Crazy update-post #34- cause of my mold (possible cause anyway)

[JustMe]

So, I have posted before that I had some mold in my house-mostly in the windows and bathrooms (which seemed to not be that big of a concern for various reasons) but a very small amount in ds' room and my closet can smell musty.

I had someone come out to look at my crawl space. He says there is water in there and it needs to be removed. He says I need a sump pump and he also recommends encapsulating the crawl space. It is about $8000 for all the sump pump related stuff he wants to do and $14000 if I do all the rest (I am not even sure if that is in addition to the $8000, I glazed over long before that).

I really can't find many competitors/companies that do this kind of work. The only other one I can find is not a good one...in doing research it seems that sometimes plummers install sump pumps?

If anyone had any ideas on what to do next, please let me know! In other wonderful news it seems there is a hornet's nest in the backyard and my friends thinks I need to call someone to remove it.

[azzeps]

That's terrible. I'm sorry. Keep asking around... maybe your neighbors have the same issue? When we bought our house, the inspector said there was a "river" running under our house in the crawl, and recommended a sump pump. We had the sellers get that done. I feel like $8000 is a lot, but then, I didn't ask what the sellers had to pay to get it done.

We had a leak in one of our downstairs window. We had contractors out to fix it... it wasn't the window, the leak was coming in way above the window, so they had to remove almost all the siding off the back of the house, fix the leak, and replace all the siding with new. $10,000. But I feel better knowing it's fixed and that we aren't risking mold developing, which was what I was afraid could already be going on.

Maybe a mold remediation company could help advise? We have a company here called John's Waterproofing. Or maybe ServPro? They deal with cleanup after floods and fires. Keep calling and researching and maybe you will find it isn't as bad as this guy says it is to fix it, since it isn't an emergency.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I totally understand how with those kinds of dollar amounts, it feels like a bad update. If you think about the big picture, though, finding out right now that it's something that can be solved, and this is a blessing! And...because you are the homeowner, not the renter, you are actually able to solve the problem and know that your family's mold-related health problems should clear up! I would have totally paid $14,000 to get out of the moldy situations we were in a couple years ago.

Call some plumbers and ask. Call some crawlspace people. Call some flood remediation type people. I find the crawlspace people harder to discover, but ask around. Do you have a n'hood list serve or can you ask on city-data or Angie's list?

[chlobo]

What is the source of the water? Is it ground water? I would contact a couple of plumbers and ask for a recommendation. Maybe get a one day membership to Angie's List and look up contractors? There are often multiple ways to solve water problems.

Also, check with your insurance. Maybe they would cover part of the cost?

[minnie-zb]

There are more places who do this and encapsulation does not work for all crawlspaces -- I would google and do some reading on the internet. We had to do some work in our crawlspace about 5 years ago and we did a lot of research. I would also talk with your neighbors and find out what they are doing in their crawlspaces and if they've had any work done. I'm also a little suspicious of anyone who comes out to inspect and then gives you a huge list of things which need to be done with an expensive price tag. I would search out more people to give you advice and inspect -- that is a huge chunk of change.

ETA: I also think there are people who will take advantage of you and some men have no scruples when it comes to a woman who seems like she's anxious about a problem and wants to get it fixed. I have no idea what sort of info you are sharing with people when they come to look at your house, but I would be inclined to volunteer as little information upfront as possible -- I'd let them provide you with the details and then you can ask questions.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I have long been thinking what minnie said. Do you have a male friend that can come over when you meet with contractors?
Research all you can about crawl space leaks, solutions...so you can talk to the contractors in a way that makes them less likely to pull one over on you.
Where's the crawl space water coming from?


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[newnana]

I agree with Minnie and Snugglebuggles. Research research research. Then have a man you know come over when you have any contractor coming over. I really know cars, but before developing a relationship with a mechanic or dealer, always have a guy with me because the difference in how I'm handled is astonishing. I find generally the same experience with contractors I don't already know.

[azzeps]

Also what about Roto rooter type people? We had a clog in those drains that go from the house out to the street. Maybe they could put one in for you? I have no idea how that works. In fact I didn't even know we had those til ours clogged and we had green algae on the walk!!! Oh the things you learn when you're a homeowner! Good luck to you!!!

[JustMe]

Thanks so much for the replies! Writing this quickly before work, so will come back later.

Yes, I have been concerned he is trying to pull one over on me. I would almost wonder if he put some water down there at this point. His price dropped a couple of thousand dollars just by the look on my face at one point. The difficult thing is there are not obvious companies who do the same thing. I will think about if there is a male I can enlist to help me with this.

As far as where the water is coming from, he didn't say but it does rain all winter here. My house is elevated on piers and he said that can make it more vulnerable to something like this.

I like the idea of telling people less, but am not sure what to tell them to make sure they investigate the right thing. I did tell him I was concerned about water/moisture in the crawl space (he asked if I had been down there and I said no), due to a very damp house and some mold...

We do have Rotorooter (their advertisement was how I realized plumbing companies do this) ServicePro, etc, but I am not sure what to say to them so will have to think that out.

[BunnyBee]

Yes, plumbers install sump pumps.

Did anyone come out with a drywall moisture reader and see if there actually is dampness in the walls? If you're feeling like he's scammy, listen to your gut. There should be competitors who offer "waterproofing" services if the crawl space actually is the problem. A good, licensed general contractor who has mold certifications might be a good place to start.