Mold Prevention

I am planning to buy a log cabin in Downsville, Delaware county. An inspector went today and discovered mold in the ceiling: "Only 20 % of attic seen, finished areas. Finished areas to ceiling of addition show signs of mold build up". I wonder if it is worth it to buy a house in that condition. Can be mold ever be removed? Is it too expensive to do so? Please help me. Thank you

Laura,
This is not a good thing. It means the attic ventilation is poor. Mold can be cleaned up, but what about the places you can't get to? Also, this cabin now has a stigma. Ask your Realtor about that! It is now in the written record that the house had mold. This MUST be disclosed to future buyers *unless* you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the problem was solved. And look at your insurance policy - you have ZERO coverage for mold claims.

I am in the process of building a new in Charleston, SC. The builder is promoting the application of a mold preventative sprayed on the wood framing after the framing is complete. I have had little luck researching the pros and cons of such a process. What do you think? Thank you.

Jack,
My thoughts are that is a product that treats the symptoms not the cause. If you read all of my Mold columns you quickly discover that you will have no mold if you have no water.

What kind of lighting can I place in my crawlspace to prevent or deter a mold situation from taking place?

Lou,
Lights will not stop all mildew and mold growth. If you want to stop it, read ALL of my columns in my Mold and Vapor Barrier categories.

Tim,

There is a typo in Mold Prevention. Change "one and on half" to "one and one half". I really enjoy your articles, and learn from them.

You have a section on doors. It talks about door replacement but not door restoration. That could be an article. My hollow door has a stripped screw in the top hinge, allowing the door to sag just enough to bind. An article could tell how to repair a stripped screw in a hollow door, how to deepen the hinge areas (I assume if the top hinge was deeper in the casing that the door would be more vertical), how to repair dents (say where the door stop pushes into the door rather than against the floor).

We have a cabin in Colorado. We had ice damming that caused roof and water damages in May. The Contractor who fixed the roof now recommends removing the kitchen cabinets and countertops to check for mold. Is there some other way of checking for mold besides tearing up the kitchen? Given the dry, no humidity air in the mountains, is it likely that mold would have grown anyway? Would mold be obvious five months after the water damage?

We live in Quebec,Canada and we've discovered recently there is a tar coating in the interior of our basement foundation walls. the house is about 20 years old. Is it normal for this tar coating to produce a woodsy smell, like a fire burning?