Posted by Jeffery (La) on August 11, 2003 at 08:57:08:
Nancy,
When we were doing rehabs full time, a fella from Ohio invited us up to complete a rehab that he was having problems with. While there, we picked up a few more jobs. One of the other jobs was to remodel a basement. One problem with the basement is that it would get wet. It occurred during rainy weather. To remedy the problem, we dug a trench along the length of the wall that was getting wet, and continued the trench into the yard until the yard sloped down away from the home. The trench was a few feet deep. We put some rubber membrane on the side on the home, in the trench and it extended about 2 inches above the ground level. We filled the trench with gravel and then topped it off with about 6 inches of dirt. Now, when it rains, the water drains through the 6 inches of top soil and trough the gravel. Once the water gets to the hard dirt at the bottom of the trench, it follows the trench out to the yard and away from the house. The basement hasn?t had a moisture problem since. The gravel in the trench helps facilitate the movement of water away from the home since it is less dense than the dirt. And the rubber membrane is just a little extra protection. If you use this method, you?ll want to dig your trench until you get to hard earth. Hope this helps you.
First Fixer Upper, MOLD…Need help!! - Posted by Nancy PA
Posted by Nancy PA on August 08, 2003 at 19:38:46:
All the gurus there,
I found a upper fixer in a very hot location. It’s a single family home (53 yrs )with large lot on a major street, selling for 145,000 as is. Similar homes with 1/3 the lot size are sold for close to 200,000. This house needs clean up and many cosmetic work, which is not a problem. However, the basement was recently flooded, now with mold in it.
I’m not sure how expensive and difficult it is to get rid of the mold. Does it worth buying if it has mold? I was hoping to rent it out in the future, I’m afraid of liability issues because of mold.
Any advice on this will be greatly appriciated!
thanks a lot!
Re: First Fixer Upper, MOLD…Need help!! - Posted by Nancy PA
Posted by Nancy PA on August 10, 2003 at 22:43:40:
Thank you all very much for the advice!! I was going to walk away from the deal after reading some archived post about mold, but now I think it might worth a try.
It seems like most mold are on the decorative wood work on the basement walls, beneath the wood is just
cement. I wonder if mold can grow on cement?? It’d make it easier if I can just remove the wood and seal the cement.
Also I was wrong saying it was recently flooded, it was flooded 5 years ago. When I was there this weekend, the basement floor was damp, there was some leakage on the basement wall, where the pipes run in.
walls on the first floor seems to be free of mold (but again, mold can grow inside the walls).
I’m not very handy and will need to hire some one to do the work. Mold Mitigation company charge a lot though… I’d probably have some handy man scrub off the mold, then have the professional folks to water tide the walls.
“However, the basement was recently flooded, now with mold in it.”
Do you know? Was any kind of insurance claim filed on this? If so you could have a problem. While I personally don’t think that mold is a problem the insurance companies do.
Re: First Fixer Upper, MOLD…Need help!! - Posted by Jeffery (La)
Posted by Jeffery (La) on August 08, 2003 at 22:30:06:
Nancy, if the mold is a result only from the flood, you have no big worries. Like TKP suggested, clean the mold. Use a 50/50 solution of bleach and distilled water. With a brush, clean the molded areas. If there is sheetrock that has mold damage, cut it off about 6 inches above the highest infected area and pull out any insulation where you cut the sheetrock. discard the insulation. Put a dehumidifier in the basement and run it until there is no moisture on the studs. if it has just concrete walls, run the dehumidifier until the moist smell is gone. Then repair or repaint. It’s very important to clean the mold before you paint.
If it’s normal for this basement to flood during normal rain, reply here and I’ll give you some tips that we learned on how to prevent the flooding.
Re: First Fixer Upper, MOLD…Need help!! - Posted by TKP, Houston
Posted by TKP, Houston on August 08, 2003 at 21:44:05:
Nancy, Mold is not as big a problem as you may think.
Spray the affected areas with clorox, and scrubb off the mold with a stiff brush. You might have to repeat the process. If sheet rock is affected remove and replace. After the mold has been removed you paint all affected areas with Kilz. If you feel you need to test the air for mold afterwards you might have to spend $600/700 on a lab rapport.
Before the air samples are taken i recommend you rent an “air scrubber” (some call a “negative air machine”)and run it for 48 hours. The area should be sealed off before you start the machine. Close all vents with duct or masking tape, and tape around the door after you have turned on the machine. The air tester should be the first to enter the room. He will turn off the machine before he takes his samples. The big cost with mold remediation is to rebuild the walls you have to tear down. Especially if it is tiled bathroom walls. Good luck. TKP, Houston
Re: First Fixer Upper, MOLD…Need help!! - Posted by Nancy PA
Posted by Nancy PA on August 10, 2003 at 23:00:39:
CP,
I was wrong when I said it was “recently flooded”, I spoke with the seller and found out that it was flooded 5 years ago, the entire street was flooded. There was a claim the insurance company paid them $ to replace personal items in the basement, but nothing towards fixing the walls. What if I promise the insurance company that I’ll remove the mold, will that help lower my premium later?
thank you for your help!
Re: First Fixer Upper, MOLD…Need help!! - Posted by Nancy Pa
Posted by Nancy Pa on August 10, 2003 at 22:51:28:
Jeffery,
thanks a bunch for your tips. The basement of this house does gets water during heavey rainy season. It’ll be awesome if you can share with me some ways to prevent flooding as well as some good ways to inspect damages that could cause a leakage.
thanks!
Every house has mold, the question becomes how much? And what kind?The previous post sounded like excellent remediation (though I’d clean with a solution of bleach and TSP). You really do have to clean it before you paint because otherwise it will come right back out, even within the month. Unfortunately it can be hard to figure out how pervasive the mold is, but there are mold inspectors. A flooded basement is hardly the end of the world. But you may want to check with the neighbors and see if the former owners were getting sick. Or you could invite me over–I’m very allergic to the stuff. Good luck.