G.H. Clark Contractors, Inc Newsletter

G.H. Clark Contractors, Inc Newsletter

March 2010

In This Issue

Moldy Attics

Calvert Home Show

Quick Links

Roofing

Siding

Windows

Doors

Gutters

Decks

Additions

Heaven's Highway

Greetings!

We hope everyone has been well. I have had numerous calls from people with mold in their attics, so we are going to discuss moldy attics and their causes.

The Calvert Home Show, which is an anual fundraiser that we produce, is going to be held on the first weekend of May. We will get you the details for that and also provide you with some low cost, immediate impact solutions for reducing your carbon footprint.

Your input is important and as always, we ask that you send us any questions or concerncs that you may want us to address in our upcoming news letters. We hope to see you and your families at the Calvert Home Show.

Regards,

Gil Clark

GilClark.H. Clark Contractors, Inc10-414-7060

Checking Your Attic For Mold

G.H. Clark was called out to replace a roof, due to it's moldy condition. We first tried to determine what the cause of the mold was and then remedy this as part of the roof replacement.

Upon arrival we noticed improper ventilation at both the ridge vent (peak of roof) and the gable ends (where roof line meets the insulation in the attic), there were also a couple of bathroom vents that had dead-ended (fan exhaust does not have a tube/pipe that runs up and threw the roof) up into the attic.

Well, we addressed each of these issues and replaced the roof, only to receive a phone call several weeks later from our customer. She told us that the mold had resurfaced and the picture above is what we encountered upon our visit. She was not the only one suprised by this, we did not have the answers, so we called in Chad from Ser-Pro and got his opinion on the matter. The following is a copy of the email sent to us after his inspection. We will keep you posted in our next newsletter on what action we took and what the outcome is.

Gil,

I went to take a look at the sparrow attic, and this is what I found. The readings that I got didn't seem to be out of the ordinary, the relative humidity in the attic was pretty consistent around 37%, which is right where it need to be, although the relative humidity was a little higher around the entrance to the attic. The moisture content of the wood didn't seem to be out of the ordinary. I noticed visible growth on the ruff trusses and the plywood. The heaviest concentrations seemed to be closest to the attic entrance. I have attached pictures of, what seemed to be, the highest concentrations of mold both on the plywood and the trusses. Unfortunately I was unable to determine what was cause the growth. Because of the amount of growth, and the uncertainty of it's origin, I would recommend that an Indoor Environment Profession, be hired to inspect the attic. IEP's are certified to test the types of mold and the atmospheric conditions to determine the exact cause of the problem. They also act as project managers for the restoration vendor. An IEP will do all of the testing and write a protocol that describes the exact process that needs to be taken by the restoration vendor. After the work is completed, the IEP will perform a post test to ensure that the job was done properly and that the affected area has been returned to normal. Because IEP's are a third party I can only recommend ones that we have used in the past, and have done the best job, however, if you have someone else you would like to use that's no problem. The IEP that we have done the most work with is Daniel R. Norris with DRN Environmental solution. His contact info 240-538-5221 Dnorris@drnenvironmentalsolutions.com. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call. I will check back in next week to see how everything is coming along."

Chad Day
Servpro of St. Mary's and Calvert

22690 Three Notch Road

Lexington Park, MD 20653

301-862-9500 (office)

301-862-3505 (fax)

240-925-1391 (cell)

www.greenvans.com

Calvert Home Show Fundraiser Returns