Hi,
My house is under construction and I am the builder on a Sunday only schedule. The outside of my house is sheathed with 3/4″ CDX ply. The problem is I have a small bathroom with tile up 4′ on the wall with one outside wall and 1 window. When it rained it leaked into the bathroom. Now there is a smell af mold and I see some evidence on the drywall above the tile. To remove the mold I know the best solution is to demo everything and start new. My wife will kill me if I do that. Are there any other solutions? I tried washing down the walls with a bleach solution and tilex on the tiles. I don’t mind removing the drywall above the tiles, but I cannot touch the tilework.
Thanks
Alex
Replies
Mold needs three things to live: food (most anything organic, like wood or the paper face on sheetrock), temperature (if it feels nice to you, mold likes it too), and moisture. Take away any one item, and mold goes dormant. How long has it been since the rain leaked in? Once the wall cavity completely dries out, the mold smell should go away.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Temperature, with the exceptions of the very extreme, play little role if food and water are present.
How hard would it be to atack it from the outside?
You need to get the space dried out from one side or the other.
Why not rip off a piece of ply and look at it (and dry it) from the back (out) side? What type of insulation do you have?
this has worked for me
http://www.fiberlock.com/800600/pr/8310.htm
I actually did think of tearing off exterior ply. I only have tyvek covering it. It has not rained in New York City for a couple of weeks in the summer so I assume it did dry out. I have also left on the exhaust fan and opened the window in hopes of moving some air, however I do notice when the door has been closed with no ventilastion the smell is more pronounced. The insulation is R13 paper faced fiberglass batt. Walls are taped drywall. i was considering priming with a mildewcide based primer if that would help.
Thanks for all the responses.
Alex
"Walls are taped drywall. i was considering priming with a mildewcide based primer if that would help."That is on the inside of the wall.Won't do any good for what is going on IN the wall.