# Bought a Brand New Construction - Mould!



## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

Hi Everyone

I had a brand new home built. Closed and moved in in May. Exterior work was done by end of July. 
My home was built in atlantic Canada during last year's (brutal) winter. Brand new subdivision with no power poles even at the time. Builder used a generator for electricity and once it was closed in had a propane run flame heater thing (?) in 1 room. Needless to say - moisture was an issue at the time. Seamfilling took a full month because it wouldn't dry. Electricity was finally hooked up at the end of January and floors were DONE - completely installed 3 days later.
Fastforward to June of this year when my builder decided to 'grade' my lawn himself to save money. (dumped fill and raked it out) The grade was awful - either nonexistent of sloping toward my house. We fought about it for so long I finally gave him the holdback money just to get him out of my life. 
Middle of July I am finding mould all over my baseboards. I had a specialist in and then the builder hired a specialist as well. Concensus is the mould is there because of the excess moisture still in the cement (build on a slab) and that with the grading issues no water is running away from my house.
The reccommendations and estimated for mould remediation from the company my builder hired is $15000. NOT including cost and installation of everything they say should be removed (baseboards, door casings, laminate floors, insulation, vanities, kitchen cabinets etc)
I'm looking at a huge cost here.
My builder (who was surprisingly cooperative until he got the estimate) has headed for the hills now and is denying any responsibility. 

Can anyone give me any advice? Obviously I need to move forward with getting this fixed (duplex - so I have tenants to worry about as well). I have a warranty but they say mould isn't covered. Can I sue? Should I sue? Should I try to go through insurance? (although I'm not sure even that will work)

Any info helps!! 
Thanks


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## OurBigFatWallet (Jan 20, 2014)

Wow that sounds brutal. Sorry to hear about that. Wouldn't this be covered under the new home warranty? What province are you in?


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## MoreMiles (Apr 20, 2011)

That's why you need a lawyer to close real estate transaction. You should talk to him or her ASAP.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

Will they first be fixing the grade problem before going after the mold. One would need 100 percent certainty on no more moisture problems before undertaking the remediation, demo and replacement project. I agree with ourbigfatwallet this does sound brutal, I wish you the best of luck.


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

Thanks for the responses. Yes it has been a brutal ordeal with this builder. Awful first time build/buy experience. I had a lawyer for closing - she was great all throughout the process. (It was a battle to get through to closing) She had been in contact with me regarding the mould and was in contact with my builder's lawyer on my behalf regarding the issue - however NOW I haven't heard a thing from her in 2 weeks (granted in this time we were waiting for the results for air quality / recommendations and estimate for mould remediation from the specialists) however we received those reports Wednesday and I'm eager to move forward. I've called countless times to her office and never actually get to speak to her. I'm eager to stick with her because of all the issues with the builder for the last 16 months - she knows what we've been through - but at the same time I need to move forward and can't wait for her. I've had a (lawyer) friend recommend 3 lawyers to me and I will be contacting them Monday regarding my case.
Slightly good news on the yard - I made a call to my town planning and development dept to have them come out and determine whether my grading meets the drainage plan for my property. The guy came out the next day. He has to deal with my builder, who has to have his engineers come in and assess whether the grading job he did on my property coincides with the plan. Bad news is we have to depend on the contractor to ACTUALLY do this. He CAN just say No. However it is in his best interest to be on good terms with the Town - especially the planning/development dept.
From just looking at my lot and walking along one side the rep from the town is VERY confident that they will find the work done does NOT satisfy the plan and the builder WILL have to fix it or else he will NOT be issues another building permit (this idiot is developing the entire subdivision)
Fingers crossed this works out for me - then the exterior issues at least will be resolved and not MY expense.

Thanks again for the responses. I will update as anything changes. And any advice -legal/construction or similar experiences and what you did would be great!


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

OurBigFatWallet said:


> Wow that sounds brutal. Sorry to hear about that. Wouldn't this be covered under the new home warranty? What province are you in?


I DO have an 8 year Lux Home Warranty. Unfortunately they say they do NOT cover mould. They said to contact my insurance company. (Haven't been there yet since I'm still adamant that the builder should be fixing this) Also from what I can tell from reading my insurance info they don't cover mold when it comes to moisture issues (as in my case) inly mold when it comes to some kind of emergency/disaster (pipe break / flood / etc)


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

What I would do is rent 5 or 6 dehumidifiers...dry the place out. Skid steer for a day can fix the grade....might cost you $1000...ask the builder to kick that much in. Mold is common & over rated as a health hazard. Mix 1/4 cup bleach to liter of water in squirt bottle cleans it up in 15 minute exposure. 

The worst thing to do is nothing.


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

I have to agree with you eder I have done it myself as well many times. Anytime I find mild in the house I use a mild killer or bleach or whatever. I think a lot of this hype is to make another industry and restoration has become a big industry in Canada.

However one should still wear a proper mask in these situations and I am not sure how capable Islandlc is physically to undertake certain jobs. The grade thing though is the most important job right now before moving forward.


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

Thanks for the input.
Just to clarify - I haven't done nothing. Before the builder got involved I had my agent, lawyer, another contractor and a restoration company involved.
The guy at the restoration came in and did an assessment. On his recommendations I went out and bought a dehumidifier and a hygrometer for each unit. (Dehumidifiers have been running constantly for weeks now and in addition we had industrial dehumidifiers rented for a week to work alongside the ones I bought) That brought the humitidy levels down to about 50% which is great to stop the growth of the mould but doesn't get rid of it. We also cleaned all the visible mould as per his instructions and it hasn't grown back in any area we can see. The problem is now that it's behind the baseboards and on the ends and in the joints of the laminate flooring (I know this because we have pulled baseboards and cut drywall and pulled up some flooring) - as well as under the vanities and in the kitchen cupboards etc.
According to the specialist my contractor had in my problem is the high moisture levels IN my floors and the grade of the property. So obviously these issues have to be addressed. The other thing is to remove the existing mould or it will just grow again when the conditions are right (humid). I built this property as an investment so in the future will be renting out both sides and I don't feel like I can give all my future tenants instructions (regarding dehumidifiers/airexchangers/ etc) to make sure the mould in the place doesn't grow out of control again. That would be ridiculous - and there are so many rentals people would just go elsewhere. I just need the mould gone. I've only had the house for 4 months and am so over dealing with mould. I shouldn't have to be in a brand new house. In my opinion anyway.


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## Newby1983 (Apr 9, 2015)

You say it's a new build? Is there foundation wrap? This should keep basement dry and I think is code for new builds. If not then I'd be looking into this further.


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

No basement. It's on a slab. SUPPOSED to be some kind of vapour barrier - but with the way things are going I can't tell for sure!


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## Newby1983 (Apr 9, 2015)

So then it's slab on grade? That's odd for water to be coming in unless it's coming from under the slab? In that case regeade and call it a day. You could even put a French drain around the entire outside perimeter if you can't grade. 

Is the mould around the entire perimeter or just at a few spots?


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

Mould pretty much around the entire perimeter. It;s worse toward the back of the house - which is due to the grade of the back yard. Re-grading the lawn is definitely the first step. If that isn't done then nothing else matters really. Moisture IN my slab is the other big issue. The floors have to come up and the cement dried out more. I have the mould on interior walls as well and a lot the dividing wall between the 2 units - so we know that isn't due to the grading issues.
I can't simply regrade and call it a day - the mould in the house needs to be taken care of.


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

Just wanted to provide an update.
-My builder has had to have his surveyors return to check the grading on my lot - my town planning and development dept should be receiving the new survey in the next few days to compare to the original drainage plan for the lot.
Got a new lawyer and he is moving things forward! - Going to file a claim with the warranty company even thought they do not cover mould - hopefully they will question covering this man's work in the future and he'll be forced to fix this to keep himself covered in the future.
He is also sending a registered letter to the builder notifying him that he has been attained as my lawyer and we will be taking matters as far as we have to in order to get things settled.
I'm hoping no one else EVER has to go thru this - but if they do maybe this will be a help to them! When I searched for anything like this online I found nothing! All the restoration companies that have come in have told me what a unique situation this is and none have ever dealt with anything like this before.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I just want to say that among my many adventures I did actually work in mold abatement for the Catholic School Board for a while. 

Here's what you need to know. 

Mold requires food and that food is cellulose. Wood and paper contain it. 

Mold also needs moisture to grow. 

It's not the mold that is toxic it's the spores. The most amount of spores I have ever seen in one spot was in one of those heating and air conditioning units they have in condos. It was growing year after year on the paper on the insulation and accumulating. 

Mold spores are everywhere, all the time, so it's not like you can keep them away. 

You must not inhale them and some people even react to skin contact with rashes etc. 

Amount of exposure is key and cumulative exposure is more dangerous in my opinion. 

In my business tenants with a spot of mold in their bathroom want to stop paying rent. I even had one lady remove the tiles in her bathroom to see if there was mold behind the tile. (There was and this is normal) 

So the trick is to reduce the moisture or install items that will not promote mold growth in areas that are wet. Plastic baseboard, trim, cement board, and anything that is not paper or wood will not promote mold growth.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

Excuse my French but what kind of $**T-brained contractor is this?? First off, why is he delivering houses with no electricity - why would the city even allow that? Its one big risk you have taken by accepting that - even with a hold back.

Looks like your on the right track. You definitely have a solid case against the builder. Lets hope it gets resolved quickly. Regardless the outcome, make sure you get this guy to loose his licence. Call the media if you have to.

Humidity through a slab (enough to cause mold) can only mean that the slab was not waterproofed. I would not be surprised if a vapour barrier and insulation was not layed out before the concrete was poured.


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## IslandLc (Sep 25, 2015)

Mortgage u/w said:


> Excuse my French but what kind of $**T-brained contractor is this?? First off, why is he delivering houses with no electricity - why would the city even allow that? Its one big risk you have taken by accepting that - even with a hold back.
> 
> Looks like your on the right track. You definitely have a solid case against the builder. Lets hope it gets resolved quickly. Regardless the outcome, make sure you get this guy to loose his licence. Call the media if you have to.
> 
> Humidity through a slab (enough to cause mold) can only mean that the slab was not waterproofed. I would not be surprised if a vapour barrier and insulation was not layed out before the concrete was poured.


Just to be clear - I didn't take possession of the home when there was no elec. He just didn't have power hooked up WHILE he was building it.You're right the city would never give an occupancy permit with no power just as the bank would not give a mortgage out on a home that wasn't liveable.
There IS a vapor barrier beneath the slab (the town has an inspector who comes, verifies and signs off on some aspects of the build and this is one of them). But because there IS a vapor barrier it just helped to trap the moisture between it and the underlay/laminate flooring.
I definitely seem to have a great case against the builder. However I'm suing someone who barely has any $$$.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Don't panic. There are different kinds of mold and most of them are harmless. Get the lawn landscaped so it drains properly, get a couple of dehumidifiers. It may take 2 or 3 weeks to dry out the house but it will dry out. Good ventilation is a must. Clean up the mold and use mold killing cleaners. There are remedies that don't include tearing the house down. Lots of companies play on mold fears and over exaggerate the dangers.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I recently dealt with some mold in an apartment and looked into the chemicals for treating it. Interestingly, as berubeland said, I found mold growing on the surface of a cardboard box (paper).

It sounds like white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are more useful/safer than bleach. Additionally, bleach can only kill mold on non-porous surfaces.

I feel for you, IslandLc. We're all rooting for you!


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