Home renovation - mold present in house - Help!

[Steve]

I am about to have a contractor start an extensive house remodeling/expansion project but I don't want to have a white elephant on my hands after it is done.

There had been strong musty oder in the basement and mold was identified. I have just had the basement cleaned with a chlorine dioxide based solution that is a reasonably strong biocide that breaks down to salts. The basement smells 10x better now but overall the house has a musty oder.

I am planning on having most of the exterior walls ripped out to get rid of old cellulose insulation and pull out the old radiators - I would suspect if there is mold elsewhere in the house its behind these walls. I was thinking of having them first open up all the exterior walls, remove the cellulose and see if we find mold in which case I have it cleaned or maybe have some wood replaced if need be. Sound good?

Does anyone have experience or advice how I should advise my contractor to proceed with the project since he wants his money and doesn't have to live in the house once its done like I do with a new baby on the way.

Thanks.

[ChiliJim]

See the "King of the Hill" episode on mold removal. It does a good job of debunking the current fad of "mold removal". Don't know how you can find it, it just aired in reruns in my town.

Jim

[Grumpy OM]

It's a very serious problem. Get a reliable inspector to check it out and give written report. If you try to sell the house and it's found you will probably have to get it fixed at considerable expense.

Grumpy

[Speedy Jim]

I agree with Grumpy, mold is a potentially serious problem. But I think you're jumping off the deep end with the "rip off the walls" approach to see if there's anything there.

Spend an evening GOOGLING for mold remediation, mold health, mold inspection, and so forth. You need to research this problem before spending another dime.

A few sites I've found informative:

The other point is that, although the basement has been cleaned and smells better, has the original source of the moisture down there been identified *and* corrected? If not, problems are sure to recur.

Jim

[Brad]

Mold exists in every house. Making a huge over-priced renovation to get rid of it will only require that you tell a future buyer about the problem and throw up a red flag.

Finding a reliable inspector is virtually impossible since the money is not in the inspections.

[Dave Gower]

"Steve" wrote

Sounds excessive to me. Mold goes dormant and eventually dies without moisture. The important thing is to eliminate sources of water into the walls, including leaks and condensation.

[Steve]

My renovation already is calling for removing the walls as I am putting in new framed windows and replacing the old wall radiators already. I'm more interested in what I should do if/when I find mold behind the walls as I'm pretty sure it's there from the musty oder in the house.

[Speedy Jim]

Ohhhhhhh! You didn't say that...

You might as well remove the old insulation (whatever it is) and maximize the insulation value with new. Talk to some pro installers about what materials can be used: dense pack, foam, etc. Note that if the house is wired with knob & tube, cellulose may not be allowed. Ask pointedly what the installer recommends for vapor barrier, which could be put in while wall is open. Jim

[m Ransley]

Mold needs moisture to grow , if its in the walls you have leaks. Start looking for bath and kitchen water damage. You may not find anything in the walls, except around windows and doors. Fix the leaks first if you find mold. You are making a mess for yourself without defining the area first.

[m Ransley]

Get a moisture meter , determine where your problems are first. You may be suprised.

[Brad]

The problem with an insulated wall that is relatively air tight is that once water gets in there it will sit there for a long time in the insulation and provide any mold with the food it needs. I've had this problem and the only way to solve it (after stopping the actual source) is to replace the insulation and sheet rock.

[Steve]

well sounds like I'll find out if its there or not when we open up the walls - glad to hear nothing more sinister to worry about - just take the moldy stuff out, clean it up and you're good to go it sounds like (once you fix the leak problems which I plan to do with a new roof and siding on this rather old house).

[AJScott]

I just went thru a humongous mold problem in the basement of my home built during the early 1930s (courtesy of idiot previous owners and chronic seepage) that I had to get rid of as part of my basement renovation, and the solution was pretty easy: If you find mold and other damp, musty stuff anywhere, you have an ongoing moisture problem. Find the source of the moisture, eliminate it, and then replace the rotted stuff. For me, this meant ripping out lots of 2x4s and drywall, and then a good bit of waterproofing measures.

AJS

[m Ransley]

I have never heard of anyone being happy removing radiators, that is a stupid idea. Radiators are resold for BIG bucks, did your heating contractor tell you that. I just paid 900 for 2- 4 foot ones. Geee, its like the tile and slate roof scams. Each piece is sold for 10 to 30$ And the customer gets nada, just a 20 yr shingle job. Plus radiators give the evenest heat. Is he giving you a -20 warranty that you will be 75 if you need it without running your boiler to

210,or have constant waistful pump operation. Lets see,contractor wants walls out, without using Moisture probes on a calibrated Moisture meter. And remove radiators replace with someting less. Your house was balanced for what you have, designed and set up right. You need a 2nd 3rd and 4th opinion. I have seen a few 1 000,000 homes screwd bad,

[Steve]

actually they are convection radiators I believe, just a cover over basically a baseboard radiator and are ugly as all h**l. It was my idea to get rid of them and also to replace the cellulose insulation with fiberglass and I wanted new windows as they are in bad shape...so ripping the wall to the studs makes sense. If I can sell those radiator covers for big money let me know because they just pop off and I can take them out now. The radiators are in too many spots where we are moving walls so we'd have to rip out some of the pipes completely in any event and would need to replace or use alternative heating anyway. but thanks for the comments...if they were those old fashioned nice radiators I'd totally agree.

[David Combs]

What's a moisture meter? Reads air humidity?

Or something special?

And, where to get, and for how much?

Thanks,

David

[Dennis J Sunday]

Moisture meters are generally used to measure moisture content in wood or other material. Hygrometers are used to measure moisture in the air.-- Best Regards, Dennis J Sunday Home Inspection Systems

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