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and happy to see real people talking about home projects.. I  am closing on our house on the 11th in East Cobb and found one wall with mold in the kitchen.  That was the only place we saw it and it looked like the sellers tried to cover it up, but we removed the cabinets to find it and eww..  So we are removing the wall and planning on rebuilding the wall and replacing 2 cabinets and I wanted to get an idea on 1. how and where should I get an idea on repairing and replacing it & 2. should we hire a professional to treat the mold? Thanks!!

SawHorse Design Build · Answer

Vanessa- sorry that you have to deal with this mold problem.  The first thing that needs to happen is to get the mold re-mediated by a professional.  We can point you in the right direction if you like.

Once the mold is gone, then we can come by to help you put things back together.  Be very careful when dealing with mold.  Many people (including myself) have adverse reactions to mold.

3po3 · Answer

Welcome to Hometalk. 
Also see if you can get the sellers to pitch in for the mold remediation and follow-up testing. Certainly shouldn't be a deal-breaker for the house, but I would definiteiy get it thoroughly taken care of and inspected before moving anything in (most of all, yourselves).

SawHorse Design Build · Answer

Can you get the sellers to address the mold?  If it is not bank owned your could put this in the special stipulations.

Darby C · Answer

If you have not closed yet you need to run, not walk, away from this problem.  The sellers are not hiding this out of ignorance.  It is on purpose.  I am willing to bet this is not the only problem that you are going to find.

Nichter's Home Services Corp · Answer

I am far less certain this is intentional hiding of problems based on only one photo. I have also seen similar behind cabs when doing remo wen there was very little or no other problem in the house. My instinct is that there probably is other mold present but there is no way to be sure of that based on the little showing here. It may simply be that there was excessive growth behind wall cabinets because residents used high humidity for heath reasons or did a lot of cooking and the steam encouraged growth in these hidden spaces on the wall. As Wood suggested, you need a professional to inspect and evaluate before closing on this. It is something nobody here can do online

Donna McCrummen · Answer

Mold can be treated - but why take it on? It's a health hazard you don't need. As a realtor and flipper - don't buy the house. Tell your realtor to get you out of the deal based on the home inspection. I agree with Darby. If the seller covered this up they could and probably are covering up something else. If the realtor can't get you out call a real estate attorney. If the sellers realtor knew about the mold he/she can be litigated against. Call the state real estate board to report the problem. Good Luck. Keep us posted.

Samm C · Answer

I agree with Darby C  that's an awful lot of mold and you don't know where the moisture is coming from, if there is that much in one room, there is more.

Vanessa L · Answer

Thanks for the comments!  Def makes me think twice.  We are now working on the seller to give us $4000 aside from the closing for the job, so we can get it done right..  but really we're still paying for it.. Taking the price and lowering it by $4000 and doing a 'decorating allowance' is what the RE agent called it.  Seperate contract from the closing.  This house has been apprased at $180k and were getting it at $130k. A company bought it to flip it and flipped themselves upside down I guess. I really dont have the story on the sellers but they live in CA, bought the home, never lived in it.. just fixed it and tried to sell it, but has been on the market for almost a year.   and that the 1st buyers up and left one day and no one knew why..
I think this house is perfect for us.. good school district, great neighboorhood..   Back to the orginal store.. yes..   I am looking for an estimate now for removing the mold.  Would love some names and numbers.

KMS Woodworks · Answer

My dad was a detective and I tend to look closely at the 'evidence' before making any decisions or judgements.

The photo shows new drywall installed in the fridge location...you can clearly see where the old drywall was broken by the jagged line along the bottom of the where the cabinet used to be.  When that old drywall was removed it would have clearly shown the mold contamination.  This is a cover up if  and hide issue.  Since the owners were out of state perhaps the contractor took some short cuts or liberties with full disclosure to the home owners.

I recently did an inspection in a clients new home purchase about relocating a washer and dryer to a utility room in the basement.  Inside this room was a wall that seemed to have no purpose...When the new buyers asked the owners about 'why this wall was there' they said they did not know ...or could not 'remember'.  This wall was crudely built  and not fully finished, Inside this smaller 'closet' type area there was lots of staples in the drywall with smallish scrapes of reflective mylar.  A new GFCI and a couple of hooks in the ceiling had me hypothesizing that this was a 'grow room'  upon some expanded inspections I noticed more mylar in the bigger part of the room...some flexible vent ducting, and weather strip foam installed to the door stop on the 'utility room's door'...that was pretty much the clincher...The bold face lie to the potential new buyer...'we don't remember why that wall is there'....perhaps it has something to do with your illegal grow operation you stoner!

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

The renovation should take several approaches. 
First off document all issues with the kitchen that were apparently hidden from view as you demo the kitchen.  As there may be some sort of method that you can go after the prior owners for hiding or not disclosing this issue to you.

Ideally the seller should be doing this. Taking money to fix this is not the way it should be done. $4000 may be enough to clean up, or it may be only enough to get it removed.  I would insist on $10, grand to be held in escrow to cover any issues that come up during the renovation. You have not addressed the replacement cabinets, the cost of mold removal, the cost of fixing what ever was the cause of the mold in the first place although I have some ideas.

The cost you purchased it for, regardless of getting a discount was figured before you knew of this problem. So do not let that come into play at all. The price needs to be adjusted by credits or escrow monies once you agree to a price for the home. Then you need enough to pay for the repairs to make the house whole again.

I would not run away from the home. But you need to carefully discuss all matters with your attorney who will make sure you have recourse from the selling parties should more surprises take place.

If you proceed on this project, be sure to document what ever has been done and its cost.

Decorating allowance?  What a clever way of saying major structural repairs. These are the agents home inspectors hate and sellers love.   They sugar coat things so not to scare their buyers by calling severe issues on a home cosmetic in nature. My guess this agent works for the seller not you.

Remember all those flipping shows on TV and wonder where they all went? Not just the economy folks. Many have been sued out of business for doing exactly what the last company did to hid issues.

If you have concerns on how to proceed, feel free to contact me via my profile, I will glad to give you some ideas on how to address this and get it cleaned up properly.

Bob

Donna McCrummen · Answer

Reading the previous post by Woodbridge reminds me I should have mentioned that unless you have a specific buyer agent agreement with your realtor they work for the seller. Sorry - should have mentioned that. I still feel strongly that you should not buy this house. Try not to be emotional about it - difficult I know but there are too many others out there for sale. Don't take on someone else's headache.

Vanessa L · Answer

Update on the house. We are approved for the seller to fix the problem.  We now will need some estimates for the mold removal and an estimate for fixing it back.. I would love to talk to some of you builders. Thanks!

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Vanessa for mold removal and evaluations go to American Indoor Air Quality Association. http://www.iaqa.org/ They have lists for inspectors and remediation contractors in your area. These people will also be able to provide you with a list of contractors that they work with for the rebuild process. The only issue you may have and I know because I do this also. There is no real idea of what the repairs will be until they do the demo and clean up for you. As just when you think your going to be ok, something else shows up while your tearing things down. So you need to be prepared for this. I always tell my clients to figure about 20% more worst case from my estimate.

Toni M · Answer

wow  down here in Australia we tend to get a building inspection done prior to purchase or even negotiating, If there is a mould problem that wasn't picked up by the inspector the You look to them for compensation if you didn't have an inspection done then its kind of tough luck you wear the cost.  I like the fact that you got them to reduce the cost of the house but is it enough to rectify the mould problem - good luck to you though I hope the house is all that you dream off

Kevin M. Veler, Law Office of · Answer

I tend to err with those who urge caution especially as there was a 'flip' attempt.  Flippers are notorious for not getting proper permits, and covering up issues like the attempt to hide mold.  I would be sure to hire an inspector the check the work before and after and take plenty of pictures (as well as check the other parts of the house).  Check to be sure that the work that was previously performed was done with proper permits and inspections.

KMS Woodworks · Answer

Kevin's comment had me think...if they did pull permits for this work?...If so...see if you can get copies of the inspections or possibly talk with the inspector  directly.

Culpepper Carpets and Interiors, Inc. · Answer

Wecome to HomeTalk Vanessa!

Vanessa L · Answer

Update! We took down the wall.. not much damage with the mold.. It was mostly in the insulation, which we removed and the back wall was not molded at all :) Very happy we didn't turn away from this house because of this problem.  We have sprayed it completely and no signs of mold in the house.. smells much better.  Now we will replace the wall and now for the tough part.. picking new cabinets.. But very pleased with our progress!

April · Answer

Welcome to Hometalk, Vanessa!

I'm glad everything has worked out for you guys and the house, and that the mold has been removed - Praise God! Hoping for smooth progress for you guys here on out and I'm glad so many Hometalkers are willing to assist you. :)

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Vanessa, did you find the source of the moisture that started the mold in the first place?  Glad you moved ahead.  Just be sure that there is no moisture before you close up things or you will repeat history in this area.  Congrats on the home!

Toni M · Answer

great news that it wasn't as bad as originally thought - what caused the mould ? I thought perhaps that it was only the insulation then perhaps this was damp when installed

Vanessa L · Answer

We did find the leak, it was in the master bath when they 'tried' to fix the faucets.. there was a slow drip and the house being vacant and with the moisture was the main reason it got so bad.  But it was mostly on the surface. We are fogging today and then cleaning the ducts. Any suggestions on the dry wall to use and the insulation?  Were putting that up tomorrow. 
Thanks so much for your input!

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

There are several ways to insulate.  The best being foam, but that can get a bit pricey for just a small area.   I would suggest that you purchase some cans of spray foam and foam any holes that wires or pipes are running through and with what is left spray around the top and bottom plates of the wall to help seal any tiny gaps that may be present that air can go through.
Then using unfaced insulation insulate the cavities.  Be sure to cut groves in the insulation so it fits around and not just behind any wires. Where any fixture boxes are located. A combo of foam where the wires enter into the box and careful fitting of insulation will assure the maximum benefit of the fiberglass.  
Once that is complete purchase 6 mill plastic.  It comes in large rolls and any left over can be used for lots of future projects around the home. 
Using staples securely fasten it to the entire wall. Pay attention that you only cut out the openings with little X's so the plastic fits tight around all electrical boxes etc.  Bring the plastic down to the floor and cut it even with the floor and ceiling edges.  Then using silicon caulk seal the plastic to the wood  framing along those edges. This assures that no air or moisture will from the house will get behind the plastic.  You do not need to go overboard on staples on the rest of the wall joists as the drywall will hold it in place once its applied. 
As far as drywall,  If its in a kitchen I would use Green Board or mold and moisture drywall which is a fairly new product being sold in the lumber yards and big box stores. I think it is blue in color. both are  made for damp locations. Its a bit overkill but not really that much more expensive then regular drywall that you would use.  Screw it or nail it into place and your good to go!

KMS Woodworks · Answer

another great response from Woodbridge

SawHorse Design Build · Answer

Woodbridge does offer good advice, however it does not apply to all climate zones. Atlanta is usually considered a 'fringe' zone according to the Southface Energy Institute, however this map states that it is a little further down South. http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11810 It is recommended that the vapor barrier be omitted in the fringe zone. South of the fringe zone it should go on the exterior of the house. Just ask any developer in FL that put drywall up on the inside of the walls only to cause a mold problem since they were not aware what zone they were in. I could spend the next hour explaining this- or you could read this article- http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11810 It will let you know which zone you are in and where to put the moisture barrier.

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Very good point SawHorse   Great link as well!

HandyANDY - Handyman & All Repairs, LLC · Answer

Hope the house has gone well for you.  I would also have someone check all of the vent boots on the roof...if they are split and leaking...water can travel down the vent pipe and cause the kind of mold depicted in your pictures.

NEVER run from a house with a mold issue....as a very active contractor and investor who has been involved in 1,000s of flips over the past 20 years, my best buys have always been mold houses.  I call it BLACK GOLD.  Now granted, some molded houses just aren't worth the effort...this one certainly was!  What zip was it in?

Jan Britt Interiors · Answer

Sounds like you are doing a good job.

Cathy B · Answer

Even if a house is bank owned, one can go to the bank for repairs.  The agent will argue (yours and theirs) but they cannot sell ahouse with a major health issue.  I'm glad sellers agreed to pay!

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