All Forum Posts by: Andre Crabb

great meeting you guys last night

Looking forward to meet the local group!

Turned out to be what was left from rats living in the attic from what must have been decades ago.

Rat hair, dirt, feces. 

I replaced the insulation with spray foam - they vacuumed out all the old blow-in that had rat trails and feces etc etc. - I still had issues.

I replaced the HVAC - I still had issues. BUT, while they were doing the work, my symptoms got worse while I was up in the attic. AND looking into the main plenum, I could see how filthy it was and how there was actually stuff still in the ductwork.

So I had to replace the ductwork. - FINALLY I can be in the house and run the air. (I mean…who checks INSIDE the ductwork during an inspection??) I pulled out some of the dirt from the old ducts…it looks like mostly hair and some dirt, probably termite frass and probably some combo of other dirt things from rats like feces and urine. Just gross.

I can’t believe the previous owners didn’t have issues and lived in the house this way for 5+ years.

THANK YOU everyone for the tips! I’ve got an idea with how to move forward.

Still going at it slow since its not a major priority, but I have a plan.

ok so I can just walk into the office and ask about permits for an arbitrary property?

do I have to tell them its mine? ...are they going to start prodding me with all sorts of questions? 😂

 Yes I'm living in the main house as primary. Garage is just empty right now.

Hey BP! I could use some advice here to have my SFH not turn into a money pit...

Its a 1946 SFH in Tampa, Florida with a detached garage that has plumbing and electric, and was half-baked to a livable unit.

Ideally I'd like to finish the AirBnb conversion, but am assuming nothing was permitted. (Water supply from the main house, a new drain, a small electrical panel, outdoor washer/dryer).

The question is...what's the best way to move forward?

- Get some inspector to come view the area and tell me what is currently wrong with the unit? If this inspector is from the city...will they start fining me for any current violations?

- Just start the work with a new architect and ask them if anything existing needs to change?

- Keep it all under the hood and dont permit things?

- Don't do the conversion at all and just use the garage as a garage.

Of course there's a lot of variables, but its my first house and investment and I want to learn before I just go for it, fearing losing lots of money in fines, fees, etc.

Thanks!

Andre

Wow thanks everyone for the responses, I really appreciate it.

Luckily I'm on a trip for two weeks away from the home so my symptoms should calm down.
When in the house, the symptoms definitely stop if I dont run my central fan. I know my ducts leak in air from the attic. And I wonder if air leaks in from the crawlspace (any idea anyone? I'm sure it depends).
Its a 1956 house, single story with a few oak trees around it.
The floor is wood and tile.

I am new to Florida so maybe there is something environmental also causing me issues, not sure.

@Caroline Gerardo thanks for the HEPA vacuum tip, I didn't think about it for my shop vac, but I found a HEPA filter for it and vacuum bags, that together should keep spores and things inside the vac. I think me pulling part the wall and ceiling of the garage must have caused something to spread to my car (which is parked right by the garage).

@Bill B. thanks for the idea of electrostatic filters, I hadn't heard of those before. Are those better than HEPA filters?

@Scott Mac I do actually have a digestive issue as well that's not great, but its unrelated to the house...just sadly happening at the same time

I've never had allergies before and my immune system has always been pretty dang good.
There's not water leaks that I can see.

The challenge is all the mold/air testing companies test just that, the air...they dont seem to find the cause or location of the actual problem sadly. But I hope I get proved wrong 😂

@Scott Mac

I'm going to get the HEPA filter and bag for my shop vac - wear all the PPE when continuing to demo the garage, maybe hire someone to do it - and get a dry fogger to spray the heck out of the house and the garage. I have a lot of concrobium and RMR 141 at home already - also thinking of getting some hydrogen peroxide.

Curious if anyone else has done some DIY mold/bacteria remediation?

Hey BP,

So I bought my first property last year in Tampa, FL. Its a SFH with a half-converted detached garage in the back.

Pretty soon I realized that I have health issues when I'm in the home, and it seems to be related to when I run the AC. But when I'm working on the detached garage in the back I also have problems.

There's a few things I think it could be related to: mold, rats, termites.

I don't see or smell a lot of mold - there was some in the AC handler which I cleaned what I could see. I've fogged the house with several different solutions for this as well.

Rats had definitely infested the attic and the garage at some point before I owned the house. I know the ducts leak attic air into the house so this seemed like a cause. I just had all the old batt/blow-in insulation removed and replaced with spray foam, but I'm still feeling the symptoms.

Termites have been all over the house, the attic and garage was full of their frass which I've been starting to vacuum up and clean. But I'm not sure if people get sick/symptoms from termites.

What's worse is now I feel similar symptoms when I turn on my car fan / AC - and that makes me think its back to mold being the problem.

If it is mold, I'm thinking I'll have to replace my AC unit (20+ years old) and al the ducting (probably about the same age). But that's a $10k+ bill and I still don't KNOW if its going to solve the problem.

I could really use some help here.

I've had several professionals comes to the house and a lot of them say conflicting things, so its all been very confusing.
I bought an air particle counter and that didn't show anything bad.
I use a MERV 14 filter for my AC system intake and have a small HEPA air purifier in the house.

Not a great experience with my first property, but I'm learning a hell of a lot.

Thanks

Thanks for that Kristina! I like the sound of that.

Follow up question then...where would I find a good architect / draftsman?