Mold Inspections NJ PA DE
Look before you leap, buyer beware, when buying a home you should consider all necessary inspections. A mold inspection is different than a Home Inspection (also called a home education).
We have been performing mold inspections for over 25 years and we also remediation mold, we know where to look for mold to protect our clients.
When is a mold inspection mold inspection necessary?
How much does mold inspection cost?
What happens during a mold inspection?
When is a mold inspection mold inspection necessary?
If you are buying a home new or old, a home mold inspection is prudent decision.
We have found mold in old homes, new homes and flipped homes. So you can find mold in any age and type of construction, so to say a mold inspection is or is not necessary really depends on how important mold is to the buyer. I should note that a small mold remediation could cost $900.00 and often ranges between $900 and say $5,000.00. So not a crushing expense but it is a chunk of change. We just completed a $9,000.00 remediation which included deconstructing a finished basement room, so the cost really depends on the extent of the mold and sadly many buyers have been found to cover up mold and water damage.
Performing a specific mold inspection before you buy a home protects you from having to pay for mold remediation after you purchase the home.
Mold Inspection Fact:
If you haven't spent time remediating mold, you are missing a foundation of knowledge regarding how mold grows. Sure with your eyes you can see it, but if you don't have experience remediating mold you are not knowledgeable regarding how mold grows on plaster, and the differences on how it appears on old wood vs. new wood mold growth. Spend a few weeks working on the mold remediation crew and you will see how mold grows, how water goes against gravity, how mold can jump from one wall to another wall. If an inspector doesn't have a background in remediation their base of knowledge is incomplete.
What happens during a mold inspection?
Mold inspection relies heavily on the visual inspection of building materials. Depending on the area investigated there are some specialty tools, including air sampling pumps and infrared cameras that can be used to look for hidden mold.
Example photo below is a house that was flipped, the inside was completely redone and looked nice when you did a cursory visual inspection. See the new bathroom vanity? Looks nice, no way is there mold.
Mold inspections have a very visual focus, we look for areas that have a common theme where mold could grow like a sink. Once we open the cabinet to the vanity and we see mold on the old sheetrock wall. You will note that many bathroom sink cabinets do not have a full back to allow plumbing fixtures. In this situation we could see mold on the bottom part of the wall, that the flipper left in place.
Here is where the trained experienced mold inspector adds value.
If the water pipes were leaking you would see mold higher up on the wall. In this situation the mold was at the bottom, meaning the water source that fueled the mold was not the plumbing?
So where did the water come from?
The photo below shows that in this split-level home, the bathroom is slightly below grade. What we are not showing you is that water runs toward this wall of the house allowing water to penetrate the wall and cause the mold growth.
The real kicker, is that the nice new tile on the wall along the window, there is mold on it. The flipper covered over the mold.
We have been performing mold inspections for over 25 years and we also remediation mold, we know where to look for mold to protect our clients. We are particularly keen on flipped homes as flippers want to make a fast buck. The photo below is the crawlspace of a flipped home. Upstairs looks brand new, the crawlspace debris strewn about. If the flipper can't spend the 30 minutes, it would take to seep up the crawlspace 90% of the time their attention to detail on other aspects of the home is lacking 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE HAS PROVEN THIS TO BE TRUE time & time again.
Ask the Mold Experts
888-301-1050
How much does a mold inspection cost?
Our best advice is if mold is a concern the cost for an inspection (typically $300 to $500) is a worthwhile investment.
2nd Opinions are also encouraged
Since the mold industry is unregulated (no licensing required in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware) there is a constant flow of people with little to no experience doing mold related work. We disagree with 70% of mold related reports and mold remediation costs. All too often people use fear to scare people about mold and really you likely will only being dealing with mold once in your life, so odds are you will make a bad decision.
For over 25 years we have been involved with mold and mold remediation. Like any professional service, we charge for inspections and provide professional advice.
If you have mold we will tell you,
if you don't have a mold problem, we will tell you that as well.
If you need remediation we can give you costs to remediate, which is performed by our inhouse crews.
