Mold Prevention and Building Defects

Homes and commercial buildings are constructed more tightly today than they were several years ago. We see many of these homes in Vail, Singletree, Cordillera and Arrowhead in Edwards, Eagle, Avon and other mountain communities in Colorado.

These structures are frequently built with engineered floor and ceiling joists and oriented strand board (OSB). These engineered building materials are constructed of cellulosic particles held together with adhesives. This type of building product is much more prone to microbial problems than dimensional lumber.

These new building products coupled with more tightly constructed homes can create an attractive environment for mold growth if an uncontrolled moisture source is introduced. Wet building materials during construction as well as snow, ice and rain entering the crawlspace and saturating the soil can wreak havoc on crawlspace framing and sheathing.

If these areas are not identified and properly ventilated and dried out in a very short time frame, the results can be overwhelming. By the time the roof of a new home is dried in there may well be a consistent microbial contamination on the underside of the home’s subfloor sheathing and joists.

It is not uncommon for lumber to arrive at a jobsite with visible mold staining already present. Condensation occurring in improperly vented attics and crawlspaces can lead to the structural decay of rim joists and attic sheathing. Moisture is often trapped where insulation has come in contact with exterior rim joists in crawl spaces.

To prevent mold problems from developing during the construction process it is important to store building materials in a dry place and dry out and ventilate crawlspaces as soon as they are covered with subfloor sheathing. Methods to prevent moisture from becoming trapped in crawlspaces include the installation of sealed vapor barriers and adequate ventilation. Exterior insulation finish systems (EIFS), a modern synthetic stucco type of building system have experienced numerous problems from water intrusions. Mold claims from this type of construction have made it difficult to obtain insurance for homeowners and contractors.

The key to preventing mold problems during and after construction is to aggressively manage moisture intrusion by proper architectural engineering and building designs and construction and maintaining adequate ventilation and dry building envelopes. 

Gary Gilman, President and owner of SteamMaster Restoration and Cleaning is a Certified Microbial Remediation Supervisor. SteamMaster offers mold inspection and remediation, and will provide informed, rational explaination  of your situation, and remediation options. We utilize innovative cryo cleaning, or "dry ice blasting" techniques to effectively clean and remove impregnated mold from structural wood surfaces.