Re: question about my apartment

[Guest guest]

>

> There is major (I mean MAJOR, as in gut renovation) demolition and

> renovation going on in my prewar Manhattan building in preparation

> for high end condo conversion. There are 268 apts and 100

> are " warehoused " and the landlord has done total gutting of these

> apartments and in the process many tenants have had leaks and floods,

> myself being one. The first flood occured in July and my bathroom

> ceiling, part of it, caved in. This was due to their having turned

> off the water in my line to work on pipes, and then having forgotten,

> when they turned it on full blast, that they'd taken the toilet out

> of the apartment over me and forgotten to shut off the pipes. The

> second leak which lasted a few hours occurred on a Sunday night in

> August and came from a leaking pipe 2 floors over me in another

> gutted apartment. To repair the first they broke up the bathroom

> floor above and poured in concrete where the hole was (this hole

> existed because of a repair a few years prior of a ceiling pipe).

> That area dried fine but the rest of the bathroom, and a small part

> of the ceiling outside the bathroom and in the master bedroom--where

> the 2nd leak was--did not and plastering just led to bubbling, so

> we'd scrape, plaster again and it would bubble again. It took major

> yelling and threatening and a letter from my holistic doctor that was

> threatening etc, they have entirely scraped down the ceiling almost

> to the concrete (I see a bit of concrete, some mesh etc). It was

> definitely wet--the plaster that came off was somewhat wet. Anyway it

> sort of smelled but I can't see any mold. We put a dehumidifer in

> there 24/7 and also I turned on the radiator so its hot and dry in

> there. However I am scared there could be mold somewhere in there

> though I don't know where. Is there anything else I should do besides

> let it dry out like this for a few weeks? If there were mold up in

> the concrete wouldn't it have been growing on the wet surface between

> the concrete and the plaster? Or is there any other place it could

> grow? I don't see the point of putting out petri dishes as one always

> has mold spores. I just seek some advice here. I've also kept the

> bathroom window open for 3 months. I also bought this sachet,

> chlorine dioxide, that is used in mildewy areas of boats. Thanx for

> any advice about whether I should look anywhere else. In these old

> buildings the concrete/cement in walls and in floors/ceilings is very

> thick, btw. They don't build 'em like that anymore.

\

Bubbling means you have moisture, which can mean mold growth.

There was mold in my cement walls in my basement. Even when they were cleaned

with a

mild bleach solution, they still stank and it really bothered me. I has them

sealed with

paint, which helped after the paint cured.

I would look for mold in drywall. It loves to eat sheetrock, also wood.

What can you do until they stop messing up the building? If you fix it

completely, will the

work they are doing cause another round of trouble?

[Guest guest]

It's Called Creeper,

the concrete/cement in walls and in floors/ceilings is very

> thick, btw. They don't build 'em like that anymore.

\

This is one thing I would say let's go back to this point, Katrina what

Buildings Stood up under that as far as the subject mold goes let's make

change.

Elvira

From: kl_clayton

>

> There is major (I mean MAJOR, as in gut renovation) demolition and

> renovation going on in my prewar Manhattan building in preparation

> for high end condo conversion. There are 268 apts and 100

> are " warehoused " and the landlord has done total gutting of these

> apartments and in the process many tenants have had leaks and floods,

> myself being one.

[Guest guest]

Right, when I saw the bubbling I insisted something be done. But where

was the mold in your walls----is the stink always mold? How do you

figure it out? There is nothing on the surface--when they scraped away

the plaster, the back of it was wet. I personally notified management

that I think its from the idiot workers sloshing buckets of water in

the empty apartments to water down the dust from the gut reno, and

since there is nothing but a basic hole in the kitchen and bathroom, I

think they added new water, but management claims this is not so.

In any case, maybe it was the flood in July, but where they patched

that with new concrete, it is completely fine and dry.

WHere would mold grow in cement? The ceiling does not have drywall,

and we scraped away the sheetrock I think--what I'm seeing on the

ceiling, I see some stains where wires run (metal stains) and I see

mesh, and a bit of concrete peeking through.

I read somewhere to use a blacklight? How can you tell if there is

mold if there's nothing on the surface?

I think they'll be careful from now on because I'm such a pisser . I

made such a fricken fuss. BUT who knows. They are not just lousy

landlords, they are aggressive. They tried to sue 6 folks over 65 who

had rent controlled apartments, tried to evict them all--totally

illegal, and they lost the case completely, all 6 banded together and

fought. They sent an eviction notice to the 80 year old lady and her

60 year old daughter down the hall claiming they owe $129. So they are

not just lousy, they are kind of evil.

\

>

> Bubbling means you have moisture, which can mean mold growth.

>

> There was mold in my cement walls in my basement. Even when they

were cleaned with a

> mild bleach solution, they still stank and it really bothered me. I

has them sealed with

> paint, which helped after the paint cured.

>

> I would look for mold in drywall. It loves to eat sheetrock, also

wood.

>

> What can you do until they stop messing up the building? If you fix

it completely, will the

> work they are doing cause another round of trouble?

>