Home inspector/mold removal/contractor question

[Ron Jones near Indy]

We have had professional mold remediation specialists look at my MIL's basement to give suggestions and quotes on a mold problem. Two of them agree that there is no active mold and that a good cleaning, removal of old paneling and some sort of treatment/coating is all that is necessary to get that part of the house in condition to put on the market. The 3rd person says that in addition to these steps shrubs need to be removed, soil graded away from the foundation and the installation of a humidifier are required. Quotes range from $1500 to nearly $7000. The high bidder seems to rely on the fact that as a home inspector/mold remediation specialist/contractor he is the only one really qualified to evaluate the situation. It seems to me that he is also the only one who is also creating additional income from this job by specifying additional work on the project. Am I wrong to be so skeptical? Your commits and expertise are most welcome!

[Jim Becker]

Honestly, whether you do it yourself or have someone else take care of it, proper grading is an essential part of keeping moisture and water at bay. I know that first hand! Now, given that you are preparing this property for liquidation, you have to consider if going that far is something you need to do now or if you think you're going to get it requested by a prospective owner. If it is really obvious that things slope into the house, a good inspector could get that put on the list. Given there is no active mold, that's a good sign that you don't have a severe problem and insuring that your downspouts, walkways, etc., drain away should keep it that way for now. Re-landscaping before a sale would be a pain!

[Jason Roehl]

Ron, if that guy is truly a home inspector, he may be violating some ethics rules by bidding/estimating the job. He may not be performing a 'home inspection' per se, from which it WOULD be unethical to derive work, but he's assessing the situation and claiming to also be a home inspector--pretty shady if you ask me.

And, while mold may cause problems for SOME people, and may cause damage, it's not automatically nerve gas or termites. I'd do a small test area yourself with a small spray bottle of bleach (don't inhale it, get it on you, blah, blah, blah) to see if it kills it or makes it disappear, then re-evaluate your options.

[Leland Berry]

Both good points from Jim and Jason--2 of the 3 "inspectors" did NOT
suggest Shrub remove etc. ? Something smells a little about #3. If
you passed, I think I'd let the new owner worry about shrubs.--Just
my 2 cents (653678 yen)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Ron,
#3 is on the right track.
Mold is a "Symptom" of a problem as well as a problem in it's own right.
Mold can only grow if the conditions are right to support it's growth.
Dark/humid/still air.
HUD offers some online advice about dealing with mold/dampness in below grade.
(my wife and I buy and rehab propeties for rental since 2002 - we've looked at close to 1000 properties in that span - & bought only 3)
Believe me - I've researched this to the max. Water below grade and the long term effects are "jackpot trick bags" when dealing with potential real estate buys. It's the third highest dollar item that can "grab you".
(FWIW - liens/clear title are #1 and hazardous materials #2)

Dealing with "dampness" on below grade walls begins on the outside.
Proper drainage - fairly hard compacted soil around the perimiter - proper sealing of the walls on the outside - effective/intact drainage system.
After doing the outside at and below ground level, the next place is to go up high - make sure the roof/gutters are sound and clear of debris and drain properly.

Lastly, the interior below grade needs to be addressed. Remove any and everything covering the walls. Rake and tuckpoint any loose morter joints.
If needed - and it usually is - trench along the perimiter of the walls - install drainage to channel away any water that infiltrates.

After that, the walls need to be checked for plumb.
99 out of ~ 100 houses we've looked at that have mold also have bowed basement walls.

Here's a before and after shot of our latest effort after we'd removed all the old paneling and done some repairs to the walls just prior to the first cleaning of the block.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Ron - (continued)

I guess the bottom line is how much return you expect to get on the outlay.

To go from the previous 1950's paneling on the basment to it's present state of finished walls cost us around $18K and nearly 4 months of work.
That put us "upside down" on the property - in today's market - to the tune of about $5K to $7K - if for some unforessen reason we had to turn the property.

IMNSHO - sinking anything beyond a basic removal for a "for sale" structure isn't going to net a healthy return.
By all means, clean/spruce it up, but put any considerable outlay into the kitchen &/or bath.

That's a seriously "ballpark guesstimate" though on my part.
You need to do some research on what's selling/who's doing the buying/how long real estate is sitting on the market in your area.

[Joe Pelonio]

Check the local real estate laws. There are some requirements to disclose all
inspections that were done within so many days of putting it on the market. This guy's report may be of some concern to a buyer.

If that's the same in your state, to me there are two options. One is to go ahead and do some or all of what the report suggested to show the buyers that it has been corrected. The other is to wait, and hope they do not write that into the offer. If they are satisfied with the other two inspections you'll save some money. If they do ask for it, and it's a decent offer, it can be paid for out of the sale so no out-of-pocket.

[Stephen Nelson]

I'm a insurance catastrophe adjuster and see these type of things a lot, my best advise would be to carefully check ALL references and if they have none then you should do no business with them, as far as the 3rd person sounds like a pad the bill thing to me with 2 others not concurring

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Do it yourself~!!

Mold remediation isn't even a trade and it's certainly not a profession.

Tear out the mold infested materials, empty the place to be cleaned.
Rent a high pressure washer. Get a 5 gallon container of 12% sodium-hyperchlorate (pool bleach) and dip the suction tube into the bleach and spray everything down really well. Then air it all out till dry.
That alone should do it. Then run a good dehumidifier.

I've done this to a couple ancient homes I purchased just before I moved in when the cellars were empty. It kept 'em clean and mold free for several years.

However if you want some residual mold killing power:
Do all the above and Get a case of Sporcidin and a couple of one gallon garden sprayers.
http://www.sporicidin.com/-ordering.htm
Spray it on everything. Let it dry and run that dehumidifier.

I used sporcidin on my current cellar some 12 or more years after I initially bleached the whole place and the sporcidin did a marvelous job.

Finally I broke down and got dehumidifiers.



Then do what the other guys said about fixing up the mortar joints, thinking about drainage and my personal favorite: Get outside with a piece of rented equipment an slope the ground away from the building.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Do it yourself~!!

Mold remediation isn't even a trade. It is simply a lot of hard work, tear out, hauling, carrying, disposing, and finally spraying.



Tear out the mold infested materials, empty the place to be cleaned.
Rent a high pressure washer. Get a 5 gallon container of 12% sodium-hyperchlorate (pool bleach) and dip the suction tube into the bleach and spray everything down really well. Then air it all out till dry.
That alone should do it. Then run a good dehumidifier.

I've done this to a couple ancient homes I purchased just before I moved in when the cellars were empty. It kept 'em clean and mold free for several years.

However if you want some residual mold killing power - OR - all you want to do is kill the mold eliminate the stench and:
Do as much of the above as you can and get a case of Sporcidin and a couple of one gallon garden sprayers.
http://www.sporicidin.com/-ordering.htm
Spray it on everything where mold might be. Let it dry and run that dehumidifier.

I used sporcidin on my current cellar (250 year old building on a wet site) some 12 or more years after I initially bleached the whole place and the sporcidin did a marvelous job.

Finally I broke down and got dehumidifiers.



Then do what the other guys said about fixing up the mortar joints, thinking about drainage and my personal favorite: Get outside with a piece of rented equipment an slope the ground away from the building.