Mold! Oh No!

[omanalese]

Hello everyone,



I am in need of some help from fellow REIN and forum members. Any advice is extremely appreciated.



I purchased a JV property ANGUS, ON in November 2010 and we discovered mold in the property. It seems to be concentrated in a poorly constructed addition at the front of the house.



We had insurance in the house recently to check it out and they explained it would not be covered under insurance as it is a maintenance issue. They said it was the roof which was the issue.



We had a roofer come take a look one weekend to do a quote and he explained that the roof was fine and was NOT the cause of the moisture/mold. The work was out of his scope of expertise.



This is what he had explained and what we need help with:



-There is currently no ventilation in the attic

-The attic is 30 degrees when it should be outdoor temperature

-This would be the main cause of the mold surviving in that part of the house

-We need to remove the old wood soffit

-We need to install new vented soffit

-Someone will have to be there to ensure the wood is taken out as some contractors avoid this



So I had a great referral from someone who can do the above work before we have the mold remediated but unfortunately he is out of commission for the next two weeks under doctors orders!



Talk about bad timing!



Our first priority is to get some proper ventilation in the attic by replacing the soffits and potentially may have to replace the siding of the house before we have the mold removed.



I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or can refer a professional contractor familiar with this type of work.



We need to get a quote for the work ASAP so we can then get the work completed and focus on the mold issue.



Please HELP!



Thanks in advance!

 

[dplummer]

This is my line of work including mold remediation. Give me a call if you like. I'm just above Angus in Collingwood



Doug

Service One

705-445-9799

877-545-9799

www.service-one.ca

 

[Emil1753]

I purchase and remediate 4-5 grow ops per year in York Region and have become very efficient and well rounded with this type of problem.



In your case, containment areas should be set up around the affected areas as well as unaffected rooms

accompanied with negative air pressure to completely isolate the areas where the mold abatement will take place. This is to prevent cross contamination.

All air vents, windows, exhaust fans etc. should be sealed with proper tape and polyethylene sheeting. Negative air pressure should be maintained throughout the duration of the entire remediation project until clearance is achieved. If microbial growth is uncovered during the intrusive investigation, the area must be meticulously cleaned and disinfected with all affected building materials scrubbed or sanded to remove all microbial growth present.

Areas that may be impacted by aerosolized mold spores inside of the containment area should be Hepa Vacuumed and Wiped Down, and Hepa Vacuumed again ( The `Sandwich` Process).

A negative air scrubber should be running throughout the process.



Depending on the size of the mold growth this could in fact be a small problem that is easily fixable.

If the wood soffit is rotted, perhaps its best to just dispose of the old soffit and facia board and install a new aluminum ventilation system ($3000-$5000). If it's a small problem and the wood is still salvageable, you can get the addition remediated and then have a soffit guy come in and cut out proper vents into your existing system (much cheaper option).

Hopefully your insulation is not affected because if you find mold growth in your attic, many times you will need to completely remove all existing insulation and go with new insulation.

At the end of this entire process have a duct cleaning company come out and clean the duct system to insure no mold is left to ventilate throughout the home.



Regardless, I think your first step is to contact a mold remediation company. Almost all of them will come out and provide a free quote. Please make certain the mold company is IICRC certified with the S520 Mold Remediation certificate and follows those guidelines.

If you need some recommendations please feel free to contact me as I've worked with almost all of them and will let your know who to work with and who you should steer clear of.



Goodluck.



Emil Joseph

info@truecashflow.ca

647-708-6606

 

[bizaro86]

[quote user=TrueCashFlow]I purchase and remediate 4-5 grow ops per year in York Region and have become very efficient and well rounded with this type of problem



Wow. Great post. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do with them when you're finished? Rent them out or resell? My understanding is that even when remediated you still have to disclose that it was formerly a grow op on sale, is that your experience?



And of course, if you do mind me asking, not replying will not give offense.



Best regards,



Michael

 

[Emil1753]

I always sell.



Actually the two most stringent municipalities on grow ops and the two leaders in the field of remediation are the cities of Calgary and Vaughan. They are the strictest when it comes to signing off on the habitational safetyness of the home. In Vaughan banks wont give a mortgage on a grow op until it's been remediated and signed off on by :

-Chief of the Fire department

-Chief building inspector

-Electrical Safety Authority

-3rd party Environmental testing company.



Mind you when i'm done remediating my grow ops, they are literally lab tested as cleaner than a hospital.

I would live in any house that has been properly remediated and signed off on by the City of Vaughan because I know what kind of strict remediation process they've gone through.

So in order to do a grow op remediation in Vaughan, you have to have some cash and you have to really know what youre doing because costs can add up very quickly.

Firstly, you need the cash (or a hard money lender who charges big interest) to purchase the property because you wont be able to get a mortgage on the house until it's remediated.

You must be certain you buy at a very deep discount as remediation is super costly. You must also factor in holding costs and most definitely factor in a large discount to your buyer when it comes time to sell. Although, most people don't realize that the now remediated grow op house is cleaner than any house on the market.

The "former grow op" label stays on title forever and some people are really turned off by that so it's imperative you sell at big discount so you can get rid of it quickly.

I also pay myself a salary as grow ops can sometimes be time consuming. Especially for someone who hasn't ever done a remediation.

Once you get the hang of it, grow ops WILL make you bags of cash! But tread carefully and buy at HUGE discounts.



Hope that helps.





Emil Joseph.



twitter @realemil

 

[Tony Miller]

I have experienced something similar and this is what I did:



1. Got recommendations from two contractors and the mold remediation company that I hired (I hired MoldBusters) on how to fix the problem. They all said the mold was present because the roof did not have any vents (other than soffits) and the area where the mold was present was poorly insulated.



2. I hired MoldBusters to remove the mold and to check for mold elsewhere in the property (there wasn't any).



3. MoldBusters broke down parts of walls and ceilings and removed the mold.



4. Then had my contractor come in to install two roof vents, properly insulate the ceiling/walls, and then rebuild and paint the walls and ceilings that were torn down.



I think the total cost of the work was ~ 4K-5K. No sign of the mold since the work was completed....



Tony

 

[omanalese]

Thanks Doug. I hope to hear from you soon about the quote.



Cheers,



Oliver

 

[omanalese]

Wow, thanks for the deeper insight Emil. I really appreciate it as I was never that familiar with these sorts of situations.



I will be in contact with you as well.



Cheers,



Oliver

 

[omanalese]

[quote user=TonyMiller] I have experienced something similar and this is what I did:



1. Got recommendations from two contractors and the mold remediation company that I hired (I hired MoldBusters) on how to fix the problem. They all said the mold was present because the roof did not have any vents (other than soffits) and the area where the mold was present was poorly insulated.



2. I hired MoldBusters to remove the mold and to check for mold elsewhere in the property (there wasn't any).



3. MoldBusters broke down parts of walls and ceilings and removed the mold.



4. Then had my contractor come in to install two roof vents, properly insulate the ceiling/walls, and then rebuild and paint the walls and ceilings that were torn down.



I think the total cost of the work was ~ 4K-5K. No sign of the mold since the work was completed....



Tony








Thanks Tony. I will have to give MoldBusters a try as well!



I appreciate your response

 

[ronaldk]

I have the same issue as well.I have found mould in the corner of the ceiling where the walls meet.

But dont know where it came from.I do however have the TV satellite on the roof in the same area.Wonder if that caused it.Whats the best way to deal with it.Thank you.

Edmonton NW.

 

[Tony Miller]

Yup, that is exactly what I experienced except for the satellite tv part. See my post above maybe it will help....Tony

 

[omanalese]

[quote user=TonyMiller] I have experienced something similar and this is what I did:



1. Got recommendations from two contractors and the mold remediation company that I hired (I hired MoldBusters) on how to fix the problem. They all said the mold was present because the roof did not have any vents (other than soffits) and the area where the mold was present was poorly insulated.



2. I hired MoldBusters to remove the mold and to check for mold elsewhere in the property (there wasn't any).



3. MoldBusters broke down parts of walls and ceilings and removed the mold.



4. Then had my contractor come in to install two roof vents, properly insulate the ceiling/walls, and then rebuild and paint the walls and ceilings that were torn down.



I think the total cost of the work was ~ 4K-5K. No sign of the mold since the work was completed....



Tony








Hey Tony,



Thanks for the recommendation. Unfortunately, MoldBusters is not available in this area.



They recommended Service Masters 705.722.5870 for those of you who need their assistance out in the Barrie/Orillia area.



I am contacting them tomorrow to have them come do an estimate.



Thanks,



Oliver

 

[ronaldk]

I was wondering if there was any one in edmonton that does this kind of work.(inspect where the water is coming from and fix the mould / drywall ...etc )

I couldnt find anyone, even looked on kijiji.

thanks.