Replies

1. 
   clinkard | Apr 03, 2008 05:30am | #1

   mold?

1. 
   des718 | Apr 03, 2008 05:50am | #2

   I thought that too. But I am wondering what is the cause. I've been in the business a long time and have never seen this before. If it is mold is it a situation where moisture is being driven through the studs? This is a Habitat for Humanity home which will be turned over to a new homeowner in the near future. If there is something that needs to be done I want to address it before then.

1. 
   alwaysoverbudget | Apr 03, 2008 06:13am | #4

   going on the same lines as the fireplace,i have found that some people burn a lot of candles. some candles put out more soot than a coal burner.not sure if it's cheap candles or what.

   had a house that i couldn't figure out what was going on and that turned out to be the culpirt. larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?

1. 
   des718 | Apr 03, 2008 01:42pm | #5

   Thanks guys, when I first saw this the first thing that came to mind was candles. It is true, cheap candles do produce more soot. But I had just seen this and never realized it could also be a function of the cold studs/plates and a bit of condensation, very interesting. I think that you solved it for me. It certainly could have been because of a space heater, and it also causes me to think to get the boiler and hot water heaters checked out as well.Thanks.

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 03, 2008 09:00pm | #12

   you are on it. The combination of cold studs creating slightly more condensation right there and the soot from ( furnace, wood stove, candles, cigarettes, space heaters, whatever...) sticks to the wall where it is damp that way.Check the appliances for clean efficient function, wash the walls with TSP, and paint them. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   Billy | Apr 03, 2008 05:56am | #3

   Is there a fireplace?

   I've heard that sometimes there is condensation on the colder surface of the drywall over the studs, and that soot from a fireplace or wood stove or perhaps even an improperly vented heater will stick to this condensation and show up as ghosting.

   Billy

3. 
   DanH | Apr 03, 2008 01:45pm | #6

   Candles. Wood-burning fireplace.

   What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. --Bertrand Russell
1. 
   MarkH | Apr 03, 2008 02:01pm | #7

   Smoking.  My dear departed aunt smoked Pall Mall unfiltered cigs, and lots of em.  So did my uncle, but he quit a long time ago.  Well, he's about 80, and in excellent health.  After my aunt died he repainted the inside of the house for the first time in about 30 years.  You didn't need a studfinder there.

1. 
   2weekstops | Apr 03, 2008 02:11pm | #8

   Why do you need a studfinder to paint ? ;)

1. 
   McDesign | Apr 03, 2008 02:40pm | #10

   'Cuz painters are real men!

   Forrest

1. 
   MarkH | Apr 03, 2008 07:00pm | #11

   Beat me to it.

4. 
   McDesign | Apr 03, 2008 02:39pm | #9

   No, but I know about ghost riders in the sky.

   Forrest

5. 
   Deleted | Nov 27, 2023 08:51am | #13

   “[Deleted]”