This month's chapter meeting featured Jason Adams, owner of Advanced Mold Solutions, located in Bozeman, Montana. He did a presentation on the detection, remediation and prevention of mold growth in a residential setting. Some of the high points of his presentation are as follows:
- Did you know that mold in the crawlspace is not caused by standing water? It is caused when the water evaporates and condenses on the wood structure above. So, ff someone has a plumbing leak in the crawlspace, you should not have a mold problem if you can properly drain the water out before it evaporates.
- While a current building requirement, some builders do not put plastic down in the crawlspace. With no plastic down to act as a vapor barrier, you can have a much higher relative humidity than normal and this could lead to mold growth. It has been tested and found that you can see a 50% reduction in relative humidity in a crawlspace within 10 minutes of laying down a plastic vapor barrier.
- A popular building material used today is O.S.B., or wafer board. This is a more affordable alternative to plywood. This material, in Jason's experience is more susceptible to mold growth, due to the pourous nature of the material in addition to the sugars contained in the glue. Mold finds the pourous material easier to adhere to and finds the sugar in the glue to be great food to snack on. Jason has seen crawlspaces that had both plywood and O.S.B. and has see 100% contamination on the O.S.B. and none whatsoever on the plywood.
- For the inspectors out there, the primary places to examine for potential fungal growth are on the gable ends in the attic and in the rim joists in the crawlspaces. If, when in the crawlspace, you pull back a number of fiberglass batts in the rim joist, and find mold in one of the bays, then you have done your due diligence and can recommend further evaluation. Most, if not all of the home inspectors in the area do not specifically inspect for mold. Due to the liability involved and the lack of insurance coverage for this specific type of inspection, they are neither qualified nor are they covered to tell you that you have a mold problem. However, common sense does play into matters most often and you will have an idea if there is an issue. For example, it's fairly easy if, when in the crawlspace, you feel higher than normal humidity and see black splotches on the joists and subfloor to make the assumption that there is a mold issue. As an uncovered and non-qualified inspector, all we can really tell you is that you may have potential fungal growth and that further evaluation is recommended by a qualified mold remediation specialist.
- With the newer conditioned-space crawlspaces, which have no ventilation, a proper plastic vapor barried and a heat source, you have a high efficiency gas furnace that has water as the primary by-product of combustion. This moist air is vented directly outside through a sealed PVC pipe. Because of this, there is no moist air venting into the crawlspace and therefore no need for ventilation. This is how the system is supposed to work. As a home owner, one thing you want to watch for and never do is to install a humidifier on the system without figuring out a way to vent the crawlspace. The heat source for your conditioned-space crawl is a furnace heat register just like as is seen in your living room. If you are adding humidity to your heated air, then this moist air is pumped into your crawlspace. What does this mean? It means that you are pumping hot, moist air into an enclosed environment with no ventilation. Mold will be a major concern to you soon after.
My thanks to the inspectors an realtors who attended the chapter meeting and had great questions for Jason. I would like to continue to extend an invitation to real estate professionals, including realtor, appraisers, and inspectors to attend these NACHI Chapter meetings. For NACHI members in good standing, each chapter meeting counts as one continuing education credit hour towards you required 25 per year.
Here is the meeting information:
The Southwest Montana Chapter of NACHI:
The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors
When: 3rd Thursday of the Month
Time: 4pm
Where: King Arthur Trailer Court - Community Center - Bozeman, Montana
Directions: West on Huffine to Gooch Hill. Left on Gooch to King Arthur Park. Straight on to the community center.
RSVP: Please contact Terry Lorenz, Criterion Home Inspections, LLC, Chapter President at 406.595.0134 if you plan on attending. Space is limited.
If you would like to talk to Jason with Advanced Mold Solutions, here is his information:
Advanced Mold Solutions - Jason Adams
P.O. Box 854
Belgrade, MT 59714
Phone #: (406) 579-3113
Fax #: (406) 388-9991
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