Mold, fungus invade house in Bar Harbor

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http://www.mdislander.com/thisweek/mdi_news3_04-18-02.html

Mold, fungus invade house

By Dougherty

Anne Michaud displays her rotted and bug-damaged wood house in Hulls Cove.

CHRIS DOUGHERTY PHOTO

BAR HARBOR - Anne Michaud wanted to come back to Maine to take pictures and

move her mother out of the Houston heat. She bought a house in Hulls Cove in

2000 for $79,000 in cash.

" It's just incredible, " she says now. " It's a nightmare. "

The 1951-built, wood-framed, two-story house on Loren Avenue, she says, is

making her sick. If she spends too much time inside she develops hoarseness,

muscle pain, itchy eyes and fatigue. She has trouble sleeping and is

starting to lose short-term memory. She is irritable.

Ms. Michaud, a retired teacher who had been house hunting here since 1997,

believes her problems are related to the extensive mold found throughout the

house. Some of the fungi, she says, are toxic.

" This is a shame. This is a sin to dump something like this on someone. I'd

never rent it to anybody because it would kill them, " she said. " I love this

place, but I can't breathe. "

Before buying the house, Ms. Michaud thought her biggest problem was

aluminum wiring. She commissioned a standard inspection by a reputable

engineering firm. The inspector gave the house an overall " good " rating. It

was a " limited visual " inspection conducted on August 8, 2000.

In the report, the firm noted that despite it being a visual and

non-invasive test, " we do, of course, look for problems, particularly those

we would consider major deficiencies, " which would be those that would cost

$1,000 or more to correct.

Ms. Michaud said that within the first month of buying the house she spent

$5,000. To date she has spent a total of $90,000, to buy and to correct

deficiencies in the property.

Ms. Michaud wishes that she had done more homework before becoming a

homebuyer and that she had lifted the carpets, in spite of the fact she

claims she was told not too.

" I'm trying to get the message across that you have to do your homework, and

if you find a frog in the cellar, forget it, " she said.

Ms. Michaud's nightmare started when she suspected she had carpenter ants.

She started pulling at the wood siding and found it crumbled in her hands.

She also discovered signs of wood-boring beetles. But the real health hazard

is coming from the collection of mold and mildew that has permeated the

house.

Her contractor, LeFurgy of General Home Construction in Ellsworth,

says that 65 percent of the house should be demolished because of rot and

mold.

" This is the worse scenario I've ever seen, " said Mr. LeFurgy, who has been

in the construction business for 30 years, mostly in Long Island, NY. Mr.

LeFurgy said when he and his crew pulled off the material on the outside of

the house they were overwhelmed by the effects of the mold. He and his crew

now wear protective suits and respirators.

Excessive moisture got into the home, causing the rot and mold.

Molds are everywhere. They are microscopic fungi that can be found in soil,

in the air and on plant and animal matter. Most of the time they do not

cause problems, although sensitive individuals or those with suppressed

immune systems can come down with asthma, chronic sinusitis and allergies.

Certain kinds of mold are known to produce poisonous offshoots that are

suspected of causing some kinds of cancer as well as a fatal lung illness.

Molds need a warm, moist place to grow and will grow anywhere indoors where

there is moisture. They are particularly fond of cellulose as a food source,

and indulge on paper and paper products and wood. Molds also will grow on

wallpaper, insulation, drywall, carpet and fabric.

Mr. LeFurgy said the house had been sealed tight to save the heat, but

instead it encouraged the problems. Nevertheless, he said, " the house in not

beyond repair. It can be salvaged. "

He has been opening up airflow in the crawlspace under the house and through

the ridge vent. Next, the inside of the house will have to be gutted because

once mold gets into the drywall and sheeting, it cannot be salvaged.

Ms. Michaud has not cultured the molds in her house, which can be smelled

upon entering, but she plans to so she knows what her next plan of action

will be. An environmental engineer is coming this week. He told her it was

not necessary to spend money on the test because he knew what it was, having

seen so much of it already. It was Stachybotrys chartarum, a slimy black

mold that produces mycotoxins, a hazardous material released by the fungus.

Ms. Michaud thinks the inspection outfit made a mistake in missing the rot

and mold.

" Neither of us knew how bad it was until we got into it, " she said of

herself and Mr. LeFurgy. " I was really picky. I didn't know about mold, but

I knew about moisture. I don't want to make a killing. I just want them to

take care of the damages and to make the public aware. "