Mold plagues Knightsbridge family

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Mold plagues Knightsbridge family

Fort Mills Times - Fort Mills,SC*

By Fort Mill Times

(Published August 1, 2007)

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/local/story/6607254p-5884883c.html

One family's dream house turned into a nightmare this summer.

and Cicciarello and their two children thought they had

found what they were looking for in a two-story Knightsbridge home.

They closed on the house Wednesday, June 18, and were ready to move

in that weekend. Their belongings, which had been in storage since

the family sold their High Point, N.C., home, arrived in Fort Mill

Saturday, June 21. However, the day before, found a dark

secret in both of the upstairs bathrooms.

" I pulled up the vinyl flooring in the bathroom and there was black

mold everywhere, " Cicciarello said.

She was shocked the problem hadn't been found in the initial home

inspection the family had performed before buying the home. She

found out later that a standard home inspection doesn't check for

mold.

" I'm highly allergic to mold and I've got two small children, "

Cicciarello said. " After that, we had a mold inspection done. "

The mold expert they hired, Bill Kay of Sherlock Homes in Rock Hill,

not only found mold in the upstairs bathrooms, he also found it in

the home's ventilation system and in the attic.

The family never would have bought the house had they known the

extent of the mold damage, she said. They had planed to repaint and

spend money upfitting the kitchen counters and appliances. They had

not counted on having to repair the entire home.

They had to tear out and replace the floors and subfloors in both

bathrooms. Then they had to replace all of the duct work upstairs

and sanitize the ductwork throughout the rest of the house.

During all the repairs the family lived out of a South Charlotte

hotel and their belongings went back in to storage.

" It's been a very emotional, very stressful time for our entire

family, " she said. " I've got one child crying and saying he ants to

go back where we were. "

With all the repairs and the longer than expected hotel stay,

Cicciarello estimates the family has spent $10,000 - $12,000 making

the home livable again.

" I don't want anyone else to go through this, " Cicciarello said. " A

simple inspection is not going to find these things. "

Now that the repairs are finished, the family is finally settling

into their new home.

If she ever moves again, Cicciarello said she will spend the

extra money up front to have a home inspection, a mold inspection

and an engineering inspection.

" It really is worth the expense, " she said.