Mold in New Construction

[eina15]

Sorry in advance for the long post ;)

We're currently having a new home built and I need some public opinion regarding a mold issue........

We check in every few days because we are excited and also to ensure quality work is being done. Everything was fine until the top floor of the house was framed. We noticed that about 15 of the 2x4's used were covered in mold - green mold, blackish mold, brown mold and even white fuzzy stuff. Some of the boards were covered from top to bottom - I don't even know how they got used in the first place, I would have been scared to even touch them..... anyway, so some of the boards were totally covered, and some of the boards had small to medium mold coverage. The rest of the boards were completely clean, so it looked like just a small pile of bad boards had been used.

Anyway......I was pretty freaked out. I don't know too much about mold except that at a minimum it can cause allergies, and some of it can cause long term illness and even terminal disease. I emailed our contact at the builder letting her know there was possibly an issue, and sent along some of the pics I took. She replied, said the site supervisor had taken a look and that they would replace the moldy boards.

That was two weeks ago, and guess what - the boards are still in place. They've even gone ahead with the plumbing rough-in, installing pipes through some of the moldy boards. It also looks like someone tried to wipe down or sand the mold off. The wood is still stained, and the mold has grown back on the same boards. Also.....it seems to be spreading, as we just went back to check it out and counted over 60 boards that were moldy.


I really don't know if I am being overly paranoid, if there is nothing to worry about, and I am being a pain in the ass asking them to take out the boards, especially considering they've already plumbed through some of them. However, we're thinking about starting a family next year, and I really don't want to move in to a brand new home that will make us sick.

Does anyone have any experience with mold, new construction, etc? I've also done some independent research, but am curious as to what the rest of you would do/have done.....

I took some pics also, posted below

[eina15]

http://www.slackersinc.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6533&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.slackersinc.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6535&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.slackersinc.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6534&g2_serialNumber=2

[BlackArcher101]

I would be on that so fast, they wouldn't know what hit them. Mold should NOT be in a wall, and when they close it up, it will get worse. Tell them to cease construction until it is taken care of.

[eina15]

We told them not to do anything further (this was 2 weeks ago when we spoke to our actual contact with the builder). Now, she is on vacation AND the site supervisor is on vacation. As soon as we noticed they had started plumbing, we phoned in again -they have some replacement contact who seems like its his first day on the job. I asked him wtf was going on, he contacted the replacement site supervisor who said he "doesn't know what is happening" and "doesn't have time to go look". We met with the plumber on Friday to choose some locations, and told him he should probably stop roughing in as he's just going to have to take it down again. He said...."Why you wanna take down? Its just coloured that way....."

Our rep is back on Monday, and so is the site supervisor. Just wanted to see how hard to fight on this, but its good to know you don't think I am completely crazy ;)

I really don't know what to do if they just....refuse to remove it. Can they??? Argh.

[Tik-Tok]

You want some effective removal?

Call the news right f'in now. People are already getting screwed with shoddy quality on new homes, combine shoddy quality with mold DURING construction, and you've got yourself a good news story.

[eina15]

I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that they would remove it before going to the news.....but it looks less and less likely that they are going to act without "prompting".

We went in about an hour ago with a huge black sharpie and wrote "Moldy - Remove Board" in huge letters on all 60 boards. I'm going to contact our actual site supervisor on Monday (we have a scheduled appointment for another walkthrough on Tuesday) and let him know my next call will be to a news crew. I wanted to check here first to see if I was just being paranoid...

If they remove and replace all of the boards, do you think it would still be a good idea to pay for a mold inspection company to come in and test??

[Tik-Tok]

I would think, definately get it done before the 1 year new home warranty is over.

[broken_legs]

i feel like making a random post, i just dealt with a mold issue and heres what I know.


Theres a product called 'KILLZ'

It can applied to any boards that are moldy and it will permanently kill the mold and seal the wood stopping issues in the future.

If the house is too far along to be switching out boards you could always just get them to use KILLz or do a commercial mold removal

Commerical mold removal is very expensive I think they blast the wood with C02 crystals.

[Dayclone]

I got a better idea... you can hammer them now..

Or leave it for 10 years when you have "some symtpoms" of sickness terminal illnesses, because you can sue the builder for MILLIONS!!!

There am sure is nothing in the contract saying u can't sue them if mold forms but u might want a lawyer to look over that.

I had a buddy down in the states that lived in a brand new house for 20 years, and he developed major problems with respitory, hair loss and his life span shortened to 75... and he sued the builder and won. He ended up getting a lot of money... I think over 100 million I believe. I'm not sure on the figure but it was HUGE!

but you also got to look at it this way... do you want to really suffer? like my buddy did, constant need of care and attention and always on medication + checkups etc.. I'm pretty sure you don't want to be in that positions but it's a good idea but bad at the same time.

lol j.k. don't listen to that idea! ^^

Just get right on that mold and kick their butts! There should not be any mold AT ALL! You can threaten them that you'll take legal action and bring it to the news... and no one likes publicity except those Hollywoods stars cause their just gay like that but when a company is complained about and is seen all over the news their going to loose sooo much business it's not even funny. So there's a good way to screw them over but try to avoid that. I'm sure there are other ways to settle things.

[mikestypes]

Before going all out and calling in the News, you should really talk to a city inspector. They will likely be all over the builder within a day or two about this issue.

If that doesn't work, THEN call in the News stations.

Who is the builder and what community are you building in?

[eina15]

Good call, I hadn't really thought about city inspectors.

I sent in the pictures to a mold inspection company in town, who from the pictures confirmed that it did appear to be surface mold. Their prices were pretty insane (obviously still worth it as it is a huge health issue). When I told him who the builder was he said "Mmmhmm, we deal with alot of their homes." Great.

I don't want to post the name of the builder yet, in case they do handle it in an appropriate manner (will post regardless when the issue is settled) but I will say we are building in Royal Oak.

If anyone has any experience with mold in new construction (esp. in this community!) please let me know. Also, if anyone knows of any good city ppl who could help.....for now I'll just check the city website.

Cheers!

[Dooms_Bane]

yes for sure. call the city inspector they usually come and inspect the house AFTER it's complete to check if it's done correct but they really can't check everything behind the dry wall. but for sure if it's done wrong they will get it fixed and force the builder to do it or big big fines :D

[HIDStop]

PM'd :)

[eina15]

Wow, thank you! You've received a reply :)

[eur0]

Did you get a discount on some HID's?

[MilanoRedTeg]

could you PM me the builder and location because I am getting a home built myself and stories like this stress me out. If it is the same builder/location I could at least keep more of a close eye on it.

[eina15]

lol, nope, just some great advice on who to contact for results.

As an update, the builder has gotten back to me. They are sending someone in for an inspection today, and I've got a meeting at the house tomorrow afternoon.

We shall see!

[eina15]

Milano, you've got PM :)

I'd strongly suggest that no matter who you build with, you visit the site frequently to check out what is going on/quality etc.

This particular builder has great reviews, nice homes, came highly recommended, and when I have been able to get ahold of them, service is great (we'll see what happens next). No matter who you pick, there is always some amount of risk and personal responsibility involved.

[ken-gsr]

Give the city a call. The development department's number is 268-5311. Ask to speak with building inspections.

[eina15]

Cheers, thanks for the number. I called a completely different number I found on the city website and the lady who answered told me to pick up a phonebook :thumbsdow

[86_lude_86]

im an electrician and work for beattie and shane homes. i have seen mold in houses before after rain or some flooding. keep on the site super. they will fix it. i would personally say that the visiting is a good thing some of the shit i have seen would make you try to refund a house but the supers are usually pretty good about things. if you visit dont tell the trades to change shit! its not in our power everything and anything you dont like or want changed hassel the super. works wonders and one last thing is it never hurts to stop by with some donuts or coffee or something small five bucks goes a long way...

[eina15]

Good advice re stopping by with treats - every time we visit (even during the day) no one is there. Stuff is getting done, tho...... I don't know when these people work! ;)

Any time (during the construction process/during the day/week) you would recommend bringing stuff by?

[nusneak]

In the morning for coffee/donuts, framers usually start early and leave late. Most crews I've seen stop 3-4 times a day for coffee/lunch.

If its any other trades thats a hit and miss, dont expect much IMO.

You'd be surprised how much stuff supervisors at companies and city inspectors miss or let slide.

[eina15]

Just got back from our meeting at the house with the site supervisor, our contact there, and another representative.

Yesterday they had several people in to take a look at the wood; apparently this is something they have not seen before (the extent, variations etc.). No one can figure out what caused the mold, or what exactly it is.

They've ripped out basically all of the lumber used to frame the interior of the upper floor, and have replaced it. They narrowed the likely cause to the manufacturer (its only affecting the 8ft lengths, which is why it only appeared on the top floor), and all of the wood is being send to them for testing.

As well, they are having moisture testing people in tomorrow to do a bunch of tests. They've stopped all trades from coming in until results come back a-ok

Very happy with the outcome, they were amazing to deal with, and everything seems back on track :thumbsup:

[BlackArcher101]

Awesome news. Sounds like a great builder that really does care.

[calgarys13]

we mrecently had a lift of 9 foot studs come in with what seems to be the same thing...except ours was more of a green powdery mold that nobody could identify...let me know if you hear anything about it!!

[eina15]

Oh wow, so strange! I'll update with the results/any news we get :thumbsup:

[88CRX]

Who's the bulider?

[eina15]

Since I am completely satisfied with the resolution, and also I said I would ......the builder is Cedarglen

[frozenrice]

Looks like they turned things around. There was that leaky roof soap opera involving them a few years ago. President of the company got caught via email making fun of a unhappy customer. Big coverage in the media and everything. They learned their lesson obviously. The unhappy customer was from Royal Oak as well.

[Lex350]

Originally posted by eina15
Just got back from our meeting at the house with the site supervisor, our contact there, and another representative.

Yesterday they had several people in to take a look at the wood; apparently this is something they have not seen before (the extent, variations etc.). No one can figure out what caused the mold, or what exactly it is.

They've ripped out basically all of the lumber used to frame the interior of the upper floor, and have replaced it. They narrowed the likely cause to the manufacturer (its only affecting the 8ft lengths, which is why it only appeared on the top floor), and all of the wood is being send to them for testing.

As well, they are having moisture testing people in tomorrow to do a bunch of tests. They've stopped all trades from coming in until results come back a-ok

Very happy with the outcome, they were amazing to deal with, and everything seems back on track :thumbsup:



good news but I call Bullshit that they have never seen something like this before.

[eina15]

Oh yeah, don't doubt they've had mold issues before...I think the "strange" part was just the multiple variations, the coverage of such an area, and no real reason for it (not left outside in damp etc.)

Either way, its fixed now, lol ;)