How do you tackle mold?

Question

Hey everyone, I’m looking at potentially starting my first renovation on what would be a STR in my town. Most of the rehab needed is cosmetic to bring more life to this older property (1940’s).

One of my largest concerns with the property is the potential mold in one hallway (pictures below). It appears the shower in the bathroom being right next to the door is releasing steam into the taller ceiling in the hallway with no ventilation. This area is staying moist and has created some mold on the ceiling and in the two adjacent closets. This is the only area of mold I noticed in the house. The seller has a dehumidifier in the property which may suggest a ventilation issue overall, or maybe just in that area.

How do you factor for mold in your rehab estimates? How do you know if it is a serious case or not? I’ve read online the potential costs of mold remediation and how it can really put a damper on a rehab budget. Any insight at all is helpful. Thank you!

(Sorry the pics are blurry, had to take them from a video)

Account Closed · Answer

My recommendation: Hire a professional to take care of it. It might be expensive, but god forbid you clean it up yourself, finish the rehab, then it comes back. Mold can be incredibly hard to get rid of, but it is better to have it professionally cleaned and move on from there.

Steven Goldman · Answer

I agree with both of these comments. But with the amount of mold I see in this picture I would be very leery of buying this property. If that much is exposed what is underneath? It looks to me like a long neglected problem. Good luck.

James French · Answer

Hello

From the pictures I would have to say its moisture from the bathroom. It could be a roof leak but if it was you would see water damage first before the mold grows. IF it was a roof leak mold will grow behind the drywall and the drywall will start get yellow indicating a leak. After that then you would see the mold growing.

Multiple ways to treat mold and yes you should wear protection for yourself. You can get a mold treatment chemical or mix bleach and water and spray it onto the infected area. Now if this is a roof leak you will notice the drywall will have a yellowish tint. Then unfortunately you will need to cut out the drywall. Since it's in a hallway it's easy to hang plastic from the ceiling to the floor to contain the air and mess.

Prime and paint after whatever mold treatment you have to do.

This is actually easy to do and not a complicated job. Worst case scenario if you have a roof leak you need to repair roof leak asap because if it is doing damage to your drywall who knows what it's doing in the attic and the framing structure. IF you have to tear out the drywall, I recommend going from wall to wall since it's a hallway and a small area. More of a mess to tear out but the repair side is way easier and usually comes out better. The matching of the drywall texture can sometimes be a hard task to do depending on the person doing the mud and texture.

Good Luck you got this!

Bill Brown · Answer

I would be surprised if all that mold is from a shower. Maybe there is a roof leak? Either way, it's probably going to be much worse behind the walls. Doesn't mean it won't be straightforward to remediate though. Talking to pros would be the best thing to do.

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Cody Smith If you're handy get in there with gloves and a face mask and bust out a wall. We can desktop speculate how bad the mold is but without opening the walls it's just a guess.

I agree with other comments about hiring a professional if it's bad. We just cleaned and disinfected some surface mold in the basement of one of our properties. It's common on the floor joists with a damp basement in Indiana. In your pics it appears to be behind walls. That's not a bleach, water, and scrubbing fix in my opinion.

Michael Dumler · Answer

@Cody Smith, mold remediation = tearing the drywall out, this can add up significantly as you can imagine. As Shiela mentioned, schedule a mold specialist to visit the property, most will provide a free estimate/quote and assess the toxicity levels. Hope this helps!

Shiela R. · Answer

@Cody Smith, do you have a contact who is an environmental remediation specialist (asbestos, mold) that can walk the property with you?  That would be my preferred way. They will know what is what on testing to determine toxicity, time and costs + they'll have the necessary documents required by your state's department of public health to show proof of remediation. As an agent, you'll want this for your records. If you can't get the environmental specialist, what about a GC to walk the property?  Unfortunately, there is no way to know until you open that up and find the source of the problem.

How do you tackle mold?

Most Popular Reply