Mold in the attic

[rmichaud]

I have a friend of a friend that bought a house several years ago. He had been having leaking problems in the past little while. The roof is only about 3 yrs old.

He asked me to check it out. In the process I find mold in the attic due to very poor ventilation.

My question is. would the mold problem dry up if he solved the problem of ventilation (ie. clear the soffits etc. ) or does he have to remove the old plywood and put on a new roof.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

PS I haven't taken the mold course yet

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Pictures would be nice .
Attic mould is Caused from Moisture getting into the attic usually from the Home .
Many causes are Bath,Kitchen venting into attic .
Attic Access door not gasketed correctly .
Too many roof vents ( YES ) and power electric and air pulling moisture out of the home /Basement via holes from ,Plumbing, Electrical, chimney.
Recessed ceiling lights with openings .
These are just some of what could be causing this .
Now some Mould growing on the sheeting is not necessary a big concern .
But the moisture getting into the attic could be removing a lot of heat from the home .
Send me your phone number if you want I can talk you through what needs to be done . Roy Fixing the moisture is usually enough and the sheating should be OK

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Roy is mostly right if the mold is a common Ulocladium mold found in attics. Ulocladium has an appearance of being white and fluffy. This mold is common in attics that are not properly vented. It is best to just leave it alone then to stir it up, unless you what to properly get rid of it. It may not be necessary to do so because it is not considered a toxic mold to most humans.
If the mold is caused by leaking and is a black color than it could be Stachybotrys or Chaetomium. This mold has to be removed to IICRC S520 mold remediation standards.

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by jbraun

Roy is mostly right if the mold is a common Ulocladium mold found in attics. Ulocladium has an appearance of being white and fluffy. This mold is common in attics that are not properly vented. It is best to just leave it alone then to stir it up, unless you what to properly get rid of it. It may not be necessary to do so because it is not considered a toxic mold to most humans.
If the mold is caused by leaking and is a black color than it could be Stachybotrys or Chaetomium. This mold has to be removed to IICRC S520 mold remediation standards.

James:

Have you taken a college level mycology taxonomy course? What are your authorities on mould toxicology?

[Douglas Cossar]

My .02
The attic is considered unconditioned space. Sealing ceiling penetrations, as well as installing weather stripping (gasket) to the attic hatch and improving ventialtion so that the space is kept dry should be all that is required.

Mould (mold) will only grow if there is moisture present, keep the area dry and sealed off from the rest of the house and there should be no real problem.
Hope this helps

Cheers

[Brian A. MacNeish]

Originally Posted by dcossar

My .02
The attic is considered unconditioned space. Sealing ceiling penetrations, as well as installing weather stripping (gasket) to the attic hatch and improving ventialtion so that the space is kept dry should be all that is required.

Mould (mold) will only grow if there is moisture present, keep the area dry and sealed off from the rest of the house and there should be no real problem.
Hope this helps

Cheers

Geez! You can't make a lot of $$$$ doing just the above to stop the mould growth. You should be using HAZMAT techniques like you would with anthrax, ebola, etc......then you make the big $$$$$!!

[Douglas Cossar]

Originally Posted by Brian A. MacNeish

Geez! You can't make a lot of $$$$ doing just the above to stop the mould growth. You should be using HAZMAT techniques like you would with anthrax, ebola, etc......then you make the big $$$$$!!

Yea Brian that's true, but I'm happy with what I do and the $$ I make.
Cheers

[rmichaud]

Thankyou gentlemen for all your input.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

[quote=Brian A. MacNeish;702025]James:

Have you taken a college level mycology taxonomy course? What are your authorities on mold toxicology?[/quot


You should always go under the guidance of the Industrial Hygienist of your lab that is analyzing your samples. You need somebody to cover your back side.
I have taken numerous courses in mold, about any course worth taken so far. I will start taking the IICRC courses next. I completed my field training under the top mold expert in my state, who is the Industrial Hygienist who analyzes my samples.
If you want to learn about mold, the best reading is in the trade industry publications. They will publish the newest studies.
Mycology itself does not fascinate me any because it has very little to do with what I do. Reminds me of the Industrial Hygenists I have to go back behind because their degree only requires them to take an eight hour course in mold. You just scratched the surface on mold in just eight hours.
Sad but true.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Originally Posted by dcossar

My .02
The attic is considered unconditioned space. Sealing ceiling penetrations, as well as installing weather stripping (gasket) to the attic hatch and improving ventilation so that the space is kept dry should be all that is required.

Mold (mold) will only grow if there is moisture present, keep the area dry and sealed off from the rest of the house and there should be no real problem.
Hope this helps

Cheers

You could seal the mold up in the attic and try to forget about it. Out of sight, out of your mind!

You still got to keep in mind that mold puts out mycrotoxins which is a chemical that can make mammals sick. It is possible though if you could vent the attic enough the mycrotocins would drift out instead of into the residence.

Sealed attic and crawlspaces have a problem. If just a small amount of moisture intrudes, the moisture has no where to go except promote mold growth.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

A Very good read on moulds .

http://www.forensic-applications.com/moulds/habits.html

Indoor Fungi!



Caoimh�n P. Connell
Forensic Industrial Hygienist

[James E. Braun, CMI]

He has no background in mold. I went head to head with him on this message board. He debates by trying to talking gibberish above the heads of everybody hoping nobody understand that he does not understand what he is saying about mold. He admits he makes his money off helping lawyers sue home inspectors, who are just trying to help their clients. He even admitted that he thinks all home inspectors are idiots. So according him Roy you are an idiot. Sad but true.

[Roy D. Cooke, Sr]

Originally Posted by jbraun

He has no background in mold. I went head to head with him on this message board. He debates by trying to talking gibberish above the heads of everybody hoping nobody understand that he does not understand what he is saying about mold. He admits he makes his money off helping lawyers sue home inspectors, who are just trying to help their clients. He even admitted that he thinks all home inspectors are idiots. So according him Roy you are an idiot. Sad but true.

If I am ever in court I hope I have him on my side .
He as far as I am concerned has more qualifications then any others I have read.
I think too many make too much out of mould .
CMHC has lots on mould will look it up after supper . Roy

[James E. Braun, CMI]

You need to post information that is done by people who actually studied mold.

Mr. Connelly's fault that will get him trouble in court is, mold does not cause any serious health effects. There is too many valid studies that have proven otherwise.
He reminds me of the Industrial Hygienists who claim radon does not cause cancer. If you follow the money trail, you will understand why he makes such accusations.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Until you see what mold can do to a family, you will never understand. I can show you over a dozen cases of my own where my clients have died or gotten seriously ill from mold.