Facilities found and removed mold in Porter Hall after the Dec. 31 flood.
Mold has been removed from Porter Hall following a Dec. 31 flood that started on the third floor and trickled down to lower levels.
Caused by a burst pipe over winter break, the flood caused damage to ceiling tiles, carpet and teaching materials.
“There was one area of mold identified on the inside of an office wall,” Katie Quaranta, an OU spokeswoman, said in an email. “Because of the mold, and concerns associated with the continually high moisture level of the wall, the wall has been removed and will be replaced as part of the repair efforts.”
Officials said they were unsure how much the repairs would cost.
Bruce Carlson, chair of the psychology department, which is housed in Porter, said the wall with mold was removed the last weekend of January.
That wall was between rooms 254 and 255C, which are not utilized as classrooms for students.
“They came in and took that wall down, pulled out the wall, pulled out the insulation and carted it away and they have already started building the new wall,” Carlson said.
“We estimate the amount of mold as being no more than two square feet spread along the length of one wall,” Steve Wood, executive director for Facilities Management, said in an email.
Dehumidifiers were used to limit mold growth starting the day of the flood in December.
“All the other moisture levels appear to be in the normal range,” Carlson said.
In addition to a new wall, new carpet has also been ordered to replace damaged carpeting. The new carpeting should be installed over spring break to minimize disruption both to faculty and students.
“People are living out of boxes at this point because to get the carpet down everything’s going to have to be moved out of there,” Carlson said. “It’s inconvenient, but there’s no short and easy solution to this problem.”
Work on Porter has typically taken place at night or during the weekend.
“We are looking forward to having our facilities return to their complete state,” Carlson said.
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