Damp and Mould in Houses with Sylgja Dögg Sigurjónsdóttir
Sylgja Dögg Sigurjónsdóttir is a so-called 'welly biologist', which means that she doesn't work in a lab but is out in the field.
Sylgja has worked in the construction industry for almost 16 years and now works as a consultant at Efla Engineering. She is an expert in moisture and mould damage and knows from personal experience what it's like to live in a house with moisture damage. In fact, it was this life experience that led her to specialise in this field, according to her.
“In a historical context, mould in housing is nothing new,” says Sylgja. Our old turf houses undoubtedly had moisture, which is the primary cause of mould, but she also points out that the ecosystem in houses that are closer to nature is different from that in today's houses with our new building materials.
For a long time, knowledge about moisture and mould in housing was scarce, but new knowledge is emerging, and this topic affects all aspects of the construction industry: design, execution, storage of building materials, and not least, how we use and maintain our houses. One might also ask how newly introduced building materials are performing under Icelandic conditions.
