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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Biodeterioration of Building Timbers in the High-Water-Activity Built Environment of Nigeria
Author(s)
Isa Hassan-Enua Mshelgaru1, Kabir Bala1 and Sani Usman Kunya2
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DOI:10.17265/1934-7359/2016.07.003
Affiliation(s)
1. Department of Building, Faculty of Environmental Design, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 8100001, Nigeria
2. Department of Building, School of Environmental Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi 740001, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
Moulds have been reported to destroy volumes of timbers in buildings
annually. As a result, timber components within the built environment decline
and fail to fulfill their basic requirements. This research focused on the
isolation and evaluation of the prevalence and effects of deteriorating moulds
in the rain forest and swampy rain forest regions of Nigeria where the water
activity is as high as 0.7. To accomplish this, decayed timber samples were
aseptically collected on buildings from six strategic locations. The samples
were serially diluted and inoculated onto Sabouraud Dextrose Agar
medium in Petri dishes. The Petri dishes were incubated for 72 h at
30 °C.
Thereafter, moulds were isolated through visual and microscopic observations.
The commonly encountered moulds were evaluated and analyzed. It was observed
that, prevalence of moulds on buildings used for non residential purpose were
higher. There was no significant difference between the prevalence on the
components located inside the building and those outside the building. Ceiba pentandra
exhibited highest degradation while Masonia altissima resisted most. The most
deteriorating moulds were Aspergillus, Mucor, Rhizopus and Gliocladium.
The deteriorations of Ceiba pentandra, Afzelia africana, Lophira alata, Anogessus leocarpus and
Gossweilerodendron balsamiferum timbers under Aspergillus attack were projected.
KEYWORDS
Mould, timber in building, biodeterioration, high-water-activity, microclimate.
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