Re: I think my house has mold!?!

[Guest guest]

DONT JUST TAKE THIS ADVICE FROM ONE LAWYER,

Keep looking, I think you need to get OUT of this house or it will kill you.

Are there any law firms in your area that take PRO-BONO cases?

(use that phrase with them..) Please keep looking, it is important that you

sue.

On 2/21/08, Jill <jillian0456@...> wrote:

>

> I bought a house 1 year ago, it was FHA approved and had a full home

> inspection. The owner disclosed he knew of no water problems in

> basement and all plumbing was good. With that and my inspection I

> felt pretty good about my purchase. I am a single mother. About six

> months after I bought my home I had water past my shins in my

> basement. This was only the first of many water issues in my

> basement. I then found a black slimy substance on a closet wall and

> mushrooms growing in the closet. I then had a leak in my bathroom

> from exhaust fan, someone came out to look at it and found that the

> previous owner put a bucket under a pipe leak in my attic. the access

> door was in my bedroom, where my son and I sleep. The bucket was

> completely full and about to fall through the floor,(my bathroom

> ceiling)-about 20-25lbs of now ice. He had putty all over the pipes,

> and hadn't capped of the stool vent pipe. I had an open sewer gas

> pipe, the exhaust fan was not vented outside and it appears there is

> mold. The insulation is black in some places. My three year old son

> in the past year has had pretty bad health issues. He has seen an

> allergist and has allergic reactions to almost everything, respitory

> problems and is on a nebulizer, nasal spray, and ashtma pill daily.

> No lawyer will take my case, they say it is too hard to prove- I am

> staying with family but don't know what to do with the house.I can't

> afford to fix all of the problems,and can't sell it. Any insight

> would be greatly appreciated.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I was just thinking, you also really need to get some folks in there who can

give you a honest, common sense answer to how much it REALISTICALLY would

cost to fix things.

I am wondering, did you have a pipe freeze and break? Any court is going to

want to know why didn't you inspect the attic?

Did you do a house inspection?

If it freezes where you live and you are living elsewhere for even just a

few days - if you are not in the house, you NEED to drain the plumbing

system if it freezes where you live. From the lowest point, where there is

always a valve to do this.

Leaving water in pipes in an unheated house is asking for trouble. I don't

know how to deal with water drying up in plumbing traps.. maybe adding a

little bit of oil in each sink drain might be a good idea..

The problem is sewer gas that can come into a house if those traps dry up

and it can be ignited by a pilot light and cause an explosion.

Boom, no more house..

Is there standing water in the basement now? You absolutely cannot leave

standing water in the basement of any house for any time. That is really

important. It has to be drained and everything dried out ASAP or you will

find yourself being blamed for any further damage.

I am sorry to bring these things up but I had to.

[Guest guest]

I did not personally inspect the attic no. I did have a full home inspection and

they stated the attic was fine and it was also ventilated. I did not have a pipe

burst, Someone was trying to conceal a leak and put a bucket under it so it

wouldn't leak into my bathroom which is directly under it. They had a wye

fitting on the stool vent and never capped off one end, but no I do not have

standing water now.

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote: I was just thinking, you

also really need to get some folks in there who can

give you a honest, common sense answer to how much it REALISTICALLY would

cost to fix things.

I am wondering, did you have a pipe freeze and break? Any court is going to

want to know why didn't you inspect the attic?

Did you do a house inspection?

If it freezes where you live and you are living elsewhere for even just a

few days - if you are not in the house, you NEED to drain the plumbing

system if it freezes where you live. From the lowest point, where there is

always a valve to do this.

Leaving water in pipes in an unheated house is asking for trouble. I don't

know how to deal with water drying up in plumbing traps.. maybe adding a

little bit of oil in each sink drain might be a good idea..

The problem is sewer gas that can come into a house if those traps dry up

and it can be ignited by a pilot light and cause an explosion.

Boom, no more house..

Is there standing water in the basement now? You absolutely cannot leave

standing water in the basement of any house for any time. That is really

important. It has to be drained and everything dried out ASAP or you will

find yourself being blamed for any further damage.

I am sorry to bring these things up but I had to.

[Guest guest]

Please call your local mold inspector to come in and test the mold for toxic

mold. Its a simple process. If there is toxic mold in your home sweety you are

living in a state of emergency and need to evacuate your home immediately and

worry about the rest secondary. Get your local phone book or local internet

search for mold tester or mold abatement or mold remediation. Tell them to check

for Stachybotrys and any other toxic mold. It might cost around $200 but that is

nothing when compared at the cost of you and your childs health. So much more to

tell you and we are all here together for you. God Bless you sweety

Elias

J <jackiebreeze@...> wrote:

I once read one could sue the building inspector.

Also, get some estimates how much these repairs will

cost and take it to a magistrate and ask them..beyond

that, I have no clue because it seems we are doomed.

[Guest guest]

Jackie-

I had a similar experience. I have just about exhausted whatever

savings we had on mold work. But here is what I wanted to say: What we

ended up doing to save money was to just gut the basement. Sure, it

was finished and now its a pit but its a clean pit and I can almost

breathe (still some tar issues to deal with).

I know you have alot more areas than just the basement BUT if you can

possibly just gut the bad areas and manage to live cleanly and

comfortably in other rooms of the house maybe that's a solution for

you for now. Then rebuilding can happen whenever you get the funds.

Also, and this is not the most decent way to go, we also thought that

if the gutting didn't work we could try to sell the house and say we

" decided against finishing the basement. " It's not honest but at the

time I was so completely desperate.

>

> J <jackiebreeze@...> wrote:

> I once read one could sue the building inspector.

> Also, get some estimates how much these repairs will

> cost and take it to a magistrate and ask them..beyond

> that, I have no clue because it seems we are doomed.

[Guest guest]

Glad you found one way to handle your toxic mold situation.

Who took everything out from the basement? You have a door from the

basement to the outside? I know it can be pretty messy if you have to

drag all that stuff through the house.

Sometimes you have to make brave decisions. I had to get rid of every

single piece of furniture we had before we had the house remediated.

And then deal with the aftermath of dragging furniture out. But once

they were out and trashed, I went go on my way of cleaning up the

dust; knowing full sure that the furniture would never again bring

mold spores back inside my house.

[Guest guest]

>

> Glad you found one way to handle your toxic mold situation.

> Who took everything out from the basement? You have a door from the

> basement to the outside? I know it can be pretty messy if you have to

> drag all that stuff through the house.

>

> Sometimes you have to make brave decisions. I had to get rid of every

> single piece of furniture we had before we had the house remediated.

> And then deal with the aftermath of dragging furniture out. But once

> they were out and trashed, I went go on my way of cleaning up the

> dust; knowing full sure that the furniture would never again bring

> mold spores back inside my house.

>

I did throw everything out! It was so traumatic too-there was stuff I

was saving for my future grandkids and by the end of the day I

couldn't even watch.

I had a very sympathetic contractor take everything out through a back

window (the door goes through the kitchen!). It cost me thousands of

dollars. But everything is gone-walls, ceiling, everything.