Re: Tearing Down my house. Need advice please - Not to contaminate the ground.

[Guest guest]

have heard that you are supposed to take out the earth to a depth of 3

feet-also, what are you going to build? if a slab, you could bring in

lots of compact fill,then stones, but a stilt house might be great-lots

of air underneighth-but I guess it depends on where you live-I would be

very worried about any contact with the earth-also build with steel-use

no wood at all-and no sheetrock-only DEns-armour plus-please put it in

the contract that they use no equipment that has visible mold-and

absolutly no wood-I rebuilt,and only lasted a week in my new house

because of wet wood.

>

> What can I do to treat the ground? I know there will be a large

concentration of various

> molds soaking into the ground.

>

> Any advice on who to call, what kind of company, chemicals, anything

to insure I am not

> going to rebuild on contaminated ground and have the same problem

again?

>

> Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

>

[Guest guest]

When was your house built? Have you tested the house for asbestos,

lead paint, etc.

>

> What can I do to treat the ground? I know there will be a large

> concentration of various

> molds soaking into the ground.

>

> Any advice on who to call, what kind of company, chemicals, anything to

> insure I am not

> going to rebuild on contaminated ground and have the same problem again?

You should find a qualified environmental testing firm and have them

test the building materials used in your house for toxic lead paint,

asbestos and other environmental toxicants.

Mold in a house should be taken care of along with the other building

materials when they are carted off.

Houses aren't built on rubble.. they will remove everything, leaving

you with a dirt lot.

You can bring in topsoil to cover it with.. most people do that,

because heavy equipment destroys the topsoil

Make sure the topsoil is decent quality.. (doesn't present problems

of its own!)

Dirt is inherently the product of microbial decomposition. The biggest

mold issue with any site is moisture.

Where did the moisture that made your previous home so moldy come

from? Leaks, bad construction, groundwater, bad maintenance(of

previous owner- or you before you know what you know now), bad

ventilation of water vapor from occupant use?

Whatever it was, it had to be bad, and its hopeful that you wont make

the same mistakes, but be aware that mold spores are floating around

in the air and that in order for mold to grow, the #1 requirement is

water. Then comes food, then comes everything else, even spores.

Spores are everywhere.

If you live in any really wet area, the most crucial issue is keeping

your home dry, and making sure you have air exchange with the outside

as well as low enough humidity everywhere there is mold food

(especially sheetrock) to prevent mold growth.

[Guest guest]

The house is only around 14 years old. No worries on anything except a couple

dozen

kinds of mold.

>

> When was your house built? Have you tested the house for asbestos,

> lead paint, etc.

>

[Guest guest]

We're using steel studs. I have to build on a 3 ft. raised slab. I will not

let them even

bring a table saw in the house while building.

My builder is VERY familiar with my situation, we just want to " kill the ground "

before we

put anything down. I am only allowed to bring grade 8 white sand in.

>

> have heard that you are supposed to take out the earth to a depth of 3

> feet-also, what are you going to build? if a slab, you could bring in

> lots of compact fill,then stones, but a stilt house might be great-lots

> of air underneighth-but I guess it depends on where you live-I would be

> very worried about any contact with the earth-also build with steel-use

> no wood at all-and no sheetrock-only DEns-armour plus-please put it in

> the contract that they use no equipment that has visible mold-and

> absolutly no wood-I rebuilt,and only lasted a week in my new house

> because of wet wood.

>

> >

> > What can I do to treat the ground? I know there will be a large

> concentration of various

> > molds soaking into the ground.

> >

> > Any advice on who to call, what kind of company, chemicals, anything

> to insure I am not

> > going to rebuild on contaminated ground and have the same problem

> again?

> >

> > Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

How did you find a builder that is familiar with this sort of thing?

>

>

> My builder is VERY familiar with my situation, we just want to " kill

the ground " before we

> put anything down. I am only allowed to bring grade 8 white sand in.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Maybe I said that wrong. He is familiar with how sick I am and how I got this

way. It's

been a LONG three years and he has stuck by me for anything I need. He realizes

that

special attention needs to be taken around me and the materials they use. He

saw me get

worse and worse. He is a very nice person and very understanding.

We just have no clue what to do with the ground and no one around here (where I

live)

does either.

> >

> >

> > My builder is VERY familiar with my situation, we just want to " kill

> the ground " before we

> > put anything down. I am only allowed to bring grade 8 white sand in.

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Live - Call me whatever you like. Doesn't really matter.

Now, dumb question, what is PPE? I called a mold company and they told me that

there

are no regulations here, then quoted me a price of $35,000.OO to strip the house

but

leave the furniture. I can't afford that and rebuild. I am on such a tight

budget.

I am in florida so the first 3 feet or so is sand. AND, the city will only

allow me to bring in

grade 8-9 white sand. Our foundations are built up, filled with sand then

watered down

for days so they will pack.

Maybe I am worrying about something that I shouldn't. I just don't want to

every go

through that nightmare ever again.

Maybe I can have a back hoe come in and scrape off the first couple of feet,

then fill it with

new sand??

I'm taking the foundation, driveway and sidewalk out as well.

>

> Semco semoc semco (what do you want to be called, its tiring typing

> the same thing 3 times...)

>

[Guest guest]

Carl, how would i know what to look for regarding asbestos? The siding is

hardiplank and

believe it or not, most of the drywall has been removed and replaced during the

two

attempts at remediation.

I called the environmental agencies today and was given a number that doesn't

accept

calls. The city seems to be unconcerned, even though there are houses within 15

feet of

mine.

> > >

> > > have heard that you are supposed to take out the earth to a depth of 3

> > > feet-also, what are you going to build? if a slab, you could bring in

> > > lots of compact fill,then stones, but a stilt house might be great-lots

> > > of air underneighth-but I guess it depends on where you live-I would be

> > > very worried about any contact with the earth-also build with steel-use

> > > no wood at all-and no sheetrock-only DEns-armour plus-please put it in

> > > the contract that they use no equipment that has visible mold-and

> > > absolutly no wood-I rebuilt,and only lasted a week in my new house

> > > because of wet wood.

> > >

> > > >

> > > > What can I do to treat the ground? I know there will be a large

> > > concentration of various

> > > > molds soaking into the ground.

> > > >

> > > > Any advice on who to call, what kind of company, chemicals, anything

> > > to insure I am not

> > > > going to rebuild on contaminated ground and have the same problem

> > > again?

> > > >

> > > > Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ------------------------------------

> >

> > FAIR USE NOTICE:

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I will call the extensions office tomorrow and see if they are allowed in the

city. And if

they are safe for pets.

>

> Live - Call me whatever you like. Doesn't really matter.

>

> Now, dumb question, what is PPE?

[Guest guest]

Most states only control removal of asbestos if a contractor does the

work-She is not doing the work herself, so the contractor makes these

determinations , and takes the refuse to the proper faclity-it can be

difficult to fnd an asbestos certified dump,but everyone knows what

asbestos siding looks like-and the old small tiles. No one will really

cares about lead in a total tear down

LiveSimply <quackadillian@...> wrote:

>

> When was your house built? Have you tested the house for asbestos,

> lead paint, etc.

>

[Guest guest]

Dont rush to build, there are so many technics for building now- I

hope you have not rushed in your decision and tht you are building

without wood or sheetrock. the toxin and MVOC's can persist in the soil-

it is good to scrape it out and put in new sand.> We're using steel

studs. I have to build on a 3 ft. raised slab. I will not let them

even

> bring a table saw in the house while building.

>

> My builder is VERY familiar with my situation, we just want to " kill

the ground " before we

> put anything down. I am only allowed to bring grade 8 white sand in.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

How about spraying the area with an ammonia/water (quatro?) mixture,

then follow-up with Bio Cat+ II - an enzyme treatment.

>

> We're using steel studs. I have to build on a 3 ft. raised slab. I

will not let them even

> bring a table saw in the house while building.

>

> My builder is VERY familiar with my situation, we just want to " kill

the ground " before we

> put anything down. I am only allowed to bring grade 8 white sand in.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I understand what you are saying, but I am not in a position to afford to wait.

Plus, living

in rental homes just causes one problem after another. The current home smells

like it

was doused in Febreeze or something like that and I cannot get it to go away.

Another

rental house will have similar situations. The air conditioning systems in

rental homes

where I am are all filled with mold, yet another bad situation........

>

> Dont rush to build, there are so many technics for building now- I

> hope you have not rushed in your decision and tht you are building

> without wood or sheetrock. the toxin and MVOC's can persist in the soil-

> it is good to scrape it out and put in new sand.> We're using steel

> studs. I have to build on a 3 ft. raised slab. I will not let them

> even

> > bring a table saw in the house while building.

> >

> > My builder is VERY familiar with my situation, we just want to " kill

> the ground " before we

> > put anything down. I am only allowed to bring grade 8 white sand in.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry,I missed the part that the house is only 14 years old? then

asbestos and lead are a moot point. -but taking out the ground if you

are determined to build again in the same place sounds like a great

idea-earth moving is pretty cheap-good luck-I have had such bad luck

building and moving. Where are you going to liive while building?-will

probably take a year to get everything done. If you are sick-a year is

a good time to heal-took me a year and 3 months the first recovery-but

then if you are sensitized you will probable get sick again and curse

the building you are living in-no matter where you are. The dirty

secret of mold illness-never able to retain health.

> Most states only control removal of asbestos if a contractor

does the

> work-She is not doing the work herself, so the contractor makes these

> determinations , and takes the refuse to the proper faclity-it can be

> difficult to fnd an asbestos certified dump,but everyone knows what

> asbestos siding looks like-and the old small tiles. No one will

really

> cares about lead in a total tear down

>

> LiveSimply <quackadillian@> wrote:

> >

> > When was your house built? Have you tested the house for asbestos,

> > lead paint, etc.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

They might also have run glade plug-ins. I find that glade plug-ins

simply do not leave a place. It took over a year at my bf's apt where

his daughter used to live and used them because of her dogs. I think

it bonds with the paint. Perhaps it is worth painting one room, like

the bedroom, with a safe paint like AFM Safecoat or Bioshield, and see

if that improves things? And move upholstered furniture out of that

room. For six months, it might even be worth buying yourself a new bed

in that room, or at least very good mattress cover.

[Guest guest]

LOL.I don't know whether it's better to have MCS or not. At least you

avoid poisons like that because you have to...

Anyway, a coat of paint could help seal them in. A healthy paint, mind

you. I would try to create a " safe " bedroom in your rental house:

windows open, door closed, air purifier like Austin (mini healthmate),

repaint that one room, remove anything upholstered, and put a good

100% cotton mattress cover on the mattress. BTW, any new cotton has to

be washed a few times because of chemicals in it.

>

> All those air fresheners are hideous aren't they? I think we should

for a coalition and run through the stores that sell them and put

stickers renaming them to Air Toxifiers. Watch the newspapers, I may

be the first one arrested to this crime.......

>

[Guest guest]

Live,

In Florida, insurance companies are real fast in charging outrageous premiums,

taking

your money, canceling everyone they can then not paying.

My insurance company has had my claim for almost a year and they are yet to

determine

coverage or not. They won't accept or deny the claim. There is no state

legislation in

place to stop them from doing that.

They just want to wait it out and 1. see if you will go away or 2. starve you

out until you

will accept pennies on the dollar.

Then, of course, cancel you on any policy you have a claim on. I have 2

policies, 2 claims

and that's the norm for Florida.

>

> Hold on, that oesn't sound like standard operating practice

>

> Because..water damage came first, and that is usually a covered loss.

>