Our new house has mold behind one wall, looking for recommendations

[TaterTot62]

As the title says, our new to us house has a mold issue. Our inspector missed a leak that caused water to come in around the fireplace exit. The water ran down the wall, and in between the mantle and Sheetrock is just coated. As is part of the undersheath in the attic and I’m not sure what else. The house has a new roof so the water is no longer actively causing issues.

Anyway, as handy as I am, I think this needs a pro to demo and handle the mold. House is in Edmond, anyone have any recommendations on who can handle a project like this? Safety and future prevention is our main focus, but we aren’t rich unfortunately.

Also, anyone good with real estate law?

As a retired painting contractor And someone whose dealt with a lot of this, what I would suggest you do if you, if you don’t want to pay a mold remediation company $$$$$ is load up bleach in a $20 garden pump sprayer. Strap on a 3M cartridge painters mask (dark blue mask at Sherwin Williams) and spray down the mold affected areas of sheet rock and studs. Once you’ve soaked the rock start removing it (mask still on) and put it inside large heavy duty garden trash bag. Toss it all away sealed up in the bags. If you’ve soaked any affected stud areas you could coat the stud areas with Zinzer’s white shellac if it will make you happy but it’s kind of overkill. If there’s no more water problem there’s no more mold problem. Replace new sheet rock. I was mold abatement certified when this first started and it was a lot like the ‘lead paint’ scare - a way for people to make a lot of money based on fear. More than anything the mold is an allergen. I’m not saying the dreaded ‘Black Mold’ doesn’t exist here but I’ve not heard of cases in Oklahoma. Mold happens anywhere there’s water in a sealed up area like the shower and we don’t have mold abatement companies coming out to clean or showers. Do what makes you feel comfortable but I’m just letting you know my experience as someone who has horrible allergies and has done a ton of mold removal work tear out and rebuild contracting over 30 years. Anymore questions you can email me [email protected]. I’m in Edmond as well.

 

[TaterTot62]

To be fair, it really depends on the type of mold. Lots of molds are harmless, but some can kill you. And if active, if being careless you can spread it in the house.

I’m trying to tell him as well.

 

[chazroh]

Technically I believe you’re supposed to use the magenta colored filters on the respirator. And I’m of the opinion don’t use bleach, at least buy a product that is made to kill and encapsulate it

 

[mr ed]

I hope you had reputable roofers that would speak up

My roofers would speakup cause that's a chance to make more $$$

 

[montesa]

I have been in the home remodeling and residential construction business for 15yrs… please listen to the guys on here who are saying it’s not that big of a deal!

I have dealt with mold remediation companies plenty. Servpro with the green trucks is a common one. For the most part they are a rip off.

All they do is send in a couple low wage workers, staple up some plastic to isolate the area, cut out moldy drywall, remove moldy insulation, spray everything with solution in pump sprayer, (this part only takes an hour or two)… then they put fans/dehumidifiers on it for a couple days… then in comes 2 different low wage workers to put insulation back and patch the Sheetrock. Then they charge $10k+ lol

If you know a decent handyman they could probably do the exact same repair for like $1,500

This mirrors my experience. Remodeling old houses to turn into rental properties, I've dealt with more mold than you can imagine. Toilet and sink both fallen through the floor into the crawl space kind of thing. I just cut it all out and treat what's left. I'll do it while eating a sandwich. Take that with a grain of salt. If they tested my DNA it would say 78% redneck. I did get sick one time. But that might have been the 12 pack from the night before.

 

[John6185]

As a retired painting contractor And someone whose dealt with a lot of this, what I would suggest you do if you, if you don’t want to pay a mold remediation company $$$$$ is load up bleach in a $20 garden pump sprayer. Strap on a 3M cartridge painters mask (dark blue mask at Sherwin Williams) and spray down the mold affected areas of sheet rock and studs. Once you’ve soaked the rock start removing it (mask still on) and put it inside large heavy duty garden trash bag. Toss it all away sealed up in the bags. If you’ve soaked any affected stud areas you could coat the stud areas with Zinzer’s white shellac if it will make you happy but it’s kind of overkill. If there’s no more water problem there’s no more mold problem. Replace new sheet rock. I was mold abatement certified when this first started and it was a lot like the ‘lead paint’ scare - a way for people to make a lot of money based on fear. More than anything the mold is an allergen. I’m not saying the dreaded ‘Black Mold’ doesn’t exist here but I’ve not heard of cases in Oklahoma. Mold happens anywhere there’s water in a sealed up area like the shower and we don’t have mold abatement companies coming out to clean or showers. Do what makes you feel comfortable but I’m just letting you know my experience as someone who has horrible allergies and has done a ton of mold removal work tear out and rebuild contracting over 30 years. Anymore questions you can email me [email protected]. I’m in Edmond as well.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Basically, when there is a scare such as mold or even Covid, people jump on the bandwagon to make money and teat the mold as you say. Covid, they come in and spray tables and the area and charge big bucks... After all they placed themselves at "risk."

 

[Rooster1971]

This mirrors my experience. Remodeling old houses to turn into rental properties, I've dealt with more mold than you can imagine. Toilet and sink both fallen through the floor into the crawl space kind of thing. I just cut it all out and treat what's left. I'll do it while eating a sandwich. Take that with a grain of salt. If they tested my DNA it would say 78% redneck. I did get sick one time. But that might have been the 12 pack from the night before.

I had a flashing leaking around my fireplace that looked similar. Treated with bleach, couple coats of kilz and painted.
Heck I’ve stuck my head in plenums that were bad, even seen mushrooms. Evidently the people living there must have had super duper immune systems if it’s that toxic. I don’t know seriously, but have crawled around under some seriously nasty houses.