Saumalaakso – Precast element sealing saves energy
Regular maintenance of precast element joints extends the life cycle of facades. Re-sealing should be planned after the old joints have cracked or if the joints begin to come off completely. Remedial damage can cost up to hundreds of thousands of euros. In addition, damaged joints incur additional heating costs.
Major share of a citizen's carbon footprint comes from housing - the buildings they live in. In the buildings heating and cooling are some of the most significant emission sources. It is also a very difficult topic to influence oneself. Therefore the solutions that help reduce this footprint are welcome.The solutions can have even a bigger handprint in case it can reduce the need to completely refurbish the houses as concrete is one of the major CO2 emission sources in the world. So less concrete, more repairs, the better for the world.
Purpose
Heating a building requires a lot of energy. The larger the building, the greater the energy demand. Of the housing company’s maintenance costs, heating is by far the largest expense item. But what if some of the valuable heat is constantly wasted?
In prefabricated houses, the joints of the facades last 15 to 20 years. However, the duration of the element joints depends on the location of the building, the quality of the sealing work and the sealing materials used. Actual life may vary between 10 and 25 years.
Timely sealing becomes significantly less expensive than extensive water leak repair. It also prevents moisture damage, lowers heating costs, improves indoor air quality, increases living comfort and improves the appearance of the building. If the joints have had time to be damaged, rainwater can escape from the damage points to the thermal insulation layer and even indoors, which causes a significant loss of energy.
The renewal of the joints should therefore be reacted to as quickly as possible, as immediate savings are obtained from the cessation of heat leakage. Monitoring the condition of structures and ensuring their good thermal and moisture technical performance contribute to the achievement of both good energy efficiency and moisture technical performance.
Results
Saumalaakso carries out large-scale re-joints to an average of 200 sites per year.
According to the sites carried out in 2021, the average year of construction of the sites was 1987 (34 years old) and the most typical site is a two-story five-storey apartment building.
Saumaalaakso has re-sealed more than 6,000 sites between 1986 and 2021.
The Finnish Construction Sealing Association commissioned a study on the effects of damage to facade joints on the housing company’s energy consumption. If the building already has pre-damaged and leaking seams, the building will be exposed to additional moisture stress, which will result in increasing heat loss in addition to damage to the facades.
According to a study commissioned by the Finnish Construction Sealing Association, the energy savings are impressive:
Example target and energy savings from re-sealing:
The following table gives an estimate of the increase in heat loss over three and five years and the resulting cost if re-sealing is not carried out in time.
Check out the study behind the calculations commissioned by the Finnish Construction Sealing Association here (in Finnish): SRSY_Raportti
Implementation
Monitoring the condition of structures and ensuring their good thermal and moisture technical performance contribute to the achievement of both good energy efficiency and moisture technical performance.
Saumalaakso has respectable, over 30 years and thousands of sites experience in sealing. We specialize in re-sealing precast elements.
We take care of the entire repair work from start to finish: design, material deliveries and contracting.
The representative of Saumalaakso will evaluate the site to be renovated and make a detailed offer for the completion of the entire sealing work, and will be responsible for ensuring that the work proceeds according to the established schedule and budget until a successful outcome.
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