another mold question

[shanti]

it's inside the house. it was caused by a roof leak (which has since been repaired) and started last winter. it's in a small (3 linear feet) area where the side of the house meets the roof. where the two drywall pieces meet is where most of the mold is visible. the paint has cracked and peeled. is this something i should have a professional fix? would it be possible to clean the mold and patch the area or do i need new drywall? i was thinking of scraping away what i could, applying some fungicide, patching and repainting.

help!


oh, and i just discovered i have a termite infestation today too :( if i could give a piece of advise to anyone buying a house for the first time - PAY FOR THE HOME INSPECTION!! i didn't have the money for it, didn't do it, and had nobody to offer advice, but it would have saved me mucho dinero if i had - LESSON LEARNED!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

1. Are you sure you don't have carpenter ants? They like wet wood.

I would lean toward cutting the drywall out and replace it. If you see mold on the face that means the paper backing is probably covered.

Start small and cut out sections with a razor knife and/or a drywall saw.

[shanti]

2. no, they're subterranean termites

interior door. no moisture there. found out i'll cost me $350 to have it "treated". the termite guy said it would kill them all AND any ants I have (and i do in the winter).

the mold really freaks me out. i'm worried that the mold is also behind the drywall and in the insulation, so i'm not sure i feel comfortable doing it myself due to the spores. i'm having some folks come in for a look see tomorrow. according to my doctor, there's a lot of fraud in the mold remediation business, so walking carefully here.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

4. Yeah. Not a big fan of those mold remediation people.

I'm sure there is a place for it but, come on, we all grew up with moldy basements.

I would do a preliminary investigation and cut in to the drywall to see how much damage we are talking about. Depending on how long the roof was leaking the chances are the damage is localized to the back of the drywall (mold eats paper) and maybe some of the insulation.

Wear a good mask. But the house doesn't need to be turned in to a haz-mat site.

[Warpy]

3. Both things need to be treated by professionals

because what you're seeing on drywall is only 10% of the problem. The whole wall underneath quite likely needs to be treated for mold, and that means removing drywall and insulation, scrubbing the mold off and spraying to kill the remnants and then replacing the insulation and drywall.

Just painting the wall with anti mildew paint is not going to do it.

The infestation of whatever it is needs to be located and treated and any damaged structural lumber replaced.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

5. Dealt with many times in remodel and storm damage repairs

Roof leak ,of course the water runs down ,-finds a pace to settle or a way out.


If the mold visible is at the bottom of the wall -there abouts -you can start by opening the wall at the visual. a 16" 16" stud to stud-Yank out the insulation and put a light in there . look over the back of the sheet rock for mold.Sometimes you can remove a section- 2 feet by 6 feet for example, Or 3feet by 12 feet it all depends.

You fallow up on the mold removing all damaged insulation.

Now look ,on bathroom remodels or kitchen- anywhere there is a plumbing wall ,there will be some mold and that is a fact. Always around toilets Tub walls and the flooring Joyce's too. Wax seals ware out and cause water leaks.

We simply cut out the bad and replace

Put a mask on and go after the problem, you can do it.

I use a dry wall saw known today as a roto zip-it is fast cutting and easy. I've made those cuts with s saws all too.

If the studs are wet or water damaged -you remove and replace the bad ones.

I have removed walls because people are paranoid about mold,The smart ones tell me to remove what is necessary-. But I can tell you much of the time it is not necessary to remove all of the wall-roof leaks are common. I have opened enough walls in my time to have a pretty good idea of what I will see or what to expect.
Don't let yer imagination and yer fears about mold get the best of you.


You can buy a good respirator fer about fifty bucks if yer worried about it. Keep the area ventilated while you work.

And those ants-you can buy the chemicals yourself and kill them-it's a lot cheaper that way- I do it as part of the job if or when I come across those.By the way there are moisture ants too-get rid of the moisture and you get rid of those ants.!

If you decide to go for it and you have any questions-feel free to ask.
The job is not that big of a deal really.

[shanti]

6. the only visible mold

is at the top of the wall. it only went down about a foot, max and was stopped by the slider, which dripped all winter when it rained (i know, i know!). it just started last winter, so maybe the damage is confined to drywall and a small amount of insulation.

with the ants, i end up just spraying them with raid when they decide to advance. when it rains, they just seem to come out of nowhere. they are annoying, but more worried about the termites. don't let me get started about the black widow spiders!

ah, the joys of home ownership! :eyes:

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

8. OK, yer problem is simple .I think you got moisture ants.

you might try putting up a rain roof over the slider door. Call that a awning -,easy to build .
As was said-get rid of the moisture and you get rid of the ants -a awning will help to cure that problem a great deal . I just briefed a couple on that subject line today- we get a lot of rain here.

What you might try doing is remove the sheet rock above the slider door and inspect the framing than replace the insulation and the dry wall over the top of the door.

I think you are already thinking that -whats that about 2 feet by 72 or 76 inches-there there abouts.

Or , cut a hole where the mold is visible and see if you can trace the water line.
you might get away with with a 12 inch by 18 inch patch. Check the insulation t\real good.

It is always good to leave the opening exposed for a few says to dry out the wood if you cut a large enough opening.
When I open plumbing or water damaged walls in remodels,I always leave those walls open for two days at least to dry up the wood and get rid of trapped moisture.

Go for it ! Feel free to ask questions as you go.

Good luck !

[shanti]

9. thanks, i'm learning a lot here!

had 3 mold remediation guys out today. 1 bid so far at 2800, which doesn't include new drywall. he wants to rip all of the drywall and insulation out and a section of the popcorn ceiling (there are asbestos issues too, due to the house's age). also, remove the trim around the slider. so, down to the studs, and the rest of the re-do is on me. he also told me that testing before remediation is not necessary. that appears to be a scam in the business....

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

10. Yer on to it !

What ever the thing at the time ,scam artists do come out from under those rocks ! After a earth quake some years back,suddenly everyone wants earth quake insurance on the their homes. Naturally the insurance companies want to protect their interests so a requirement fer obtaining earth quake damage insurance became yer house if it ain't must be retro fitted-that is essentially the house being bolted down to foundation- the framing plate. Don't know if you ever noticed when foundations are being poured ,but if you have you will see threaded bolts sticking up out the concrete. The framing is bolted down to foundation by the framing plate.

But, that code is not that old and so there are many many houses that are not bolted down to the foundation.
Make matters worse, the insurance companies want a bolt every x feet. well that may be impossible in a old house. So naturally all those retro fitting business that suddenly sprung up really couldn't meet the insurance companies demands- so they always missed a few, can't be helped. But you do get a certificate what says yer house meets the requirements. And of course insurance companies really don't have their own investigators that come on location to inspect the damages and never would one of those insurance company investigators tell those on high that the house was improperly retro fitted and the insurance companies would never use that as an excuse to deny yer claim. The other is water tank straps.I retro fitted a few houses back then, only because good customers asked.

Yea-It's a racket, from top to bottom. !

Pretty big number to play out yer fear on isn't it? $2800.00 thats a lot isn't it? another 3 or 4 grand to put it all back together hua ? Come to find out sometime down the road you were totally bilked because of fear itself.

Fallow up on yer instincts and get busy with your tools-you can do it.



That was my point- don't let yer fears about mold get the best of you -,or asbestos for that matter.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. Worse case scenario, do the demolition and clean-up yourself and hire a local handyman to ...

... patch in and mud the drywall if you are not proficient with mudding.

[Warpy]

7. Unless the studs are seriously damaged, they can pretty much stay

Mold abatement by Harry Homeowner requires a mask, a scrub brush, water and detergent, followed up by a 10% Clorox spray using a spritz bottle.

Most people are just not up to the job of taking down and replacing big pieces of sheetrock and making the repair invisible, which is why I suggested hiring somebody like you.

The problem with leaving it in the wall, even if it's the non toxic stuff, is that it'll be there forever, waiting for nice, damp, drizzly, foggy days to grow and send out spores that will go right back into the sheetrock. That's why it's nasty stuff and needs to be taken care of at the level behind the insulation.