All Forum Posts by: Travis West

Hi John.

I would say based on your assessment that damage to the structural wood members is pretty high.

You could go for a more in-depth inspection, or just consider that if the lower walls were wet then yes, the drywall and even some amount of the wood structural members would need to go.

Structural Integrity
The only way the structural wood would NOT need to be pulled out would be if the drywall was removed shortly after the moisture affected it and it was properly dried. If anything other than that occurred, then the level of moisture remaining in the wood for days or even weeks would certainly affect the structural integrity of the wood.

Wood is a forgiving product. It can absorb, desorb, and absorb, desorb many times over. But it MUST have a chance to desorb quickly each time, or it's fibers and cells will fail (they provide the structural strength).

Find a water restoration contractor who can review the wood. Simply putting the points of a good moisture meter into the wood will tell them if the wood is "mush" or whether it's strong enough to last a few more wettings. Oh yea ... find the source of the moisture and fix that. That goes without saying though!

Moldy Odors
If you smell a "moldy odor" then there is certainly something there that is still wet (or growing). Those odors are known as Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds (MVOC's) and they are generated by an actively growing mold - digesting it's food. Not just in this house ... but in ANY house where you smell the MVOC odors of mold, those odors are telling you that there's an active mold growth somewhere nearby.

Good luck. This is find-able and fix-able. It is not a deal killer!

Travis West

Oh ... and Zachary meant you should use an "anti-microbial" to spray the surface. This is designed to prevent the future development of mold.

+1 on what Zachary said. While there may be some semblance of biological contamination on the surfaces you photographed, the concrete and metal surfaces won't normally provide the organic materials necessary for mold growth to occur. If there is any mold there, it's because the walls or pipes or conduit are dirty, and the mold is growing on that dirt.

Dawn (or similar dish soaps) increase the surfactancy of water. That means it makes the water droplets smaller ... and that allows any wiping of surfaces to capture more of the offending mold, dirt, dust, etc.

Finally, this appears to be a crawl space or basement. These areas are prone to excess moisture. If you don't have a way to control the ingress of water (sealing the wall to keep it out) then you're going to have to find a way to manage it ... through dehumidification.

Good luck! This looks like an easy issue to address.

Travis

in response to Sam's comment, wondering whether its black mold or not is really not the issue. If you have mold, at the levels you're implying, the color really doesn't matter. All molds can damage construction materials and most all will also generate mycotoxins that can cause an allergic reaction.

If you are trying to determine how old the mold is then yes, the color (or the mold genus) may matter.

Example: Stachybotrys and Chaetomium (often considered black molds) usually don't occur until several weeks of wet surfaces have occurred. And, they both require LOTS of water (high water activity levels) to live (grow and thrive). Others like Aspergillus and Penicillium don't need a lot of moisture to start and then even when the water is removed, they can continue to develop without active water.

My point is this. Test if you need to know how old the molds are or if you're trying to determine when it started. If someone complains about health effect then again I'd say test. Beyond that ... testing isn't really needed. Just remove what's damaged, clean the rest, rebuild as necessary, and get on with yourlifr.

Travis West

I heard that "wicked giggle" all the way over in Houston Brian Hoffman!

Travis

Welcome Charles ... Jump in with both feet and don't worry about getting a little wet!

Real estate investing is fun, challenging, and did I mention fun?!

The folks here at Bigger Pockets really know how to make you feel at home and are always willing to offer the benefit of their own experiences (good or bad).

Travis

Welcome to BP Tanisha. I have been pouring over the posts ... both new and old and have really learned a lot on here. I've even posted several questions that I just couldn't find an answer for and MAN! were the responses overwhelming.

It is good to study, read, and visit real estate investment clubs, but you and I have found a terrific resource here on BP.

As I often do, I asked the question, then I looked for my own answer.

I found a great resource describing what I wanted to know here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/articles/1024-how-to-calculate-cash-on-cash-return

Travis

Is there a resource or a document on BP that discusses the cash on cash strategy?

Certainly, I could read the forums but was hoping to find a description of the formula, pitfalls, etc.

Thanks.
Travis