Mold Inspection of Austin
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Austin Home Inspection Mold Report
A few issues that can range in cost to repair: Termites are fairly common in older homes, but the extent of their damage can vary. “If the presence of termites is detected—either past damage or active infestation—it’s up to the seller to fix this issue before the sale can proceed,†says Tim Manni, home expert at NerdWallet. Make sure to ask your inspector (or a termite expert) about the extent of the structural damage before going back to the seller Austin TX . Mold is another one to investigate. “Finding mold is never a good thing, but know that it can always be removed,†Rob says, though the cost can be great. One home he helped a friend purchase turned out to have “some major ventilation issues in the attic,†with “massive amounts of mold†uncovered by the inspector. “After consulting an expert, we learned that the issue was so extensive that it required a complete roof replacement to ensure that the mold wouldn't grow back.†While certainly an extreme example, with mold there is often more to it than meets the eye—and therefore worth getting a second opinion if you see it noted in the report.
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“Remember, inspectors can’t see through walls or ceilings,†says Tim, “They can only inspect what they have access to.†If you’re still interested in buying a home that’s been flagged for the presence of mold, termites, or even asbestos, he says, “it’s a good idea to bring in specialists to investigate just how rampant these problems are within the home, and how much it might cost to fix them.†And yes, you'll want to do that before moving ahead with the purchase of the home; depending on how much remediation is required, you might need to go back and negotiate price and repair with the seller .
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ASHI's Technical Committee also recommends the CDC as a resource for answering customers' questions about molds in indoor environments. For more information go the Center for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency .
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Old homes can be wonderful, but they can result in a range of problems that show up on the inspection report in a more roundabout way. “Many homes with original pipes and plumbing systems have leaky spaces where pipes have rusted or the house has settled and loosened the pipes,†says Leslie Wyman, owner of Epcon Lane, an Ohio-based pest control company. This can cause unevenness and cracking, which can lead to termite issues . Older structures are also prone to mold and mildew (again, if your inspector finds mold, you'll want to ask if it’s weakened the building's structure). “It's also worth being aware of areas where soil against the house isn't draining properly,†Leslie says, “as water damage to your foundation can be extremely devastating.â€
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The main body of the report may be broken down into sections according to home systems, such as ELECTRICAL, PLUMBING, HEATING, etc., or it may be broken down by area of the home: EXTERIOR, INTERIOR, KITCHEN, BEDROOMS, etc.
Mold Information
First things first: Check out the summary (or “primary recommendationsâ€) section of your report to see if there are any health or safety issues with the home. Signs of mold would be noted here. “There are mold spores all around us every day, but if you suspect the mold in the home is harmful, get that checked out,†says real estate agent Todd Andrew. (A mold remediation specialist can be hired to help you better understand if there’s a cause for concern.) “Some electrical issues can be a fire hazard and deserve attention, he goes on. “And you don’t want your roof leaking—water is second only to fire as a threat to a wood-framed structure.†If you're good on all counts, read the rest of the report in search of the following red flags.
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Software often gives inspectors the choice of including photographs in the main body of the report, near the narrative that describes them, or photographs may be grouped together toward the beginning or end of the report.
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The leak’s been fixed. So why does it still smell like mildew?
Q: Earlier this year, a downspout on my condominium came loose, and water infiltrated my bedroom. It took the property manager 3½ months to repair it, so a lot of water came in. After the repair, I waited five months for the walls to dry out, during which there was a strong mold/mildew smell. When I brought in a plasterer, he removed the damaged plaster. A worker applied a white sealant, Zinsser Odorless Oil-Based Stain Blocker, and returned to spray mold/mildew killer. That was five weeks ago. After a few days, the smell was still as strong as before, so I bought the same product — it smells like Clorox — and sprayed the walls every third day. The mildew smell lessened only a small amount. I found a recommendation online to apply vinegar to kill the odor. I have done that three times over the past week. The smell has lessened a bit, but I worry that if I proceed to get new plaster and paint, the mold/mildew will come through. How should I eliminate the odor?
Washington
A: Hire a licensed mold assessor to test your walls and the air to make sure the underlying issue — excessive moisture — has been addressed. A persistent smell hints that mold or mildew (the term for specific kinds of mold) may still be growing because moisture levels are high.
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If you were to hire a company that does assessments as well as remediation and were told more remediation work needs to be done, you may wonder whether the advice was just a way to drum up more business. So hire a company that does mold assessments but not remediation work, suggested Joe Mulieri, owner of MoldGone in Silver Spring (240-970-6533; moldgone.net), which does both types of work throughout the Washington area. He said an assessment might cost a few hundred dollars. The D.C. government website lists licensed mold professionals in two categories: assessors and remediators. To view the list, type “mold professionals†into the search box at DC.gov .
Assuming you aren’t seeing any mold now, the smell could be coming from inside the wall cavities, perhaps within insulation stuffed into the walls, with the smells then wafting into the room through gaps around trim and between the walls and flooring. These air gaps could also be allowing warm, moisture-laden air to settle on a cold surface, where it condenses and raises the moisture level enough to support mildew growth. If the room didn’t have a moldy smell before the gutter problem, it’s possible that 3½ months of leaks soaked the insulation enough to compress it, allowing condensation to occur where it wasn’t an issue before. Or mildew could be in the ceiling or the floor, perhaps in carpet padding.
If the walls in your condo were covered in drywall, the best solution probably would be to remove the damaged materials, see what’s going on inside the wall and start fresh. Replacing drywall makes sense because mildew can feed on the paper that covers both sides of drywall’s gypsum core and because drywall is relatively inexpensive to replace.
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Plaster, however, is less prone to harboring mildew because it doesn’t provide food for mildew, and it is more expensive to replace. “Plaster is more dense and less absorbent than drywall,†Mulieri said. Although it’s sometimes necessary to remove plaster to address hidden issues, it’s often sufficient — once a leak is plugged — to go with the procedure your plasterer used: scraping off the outer layer, then applying an encapsulant. Mulieri said he uses AfterShock, a sealant produced by Fiberlock Technologies that was designed to disinfect surfaces and prevent mold from re-growing.
Many contractors, like yours, encapsulate by using a less-expensive oil-based sealer, such as Zinsser Odorless Oil-Based Stain Blocker or Kilz Orignal. But if you read the technical documents for these products, they don’t mention using them to encapsulate mildew. The Zinsser product sheet says only that it blocks stains from water, fire and smoke damage, while the Kilz sheet says it blocks stains from a longer list of sources and “seals pet, food and smoke odors.†There is no mention of mildew with either product.
There is a lot of confusion about how mildew grows and the risks it poses. People often focus on “killing†mildew by spraying it with bleach or similar products. But that kills only mildew hit by the spray.
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And if you inhale dead spores, the health risks are the same as if they were alive. That’s why the Environmental Protection Agency’s advice for do-it-yourself mildew cleanup focuses on wiping away mildew, using just water and detergent, on hard surfaces. The EPA says consumers can generally clean up moldy areas of less than 10 square feet by following its safety advice, which you can read by typing “mold cleanup in your home†into the search box at EPA.gov. For larger areas, it recommends getting a pro — one that is licensed.
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Austin (Texas) district scales back school closing proposal
The latest facilities plans calls for closing 4 schools instead of 12.
Administrators in the Austin (Texas) district have pared down the number of schools they want to close soon from 12 to four.
The Austin American-Statesman reports that the four campuses still targeted for closing are Pease, Brooke, Metz and Sims elementary schools.
Related: Proposal calls for 12 schools to close in Austin (Texas) district
The latest version of the district's facilities plan, which includes 12 scenarios, essentially puts off until further notice closure of the eight other schools that had been on the list. They are Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy; Pecan Springs, Ridgetop, Maplewood, Palm, Dawson and Joslin elementary schools; and Webb Middle School.
The Austin school board would still have to approve closing the four schools, a decision expected Nov. 18.
Related: Austin (Texas) district considers closing as many as 12 schools to ease deficit
“You will see a phased timeline ... that creates space for even deeper community conversations and planning,†Austin district Superintendent Paul Cruz said in a letter to the community. “At the same time, my team and I believe deeply that no change at all is not an option.â€
District administrators say that to usher in better academic programs and improve equity in the school system, the district must close low-enrolled and aging facilities and consolidate students at modernized campuses. The district is also recommending equity training for teachers to better understand cultural differences among their students.
Many families and school employees of the 12 campuses on the initial closure list have said they were blindsided by the district’s proposal when it was released in September. The district has held numerous meetings with affected school communities over the past several weeks as they developed their latest revisions.
The plan is to move Brooke, Metz and Sims students into modernized schools that are under construction — Govalle, Sanchez and Norman elementaries.
Pease children, all of whom are transfer students, will have to find other school options. Parents of that Central Austin school’s students are particularly upset by the latest revision. The September version had Pease closing toward the end of 2021. Now Pease students’ last day would be in May, parents say.
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