House problems

[Pyraxis]

I had new carpets put down in my basement when I moved in 3-something years ago. Periodically I noticed mushrooms growing through the carpet along one wall. I had no idea what to do about it and in the hecticness of baby, ignored it.

Now working from home I've finally gotten it together to try and sort it. I started calling foundations companies for quotes to fix what's presumably a water leak, but the reputable one is backlogged by months and couldn't even get someone in to give a quote until today. Another company told me they couldn't give a quote until the drywall was stripped out, and still another said they'd remove a strip of drywall but quoted $1000 to do it which seemed ridiculous. I tried to get a general contractor (friend of a friend) to do the drywall but he said there's no point until spring when water starts coming in again, to track down the leak for sure.

But the thing is, the reputable foundation company today, the guy took one look and told me to call my insurance. So I did, and predictably the insurance company doesn't cover mold so they won't be much help, but they sent out a restoration estimator anyway. Unlike all the others, this guy was clearly strictly by the book. Where the general contractor acquaintance just went ahead and started pulling up carpet to see how the damage spread, this guy wouldn't touch it and started advising me to plastic tape off the whole room. He also said he couldn't start any work till the drywall plaster was tested for asbestos.

Such conflicting opinions. I just want someone to take out the damn drywall for a reasonable price so I can get this sorted. Not sure how to get that since everyone seems to have caveats. Now I have to wait a couple days for the insurance company to officially tell me to shove it, then I guess I call more contractors until someone is willing to actually do the work now.

Meanwhile I'm googling black mold and I'm pretty sure it's the reason I had a bad eczema outbreak the moment the weather changed and I had to start running the heat and keeping all the windows closed. Also I have a headache which is probably 100% psychosomatic because nothing has changed in the past day except more information entering my brain. Fuck this.

[odeon]

So sorry to hear about all this. It's all Parts territory so I hope he's reading, but from personal experience, I know mold can be a pain, as can insurance companies. I hope you can sort it out.

[Parts]

Mold has a lot of liability and  regulation  associated with it most contractors just don't want to deal with it at all. They don't generally test the drywall for asbestos or mold  here for something like your doing but they might have to where you are and that would definitely push the price up.  Restoration contractors due to being normally paid by insurance companies are always completely by the book  and are usually the most expensive.   If your just looking for the drywall and carpet to be removed for now maybe try a handyman type company.

[Pyraxis]

I had a different restoration company look at it today, no way I'm taking the insurance company's default recommendation when I'm the one paying. Starting to resign myself to the fact it's going to be expensive, and thinking maybe I do actually want a restoration company to handle it. Mainly because of the health symptoms. Not just the eczema outbreak but I now realize the persistent headache I had a couple weeks ago was timed just when I was dragging boxes all over the basement to clear away the stuff from the affected wall. Apparently the mold spores can circulate if they're disturbed and I don't want to mess with that.

Also there is some asbestos tape on pipes which I knew about since the original house inspection, but also due to baby, couldn't get it together to arrange for its removal. The restoration company can handle that at the same time and I can get economy of scale at least for the expensive services.

Then I'll leave the wall exposed for the rest of the winter. I don't use the basement much anyway. And in the spring try and catch it when it leaks again, unless the restoration company has figured out for certain where the leak is coming from.

I have vague dreams of putting up a toddler climbing wall instead of new drywall on that wall. Probably won't happen but it will keep my brain occupied at least.

[Icequeen]

We had mold/water/asbestos problems in the old house, with the mold...water would bubble out of the basement floor like a spring and around the base of the foundation every thaw after winter, which is common in many older houses...there is no definitive source of a "leak" to find many times...it's poor drainage/lack of proper means of diverting the water away from the foundation and the water starts coming in any way it can.

Restoration services probably would have condemned the sucker while adhering to the regulations, which like Parts said, are lengthy (and expensive) to say the least. We were poor and still needed a house so we HAD to go the handyman route.

Hiring recommended local contractors for the work we couldn't do ourselves and installing new french drains was still crazy expensive.

Current neighbor is dealing with mold issues here herself at the moment that she's let go way too long. You can smell the mold when you hit the doorway...it's that bad.

[Pyraxis]

I ended up getting a sump pump put in. Still have a mess downstairs and a section of exposed concrete/framing wood on the wall.

Turned on the heat briefly the other day and no headache or allergy symptoms whatsoever, so... the mold removal was a good thing?

[odeon]

I think I can safely say that mold removal is almost always a good thing.

[Calandale]

Took me well over a year to get my basement 'restored' (mostly) after I had a sump put in.

My main problem getting anyone to even respond via email.

[renaeden]

I'd like a basement but I think they're rare in this area of Australia. If people do have one, it's usually a cellar.

How's this going for you now, Pyraxis?

[Pyraxis]

Bah. I found another leak on the other side of the basement, in the workshop where there are a lot of boxes stacked that I haven't touched in years. Some of my books got moldy. But I can't do anything about it until I can get the area cleared, and that's not a manageable job at the moment. I chucked out the moldy boxes but who the fuck knows what else is growing down there, and there's still asbestos tile in the closet not far away. Can't get an abatement company in again until I can get the area cleared.

[renaeden]

A couple of years ago we had a burst pipe above our linen cupboard. They fixed it and repainted the laundry ceiling where there was a water mark. Kayleigh pointed out to me not long ago a small patch of mould in the corner of the laundry ceiling.

We're supposed to have someone fix Kayleigh's bedroom ceiling as there was a substantial amount of water dripping down there a few months ago. I still don't know why there are water pipes above Kayleigh's bedroom. I don't know why water pipes are in the ceiling full stop. The ceiling needs replacing as it's bulging (from when there was water up there, it's dry now) and stained. The walls are stained as well.

The reason why we haven't had anyone come to fix it is because the person who was supposed to come has/had Covid.