Mold Removal

[Unleashed]

Here is the deal. I’m currently in the market for a new home. As luck would have it the house that I like the most just happens to be a foreclosure (built in 2005). It looks like it has been vacant for well over a year. Because the power has been shut off, the sump pump has not been working. Unfortunately (in this case) it has a finished basement, and of course there is now mold (and a lot of it). You can see it making its way a couple feet up the drywall in the basement, and the carpet is still damp. It has a hung ceiling, so I removed a couple panels and took a peek around with a flashlight. It looks like it hasn’t made it all the way up the walls onto the floor joists and beams yet.

There is no doubt, the basement will definately need to be completely gutted (remove carpet, drywall, ceiling etc.).

Does anyone know of any or have any experience with any local mold removal/remediation companies? Ideally, I would like to have someone come out and evaluate everything, and then get an estimate on cost to correct it.

 

Thanks for any info.

[wnaplay1647545503]

How are you financing? If you can do cash, do it yourself, if your getting a loan, they may require a professional company. If your serious about the home, have an inspection done to see if its black mold or just regular mold. You can save yourself alot if you can and want to, clean it yourself.

[ODoyle]

I think serv pro does this kind of work but im not sure.

[V8 Beast]

have an inspection done to see if its black mold or just regular mold.

 

 

+1. Do you have kids?

[Unleashed]

How are you financing? If you can do cash, do it yourself, if your getting a loan, they may require a professional company. If your serious about the home, have an inspection done to see if its black mold or just regular mold. You can save yourself alot if you can and want to, clean it yourself.

 

Yes, we are financing and have been pre-approved but haven’t heard back yet on how mold may affect the terms of the loan. We are very serious about the home. The home is in a great location and has the best layout/features of any home we’ve gone through (we’ve gone through 30 so far). It is absolutely perfect structurally but will need completely repainted inside and carpeted as many foreclosures do.

 

I would say that odds are that there is some black mold. I’m trying to find someone to do an evaluation/assessment/estimation, prior to going into contract to get an idea of what the overall cost of the mold remediation would be. I would rather have the company of my choosing or I do the cleanup rather than one of the banks choosing. That way I can make sure it is done right and not simply covered up with some kind of coating.

I figure, after gutting, as long as the mold is limited to the concrete walls and floor it shouldn’t be a big deal to clean up. However, without being able to first gut it, it’s hard to assess how bad it really is. Like I said though, it has a drop ceiling which makes it easy to see the foundation wall near the top and also to inspect the bottom of the 1st floor.

+1. Do you have kids?

 

That is my biggest concern. No kids yet, but……. I do have one on the way (due at the end of September). This means we would have a few months, if needed, to get everything gutted, cleaned up, and tested prior to actually moving in. I will not move in unless the air quality/mold count matches that of the outside air. Also, once gutted, we would leave the basement unfinished for a few years to keep an eye on it and make sure there are no reoccurrences.

I think serv pro does this kind of work but im not sure.

 

Thanks for the tip, I gave them a call this morning and am awaiting a call back.

[wnaplay1647545503]

Also try to basement dr. I believe they have a shop on livingston and 256.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

My dads old house was caked in Black mold in the basement. He brought out the old sand blaster and got to work lol. He completely removed all drywall, sandblasted the block down to basically bareness and started with all new shit. Only took him like 3 days to get it all done. If I had a scanner I would post pics. The columbus fire dept was called because they thought the house was on fire due to the sandblasting dust lol. If your wanting/needing someone to do it, shoot me a pm and i'll get your contact info and have him come look at it and give you a price.

[wnaplay1647545503]

My dads old house was caked in Black mold in the basement. He brought out the old sand blaster and got to work lol. He completely removed all drywall, sandblasted the block down to basically bareness and started with all new shit. Only took him like 3 days to get it all done. If I had a scanner I would post pics. The columbus fire dept was called because they thought the house was on fire due to the sandblasting dust lol. If your wanting/needing someone to do it, shoot me a pm and i'll get your contact info and have him come look at it and give you a price.

Why would he sandblast? A powerwasher and chemicals are adequate. That had to be a hell of a cluster fuck he had going on with the dust.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Why would he sandblast? A powerwasher and chemicals are adequate. That had to be a hell of a cluster fuck he had going on with the dust.

 

 

Trust me he knows what the fuck he is doing lol. You should have seen the amount of black mold in this basement. Simple bleach was not going to do the trick.

[wnaplay1647545503]

Trust me he knows what the fuck he is doing lol. You should have seen the amount of black mold in this basement. Simple bleach was not going to do the trick.

 

The worst thing you could ever do is make the spores airborne. Ideally you would want to moisturize the areas to keep the dust down. I am surprised that someone didnt call the EPA. Even if he had mask's on which to deal with this kind of contaminant, requires a dr's fitment for a mask, surely people who noticed and called the fire dept werent protected. Damage from contaminated air to the lungs would happen almost instantaneously for anyone who wasnt prepared.

[wnaplay1647545503]

Heppa filters are a serious must when cleaning the air and I mean the industrial kind, you would need to check into renting these or make sur etheir used by whoever does the cleanup. You dont want to take a chance of dust spreading throughout the house and permiate into other areas where it lies for years.

[Unleashed]

Thanks everyone for the tips, I met ServPro out at the home during my lunch break today and got an estimate. I may shop around a bit more if we get it, we'll see. Seems like a pretty simple fix, but like wnaplay said, I feel like if I did it myself I may end up spreading a crap load of mold spores to other areas of the house.

 

We ended up putting an offer on the house, but it was a zoo out there while I was there. There were probably 7 other potential buyers with their realtors looking at the property in the hour I was having it estimated. So chances are we won't get it, but I have my fingers crossed.

[wnaplay1647545503]

Thanks everyone for the tips, I met ServPro out at the home during my lunch break today and got an estimate. I may shop around a bit more if we get it, we'll see. Seems like a pretty simple fix, but like wnaplay said, I feel like if I did it myself I may end up spreading a crap load of mold spores to other areas of the house.

 

We ended up putting an offer on the house, but it was a zoo out there while I was there. There were probably 7 other potential buyers with their realtors looking at the property in the hour I was having it estimated. So chances are we won't get it, but I have my fingers crossed.

 

I dont envy you. That wait is a sickening feeling. You can do it yourself with some preparation. I have done some abatement work. Its not bad just make sure you get a game plan together.

[Nitrousbird]

Thanks everyone for the tips, I met ServPro out at the home during my lunch break today and got an estimate. I may shop around a bit more if we get it, we'll see. Seems like a pretty simple fix, but like wnaplay said, I feel like if I did it myself I may end up spreading a crap load of mold spores to other areas of the house.

 

We ended up putting an offer on the house, but it was a zoo out there while I was there. There were probably 7 other potential buyers with their realtors looking at the property in the hour I was having it estimated. So chances are we won't get it, but I have my fingers crossed.

Here is a trick for you, and is the ONLY reason we are now in contract on our house:

 

Odd numbering.

 

The bank is going to come back with a best and final offer for all who have bid. What you need to do is come up with your max.

 

Say they are asking 260k for the house. You are willing to go to 275k, max. Don't offer 275k, offer $275,357, or better yet $276,357.

 

People think they are cute, by offering $1 more than the an even number. Do some odd number a couple hundred bucks ahead. We got our home by only couple hundred above the next highest bidder. Of course, you have to be realistic in your bid too.

[Unleashed]

Well damnit..... We got our offer in at about 9:00 PM last night. We offered 18,000 over the asking price. Get the call around noon today from our realtor. They accepted an offer at 6:30 PM last night. So our offer never even got considered.

 

Crazy, house went on the market Friday, we looked at it Saturday, rushed to get an inspector out there on Monday (everyone was closed on Sun), did that, put an offer in, but it was already sold. Just shows, you have to be quick on the draw with these foreclosures.

 

It's a crappy feeling..... Hopefully the financing won't go through for the current buyer, although chances are an investor bought it to flip as it was a steal.