I recently posted a question about some moisture/mold forming in an outside corner wall (at the floor) of my son’s 2nd floor bedroom. Well today I tore off the base trim, ripped back the carpet and cut away some of the drywall. I did indeed find about a 12″ x 9″ area of the subfloor that is black/moldy. In addition the base/horizontal 2×4 is damp and about 2″ of it is rotting just “a touch” – nothing major. Someone here originally thought that perhaps there was a cavity in the corner betweent the studs that was allowing cold air in. I couldn’t see that, in fact it appeared that the original builder put expanding foam into the small crack between studs. I couldn’t feel any airflow in this area.
The other interesting thing is that in our first floor closet – immediately below my son’s bedroom in the same corner. It appears we have the same issue. At the floor in the corner of the closet there is some moisture on the wall and a bit of mold appearing. Again, nothing major but something that obviously needs to be addressed asap.
Couple questions for the group:
1) does anyone know what could be causing this? There’s no other sign of moisture in the home.
2) If I replace the subfloor area that’s damaged is that good enough? I’m not sure how a person goes about replacing the horizontal base 2×4 in a finished area.
3) Is there some paint or cleanser I can use to neutralize this mold?
4) Do I have to disclose this when I sell the home in the next year or two?
5) My neighbor is a carpenter and he’s offered to come look at it next weekend. Any thoughts on what a pro would charge to correct/fix this? I realize it’s somewhat of a shot in the dark…
Thanks,
Rob