen för att få en uppfattning om hur metoden har tagits emot i branschen efter att den lanserades år 2007. Utifrån intervjuerna uppfattas att de flesta entreprenörer hört talas om metoden men inte använt den själva. Däremot har fuktsakkunniga använt den som underlag för att ta fram egna interna fuktsäkerhetsplaner. På grund av det används den av entreprenörer indirekt. Hos beställare ställs ByggaF som ett krav om man väljer att miljöcertifiera i Silver- eller Guldklass hos Miljöbyggnad. Annars ställs det oftast inte tillräckligt med krav på fuktsäkerhetsmetoder. / Included in Boverkets Byggregler are a number of demands that must be fulfilled in order to achieve a moisture safe construction. One of the suggestions on how to fulfil these demands is to use the method developed by Svensk Byggindustri, ByggaF – Method for moisture safe construction. In order to work according to the government’s environmental politics, Boverket has been given the responsibility to fulfil the aims of God bebyggd miljö, it is also their work to ensure that operations and establishments fulfil and reaches the goals that have been set by the Swedish government. ByggaF is a collection of documents including templates, check lists, control points and routines; these documents can be used during the whole building process to create a method which ensures that the moisture safety is withheld. It has been investigated whether or not cases of moisture damages could have been prevented with the proper use of ByggaF. In all the cases that have been studied, ByggaF could have been used to prevent mistakes and problems and by this, the efficiency and importance of the documents has been proven. Several major actors within the field have been contacted in order to gain a larger understanding about how the method has been perceived and utilized since its launch in 2007. In general most of the entrepreneurs has heard of the method but never used it themselves. However, moisture specialist from major construction operations, have utilized ByggaF in order to develop internal moisture safety routines, therefor ByggaF is indirectly used by the entrepreneurs. ByggaF would, for constructors, be a requirement if one desires an environmental certification in either the gold or the silver category within the framework of Miljöbyggnad. Normally there are not enough requirements set regarding methods for moisture safety.

Fuktskador har drabbat flera förskolor i Nynäshamns kommun. Skadorna är så stora att valet står mellan att göra omfattande reparationer eller att riva och bygga nytt. Vilket val är det mest byggnadstekniskt riktiga? För att försöka ta reda på det så har Midgårds förskola studerats. Den byggnaden är extra intressant på grund av två skäl: • Den är den första av kommunens fuktskadade förskolor där man har valt att reparera. • De övriga fuktskadade förskolorna i kommunen har liknande konstruktion. Slutsatsen är att det är bättre att bygga nytt. Huvudorsaken är den befintliga byggnadens begränsande originalskal som omöjliggör att man uppnår alla de krav som ställs på en förskolebyggnad idag. / Several kindergartens in Nynäshamn are damaged by damp. The damage is so severe that only two options remain; extensive repairs or demolition and build new buildings. Which option is best from a building technology point of view? In search for the answer Midgård’s kindergarten has been studied. That building is especially interesting for two reasons: • It is the first kindergarten damaged by damp in Nynäshamn to go through extensive repairs. • The other kindergartens damaged by damp in Nynäshamn have a similar construction. The conclusion is that it is better to demolish and build a new building. The main reason is the restrictions set by the building’s original shell. It makes it impossible to live up to today’s all building standards for kindergartens.

Roof terraces are in great demand today and can add value to the home. Theirdesign can vary but often they can also contribute and increase the risk of moisture in the building and cause problems. This is because they are flat and often have doors that lead out to a terrace where water can collect. The purpose of the study is to examine how roof terraces are designed and executedwith a goal of finding designs that should be avoided and designs that can be recommended.This will be done by reviewing previously designed roof terrace projects, literature studies,interviews with people with significant experience in the subject and highlighting relevantexperiences from my previous professional experiences as a carpenter. In the study, critical areas and processes during the design as well as the production of a roofterrace will be highlighted and explained why they are critical. The advantages of asuperstructure consisting of a wooden deck will be highlighted. The importance of the rightskills at the right time will also be discussed. The results of the work will highlight the importance of a solid design of waterproofing layerson roof terraces and why implementation of waterproofing layers may be relevant. It will alsosummarize what you should think about in order to design blueprints that meet the right conditions for a high quality and improved execution. / Takterrasser på flerbostadshus är idag väldigt efterfrågat och kan ha ett stort mervärde till en bostad. De kan utformas varierat men gemensamt för dem att de bidrar till en ökad risk för fuktproblematik i byggnaden. Detta då de är nästintill platta och dessutom ofta har dörrar ut till terrassen i höjd med där vatten samlas.Studiens syfte är att granska hur takterrasser projekteras samt utförs av idag med ett mål om att finna utföranden som bör undvikas och utföranden som kan rekommenderas. Detta har gjorts genom granskning av tidigare utförda takterrassprojekt, litteraturstudier, intervju av personer med betydande erfarenhet i ämnet samt att lyfta fram relevanta erfarenheter från tidigare yrkeserfarenheter som stommontör/snickare.I arbetet granskas och förklaras kritiska byggnadstekniska detaljer och kritiska delar av projekteringen för takterrasser. Fördelarna med att en påbyggnad utgörs av en trall i trä belyses. Även vikten av rätt kompetenser vid rätt tillfälle diskuteras.Resultatet av arbetet belyser vikten av ett gediget utförande av tätskikt på takterrasser och varför en extra kontroll av tätskikt kan vara relevant. Det summerar även vad som bör beaktas för att projektera rätt förutsättningar till utförandet.

Chemical compounds in indoor air can adversely affect our comfort and health. However, in most cases there is only a limited amount of information available that can be used to assess their health risk. Instead the precautionary principle is often applied, i.e. efforts are made to ensure that the concentrations of pollutants are kept at a minimum when constructing new buildings or conducting renovations by using low-emitting building materials. Today, when investigating buildings in order to solve indoor air quality problems, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are sampled in the air within rooms. The chemical composition of indoor air is complex and there are many sources for the chemicals present. The potential for emissions from sources in hidden spaces such as wall cavities is poorly understood and little information exists on the toxic potential of chemical releases resulting from moisture-related degradation of building materials. Most of the non-reactive VOCs that have been detected in indoor air in field studies and from building products are not believed to cause health problems. However, reactive compounds and chemical reaction products have the potential to negatively influence our comfort and health even at low concentrations. Even though the impact of chemical compounds on health is unclear in many cases, they can be used to identify technical problems in buildings. When a building is investigated, the air inside building structures could be sampled. This method would eliminate emissions from sources other than the construction materials and the samples would contain higher levels of individual compounds. The aims of this work was to identify emissions profiles for different types of building structures, to see if the emission profiles for moisture damaged and undamaged structures differed, and to determine whether any of the emissions profiles for specific structures also could be found in indoor air. Technical investigations and VOC sampling were performed in 21 different buildings with and without previous moisture damage. Seven of the buildings were investigated in the years 2005-2006 (study 1) and fourteen in the years 2009-2010 (study 2). In study 1, sixty samples were analyzed by PCA at the chemical group level (18 chemical groups, i.e. aldehydes, ketones etc). 41 % of all identified chemical compounds belonged to the hydrocarbon chemical group. The second largest chemical groups, each of which accounted for 5-10 % of all identified compounds, were alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and terpenes. The results indicated that one of the main factors that determined the emissions profile of a building structure was the materials used in its construction. Notably, concrete and wooden structures were found to have different emissions profiles. The sum of VOC (TVOC) concentrations for all 241 samples from both study 1 and study 2 was used to compare total emissions between different building elements (ground and higher floors, external walls and roof spaces). Most building elements exhibited relatively low emissions compared to concrete ground floors, which generally had higher TVOC emissions. Emissions from both polystyrene insulation and PVC flooring could be identified in concrete ground floors and were the main cause for the higher emissions found in these structures. Profiles for wood preservatives such as creosote and pentachlorophenol were also identified in external walls. The emission profiles found in the structures could not be identified in the indoor air in the adjacent rooms, although individual compounds were sometimes detected at low concentrations. Our results showed that the main factors influencing emissions in building structures were the construction materials and the nature of the building element in question. Because of difficulties with finding active water damage at the times of sampling and because of sampling inside closed building structures with old dried-out moisture damages, the field method used in this work was unsuitable for identifying differences in emission profiles between moisture damaged and undamaged structures. It will thus be necessary to investigate this difference in a laboratory where the precise composition of all tested structures is known, a range of RH values can be tested and the accumulation of emissions can be followed. / Kompetenscentrum Byggnad - Luftkvalitet - Hälsa 2 (KLUCK 2)

När människors hälsobesvär misstänks vara byggnadsrelaterat är det viktigt att klarlägga källan till problemet. Fukt kan vid högre nivåer ge upphov till mikrobiella eller kemiska reaktioner som orsakar emissioner från byggnadsmaterial som kan ha negativa hälsoeffekter. För att utreda om byggnaden är problemkällan görs skadeutredningar. I utredningarna är det viktigt att identifiera vilka emissioner som förekommer i inomhusmiljön för att kunna åtgärda den eventuella skadan. Med hjälp av fuktprofiler som skapas genom fuktmätningar kan det utredas om varifrån fukten kommer. En vanlig orsak i Norden till förhöjda koncentrationer av emissioner i inomhusmiljön är fuktskadade betongkonstruktioner med en pålimmad plastmatta. I en sådan konstruktion utgör plastmattan ett tätt skikt som inte låter fukten i betongen avdunsta. Betong, som är alkalisk, kan i kombination med höga fuktnivåer utlösa en kemisk process, så kallad alkalisk hydrolys, som bryter ned mjukgörare i golvlim och PVC-mattor. Detta leder till att nedbrytningsprodukterna 2-etyl-1-hexanol och n-butanol dels emitteras till inomhusluften och dels migrerar ned i betongen där de fixeras. Det är i det skedet betongen blir emissionsskadad på grund av att de kemiska ämnena som fixerats i betongen kan lagras där under en lång tid och kan om förhållandena förändras, exempelvis vid renovering, avge dessa ämnen till inomhusluften. Eftersom 2-etyl-1-hexanol och n-butanol utgör majoriteten av nedbrytningsprodukterna, används de därför som indikatorämnen vid skadeutredningar. Om indikatorämnena upptäcks i inomhusluften är det troligt att en skada i golvkonstruktionen har inträffat och detta kontrolleras då med fuktmätningar. Problemet med fuktmätningar i emissionsskadad betong är dock att det befaras av fuktskadeutredare att dessa indikatorämnen påverkar fuktmätningarna genom att man mäter till en lägre relativ fuktighet (RF) än vad det faktiskt är. Examensarbetet är utformat som ett experimentellt arbete med fuktmätningar som utförts i Polygon AK:s laboratorium. I laborationerna testades huruvida indikatorämnena, 2-etyl-1-hexanol samt n-butanol, påverkar fuktmätningar. Detta gjordes genom att prover med ren betong först RF-bestämdes för att sedan droppa i ovanstående ämnen i proverna och därefter följdes utvecklingen i RF. Vidare kontrollerades eventuell drift i mätinstrumenten genom egenkontroller både före och efter varje uppföljning. Mätresultaten från gjorda försök visade att den effekt som befarats av skadeutredare ej märkts av, det vill säga att indikatorämnena skulle ha en påverkan genom att fuktnivån mäts till något lägre jämfört med den verkliga fuktnivån. Effekten påvisades varken genom lägre uppmätta fuktnivåer eller genom mätinstrumentens drift. / When people's illness are suspected to be building-related, it is important to clarify the source of the problem. Moisture at higher levels can trigger microbial or chemical reactions which causes emissions from building materials that may have adverse health effects. In order to investigate whether the building is the source of the problem or not, indoor environment investigations are conducted to investigate the matter. In the investigations it is important to identify what kind of emissions that occurs in the indoor environment in order to fix the possible damage or damages. Using moisture profiles created with moisture measurements, it is possible to determine where the moisture comes from. A common cause in the Nordic countries for increased concentrations of emissions in the indoor environment is moisture-damaged concrete structures with a glued plastic mat. In such constructions, the plastic mat is a compact layer that does not allow the moisture in concrete to evaporate. Concrete, which is alkaline, can in combination with high moisture levels trigger a chemical process, called alkaline hydrolysis, which degrades plasticizers in floor adhesives and plastic mats. This results in the degradation products 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and n-butanol, which are being emitted to the indoor air and partly migrating down into the concrete where they are fixed. At that moment the concrete gets emission-damaged because of the degradation products that has been fixed into the concrete where they can be stored for a long time and can with changed conditions, for instance during renovation, emit these degradation products to the indoor air. Since 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and n-butanol constitutes the majority of degradation products, they are therefore used as indicators during damage investigations. If the indicators are detected in the indoor air, it is likely that a damage has occured in the floor construction and this is later checked with moisture measurements. However, the problem with moisture measurements in emission-damaged concrete is that some investigators fears that these indicators affects the moisture measurements by measuring a lower relative humidity (RH) than it actually is. The thesis is structured as an experimental work with moisture measurements performed in Polygon AK's laboratory. In the laboratory it was tested whether the indicators, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and n-butanol, affects moisture measurements. This was done with specimens of pure concrete by first determining the RH followed by dropping the indicators into the samples and then the development in RH was followed. Furthermore, eventual drifting in the measuring instruments was checked before and after each follow-up. The measurement results from the experiments showed no effect of what the damage investigators feared of, that the indicators would have an impact by measuring the moisture level lower than the actual moisture level. The effect was not detected either by lower measured humidity levels or by drifting of the measuring instruments.