Contractors/engineers here's one
- Thread starter Flamehawk
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Flamehawk
In Memoriam
addtl
addtl
Christy/all,
Here's some additional pics of the interior/exterior. The condensation that you saw on the window might be due to the fact that the pics were taken early in the morning.
The pics I posted before were of the really bad mold in one of the rooms by the front door south side of apt. Below is the mold damage in the master bedroom with the external wall facing the lake which would be the north side of the apt (I think).
This pic is of the masterbed closet which isn't near any external wall, it is the only room not by an external wall that has visible mold.
Exterior window pics by front door (south side). To make matters worse there is a 3 hose spigot that has had a constant leak/drip, we installed a new shut off knob because there were none.
addtl
Christy/all,
Here's some additional pics of the interior/exterior. The condensation that you saw on the window might be due to the fact that the pics were taken early in the morning.
The pics I posted before were of the really bad mold in one of the rooms by the front door south side of apt. Below is the mold damage in the master bedroom with the external wall facing the lake which would be the north side of the apt (I think).
This pic is of the masterbed closet which isn't near any external wall, it is the only room not by an external wall that has visible mold.
Exterior window pics by front door (south side). To make matters worse there is a 3 hose spigot that has had a constant leak/drip, we installed a new shut off knob because there were none.
Re Your Windows
Re Your Windows
Hi,
I had two friends with simarlar problems. I removed the sheetrock and noticed the windows wre not properly install. Contractor brought a smaller size window and made up for the difference in size by laying three or more large portion of cement. This caused a larger unfilled gap between the window jambs and framing members. This leaves the interior of your house protected from the exterior elements only by the bead of chaulk. Once insects or wear and tear penetrates that layer water will seep in. You can fix this by using a gap sealant in the space and re chaulking the window exterior (You suppose to re chaulk every five years). That solved the problem with the water getting in.... no water in .....no molds. If I can be of any assistance pm me.
Re Your Windows
Hi,
I had two friends with simarlar problems. I removed the sheetrock and noticed the windows wre not properly install. Contractor brought a smaller size window and made up for the difference in size by laying three or more large portion of cement. This caused a larger unfilled gap between the window jambs and framing members. This leaves the interior of your house protected from the exterior elements only by the bead of chaulk. Once insects or wear and tear penetrates that layer water will seep in. You can fix this by using a gap sealant in the space and re chaulking the window exterior (You suppose to re chaulk every five years). That solved the problem with the water getting in.... no water in .....no molds. If I can be of any assistance pm me.
45commando
New member
like Jeff stated about the condensation on the windows.If it is on the outside,thats normal for early morning,but it looks as though the other pictures show condensation too.Were these all taken at the same time?If you have condensation on the inside,then your AC has a fault.Also check the drain line on your AC & make sure water is dripping from it when it is running.It should be dripping away from the property.If no water is coming out,you could have a plugged/cracked drain line that is letting the moisture go into the slab-somewhere along the pipe run.Cracks in the stucco is not good,but it should of had tar paper or house wrap installed underneath the mesh.This should act as a moisture barrier.It's also possible that one of the hose spigots has a slow leak upstream.If they are indivdual spigots for each unit,try & locate the water meters & see if a unit's meter is running faster the rest.You'll have to check a few times,as you won't know if someone is flushing a toilet/showering etc,but if it is always running,then there may be a leak in the line,that is soaking into the slab/footer.HTH
jeffbrig
Premium Member
Hi Again,
Ok, the pic of the master bedroom closet that is an interior wall is both disturbing and telling. You are likely having water bleed through the slab that is being wicked up by the porous drywall/baseboards in the area where there is no tile, since the tile is acting as a moisture barrier. You need to somehow identify the source - bad pipe in the slab, backed up a/c condensate drain line, or excess groundwater seeping through cracks in the slab. I have a water remediator who can moisture test to identify the wettest areas, and that might help you identify the source.
But, back to what I was saying yesterday, check your condo docs, slab leaks are usually the association's responsibility. Send them the certified letter demanding that they take action. Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(a)(2) discusses the certified letter. Basically if you send them a certified letter and they don't respond, they can't recover atty's fees in any subsequent litigation. However, most of the management companies I have dealt with take this one step further and will tend to ignore serious resident issues unless they are presented via certified letter. So spend the $2.00 and get the ball rolling with your association. Demand that they send in licensed general contractors and certified mold remediators to investigate.
Hate to say it, but you also, you may want to consult with a real estate/condo lawyer who is familiar with these types of claims. In Florida, I am fairly certain you can sue for rescinsion of a contract - meaning to undo the home sale - if the prior owners fraudulently or purposefully didn't disclose something that would have been material to the sale (i.e. the presence of a mold or water problem). I could probably dig up some names for you if you don't know any lawyers in that field.
--Christy (just using the hubby's account)
p.s. Condensation on windows is not normal at this time of year, not even in the early morning. You may want to buy a temp/humidity gauge at target or home depot and check your interior humidity levels.
Ok, the pic of the master bedroom closet that is an interior wall is both disturbing and telling. You are likely having water bleed through the slab that is being wicked up by the porous drywall/baseboards in the area where there is no tile, since the tile is acting as a moisture barrier. You need to somehow identify the source - bad pipe in the slab, backed up a/c condensate drain line, or excess groundwater seeping through cracks in the slab. I have a water remediator who can moisture test to identify the wettest areas, and that might help you identify the source.
But, back to what I was saying yesterday, check your condo docs, slab leaks are usually the association's responsibility. Send them the certified letter demanding that they take action. Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(a)(2) discusses the certified letter. Basically if you send them a certified letter and they don't respond, they can't recover atty's fees in any subsequent litigation. However, most of the management companies I have dealt with take this one step further and will tend to ignore serious resident issues unless they are presented via certified letter. So spend the $2.00 and get the ball rolling with your association. Demand that they send in licensed general contractors and certified mold remediators to investigate.
Hate to say it, but you also, you may want to consult with a real estate/condo lawyer who is familiar with these types of claims. In Florida, I am fairly certain you can sue for rescinsion of a contract - meaning to undo the home sale - if the prior owners fraudulently or purposefully didn't disclose something that would have been material to the sale (i.e. the presence of a mold or water problem). I could probably dig up some names for you if you don't know any lawyers in that field.
--Christy (just using the hubby's account)
p.s. Condensation on windows is not normal at this time of year, not even in the early morning. You may want to buy a temp/humidity gauge at target or home depot and check your interior humidity levels.
jeffbrig
Premium Member
Also, from the pics it looks like the caulking on the exterior of your windows is dry and cracking (not good), and that possibly, someone caulked over the window's exterior weepholes, which are there to allow water to drain outside. If they are blocked, the water will collect in the window and could leak back down into the wall substrate. Just some additional things you might want to investigate further cause its hard to tell for sure in the pics.
--Christy
--Christy
Flamehawk
In Memoriam
Jeff and all, but esecially CHRISTY! This is Johnny, Morgan is too floja to sign in with her own account. Just wanted to thank you again from the bottom of my heart. This has been a REALLY stressful situation for us not knowing squad about engineering and this being our first home. Hard to find genuine help anymore. I dont think you have kids yet but if you ever find yourself needing medical help you know you can count on me 
We were able to get a hold of the president of the association (same guy who sold us the unit). He is having the property manager come take a look, finally. Apparently, there were similar complaints of mold from another unit but in another building (still same division). Back then, there was a builder's warranty so the builders came and fixed it. I need to investigate more and find out if it could be a similar problem, i know he mentioned something of a pipe leak but again, need to investigate further.
At least i can see the ball starting to roll. I will keep you posted.
Thanks again!
JOHNNY
We were able to get a hold of the president of the association (same guy who sold us the unit). He is having the property manager come take a look, finally. Apparently, there were similar complaints of mold from another unit but in another building (still same division). Back then, there was a builder's warranty so the builders came and fixed it. I need to investigate more and find out if it could be a similar problem, i know he mentioned something of a pipe leak but again, need to investigate further.
At least i can see the ball starting to roll. I will keep you posted.
Thanks again!
JOHNNY
carlosngloria
Active member
Hi, im fairly new here in the FMAS section. But I have done many demolition jobs for a construction company. From the looks of those pics the baseboard looks like its taking a soaking. You can see the more damp areas in the base board. Now I see that you said you are leaving the a/c on in the place. At what temp are you setting it at. Mold grows really well with humid conditions. The a/c running removes humidity. I would also try and pick up a dehumidifier. Homedepot rents them. If you have a contractor come out they charge about $1000 a day to run those. Also if the water was coming from above the spots then you should see a water line down the wall. Try touching above the mold spots and see if the wall is weak there. But it definitely looks like its coming from the foundation. Or possibly one of those water lines are broken inside the wall. Try turning on one of those water spickets outside and see if you get a puddle of water inside. Normally when there are bad tenants in a place you dont have to replace all the tile, just the one or two tiles they may have messed up. In the presence of water tiles tend to lift and that is why they would replace all of them. You also said you have some in your closet? Is the closet next to a bathroom? If so your problem may be a leaking water pipe. Also when you go in there try to wear a mask, one of the cheap ones they sells at homedepot or lowes. Breathing that stuff can be bad for your health.
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