Another article on mold in dwellings. This is a fairly long article in the NY Times which tends to focus on NY apartments, but still has some interesting points.
A couple of quotes:
“In Texas — which along with California leads the nation in mold claims, at just under 5,000 each (followed by Florida with 3,900) — the per-policy cost of industry payouts for mold coverage rose from $23 in the first quarter of 2000 to $444 by the end of 2001, Mr. Hartwig said. “These costs are passed on to policyholders,” he said.”
“It is also crucial, Mr. Krell said, to make sure that the consultant and contractor have specific mold coverage in their insurance policies, in case, for example, “they spread contamination throughout the rest of the building through poor work practices.”
And the point to ponder – since most people are not actually allergic to mold, how much should you design for those that are the most sensitive vs those that have no sensitivity?
(Registration is required on the NYTimes website) The article is at:
Replies
Thanks for the link.
And the point to ponder - since most people are not actually allergic to mold, how much should you design for those that are the most sensitive vs those that have no sensitivity?
Design the same - so that there isn't excessive moisture inside the building. No moisture, no mold growth.
And for those who see lawyers as only stirring up trouble:
Daniel Sitomer, a partner in the environmental law firm of Sitomer & Hogan in Manhattan, calls for calm on the legal front, where about 10,000 mold-related lawsuits have been filed nationwide in the last three years. "What we've found where the knee-jerk response was to overreact and litigate," Mr. Sitomer said, "is that those who have commenced those suits have directly impacted the value of their own home."
_______________________
"I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different." Oscar Wilde
no moisture, no mold...
should be more like...no trapped moisture.
lotsa old houses...100yrs (give or take 20,30,40) or so....had lotsa moisture blowing thru......no mold scares with them.
I think a big problem may be trying to build "too efficiently".
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
no moisture, no mold...
should be more like...no trapped moisture.
Or repeated/ongoing high levels_______________________
"I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different." Oscar Wilde
This is a Vancouver thread.
'round here, we have something called the "leaky condo syndrome".
In the '60's through the 90's, lots of condos were built and were done fast and cheap. End result, moisture into the frame, mould spores and real problems. Lawsuits flew every-which way, and governments here started enacting legeslation indemnifying themselves.
My folks' condo had walls ripped out, a nasty court case 'cause the tenants were 'Sensitive".
I can't get contractor insurance because I answered that one, I repaired a paint job on a deck in a condo.
Turns out that mould problems came when the water came in, but because of energy efficiency, had no way of getting out.Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
"Turns out that mould problems came when the water came in, but because of energy efficiency, had no way of getting out."
Well, to be more accurate, because of poor designs by people trying to achieve energy efficiency without understanding ventilation.
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True, true.
Same difference, though. Glass bat trapping incoming (and respiratory) moisture in the wall cavity, where pre-energy efficiency days the vapour wouold have gone out the walls.
Hopefully, they've learned how to handle the moisture these days.Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
>> And the point to ponder - since most people are not actually allergic to mold, how much
>> should you design for those that are the most sensitive vs those that have no sensitivity?
Even if no one were allergic to mold, you should design and build to eliminate mold. Anywhere it's wet enough for mold to grow, it's wet enough for other decay organisms to grow. Let that go on long enough and you'll see structural failures.
My firm just designed and handled the construction management on a new High School in a nearby west Texas town. Some of the drywall got wet in shipping and developed specks of mold on the paper before it was installed. I'm talking about bread mold, not the toxic black mold that is the new asbestos of the 21st century.
One of the construction workers on the job noticed a small spot, made a few phone calls, and the next thing you know the media is all over it and the whole community has flipped out. bleaching the spots and sealing them off with a quality primer got the self proclaimed cover-up police dang near livid. Before it was all over the community pressure got so frenzied the drywall contractor ended up having to replace every single sheet in the building that had ever had a speck of mold on it.
Since the drywall was perfectly acceptable by industry standards the drywall contractor could not be held responsible. My firm picked up half the tab and the school board picked up the other half just to get it done so the project could move on.
The wrong mold, in the wrong circumstances is a bad thing but there are some serious misunderstandings about toxic mold that are leading to unrestrained panic. I waved the outrageously priced mold coverage on my last house and will not purchase it when my new house is complete.
The whole key is to handle the moisture in the structure and deal with leaks in a timely fashion. If a structure is properly built and maintained mold will never be an issue.
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-