Healthy House experts serve as the customer’s interpreter in indoor air projects

Healthy Houses aim for good indoor air quality. The most important task of a Healthy House commissioner is to help the renovation project client assess the site in a comprehensive manner from different perspectives. This will ensure that a sufficient number of studies is carried out and the most efficient remedies are selected on the basis of the information. The common goal is to anticipate the risks of the construction project and to manage costs.

In new construction projects, Sweco’s Healthy House experts serve as indoor air and humidity control coordinators while taking all factors that affect a successful outcome into account. In renovation sites, experts stand alongside the client and act as an interpreter between them and researchers and designers.

“Our most important task is to explain research results in plain language and, thus, help the client assess the urgency and effectiveness of various repair needs,” says Sweco’s Healthy House expert Kiia Miettunen. Sites with indoor air issues often generate so much research data that it is difficult to grasp the big picture. “We will help with understanding the importance of various corrective measures for the quality of indoor air and overall costs.”

Well-founded decisions are always needed at all stages of the construction project from project planning to implementation. “The fulfilment of cost and quality objectives can only be steered if indoor air technology issues are taken into account in all decision-making,” Miettunen says. It is also important to discuss the risks and consequences of deciding not to do something.

Considering indoor air from the perspective of real estate business due diligence

Healthy House experts already support the decision-making process in the initial phase of real estate transactions. There may often be a great deal to be repaired, in which case all factors affecting indoor air quality, such as various detrimental materials, may not be taken into account with sufficient accuracy.

“We will help the client assess whether sufficient research has been carried out at the site and what the results actually tell us,” Miettunen says. Experts may also coordinate the necessary additional studies, monitor their implementation and calculate the additional costs of necessary indoor air repairs. “In other words, we will help the client assess whether the real estate deal is economically profitable.”

Changes in the procurement phase are a cost risk

Miettunen stresses that the expertise of a Healthy House commissioner should be utilised in all decision-making stages, including in procurement and contract negotiations. This way, the implementation and planning of the corrections will be based on the same initial data.

“Our clients have had bitter experiences of costs skyrocketing when jointly agreed repair methods have been replaced by contractor proposals without comparing the different methods. The consequences may also be reflected in the quality of repairs.”

You should prepare for removing detrimental material in advance

The advantages of high-quality repair planning may not be achieved if the design is based on insufficient condition surveys. Due to false assumptions, the actual amount of, e.g. detrimental material may come as a surprise. “No condition survey will provide the absolute truth, and, therefore, the sufficiency of the studies must be assessed on a site-specific basis,” Miettunen says.

A good practical example is a building from the 1970s with a planned decoration project, which turns into structures needing to be taken down. In this case, any detrimental material contained in the structures must also be taken into account. “If the detrimental material has not been examined in advance, it can prolong the schedule for the renovation work significantly,” Miettunen says. The risks also increase, because removing detrimental material always requires appropriate cleanliness control.

One effective repair can change the reputation of the building

Many indoor air sites have been investigated for diverse issues for years, but the resulting repairs have not resulted in the desired outcome. Experts from Sweco can change the situation by reviewing all research data, plans and repairs made.

“Often, the reason behind the repair cycle is that something has been missed or the site has focused on easy low-impact repairs,” Miettunen says. One major, carefully targeted and correctly timed repair may have a decisive impact on the indoor air quality of the site. And once the problems are under control, the tenants’ turnover of the site will decrease, the loss of rent will cease and the reputation of the building will begin to improve. It will, ultimately, also have a positive impact on the resale value of the property.”