Ceiling Mould

haywgl · Apr 10, 2008 9:07 am

Hi guys,

I have a question about the townhouse we currently live in. A few years back when we first moved in we noticed areas of the ceiling were appearing damp and water was coming through (dripping) when it rained.

We had some people out who determined it was coming from the upstairs balcony, they claimed to have fixed it but occasionally we still get the odd bubbling under the ceiling plaster and the areas have changed colour to a sort of off yellow - which I'm guessing might be mould...

They came out to paint over it about a month ago and I have just looked up and sure enough the old yellow patch is back...

Is there anything we can do to get rid of it....Im worried for my children health wise and also it doesn't look nice, I thought painting over it would have done the trick but it has just come through again....

Any help would be great

Cheers
Bel

3timesbuilda · Apr 10, 2008 9:14 am

I think it is only the black mold that you need to worry about but worth checking. Get them to come out and fix it again.

royalblue · Apr 10, 2008 9:39 am

3timesbuilda

I think it is only the black mold that you need to worry about but worth checking. Get them to come out and fix it again.

BUZZZZ

Your concerns about mould are quite justified. Definitely demand they return (or better still, a more competent contractor. The damp area should be measured with moisture meters to determine dryness. They should not have painted over unless they had a positively dry surface.

Kepp plenty of ventilation to the room, and have child sleep in other room if you can.

Ash.

Kryten · Apr 10, 2008 9:39 am

If it keeps happening it could be that the balcony membrane has failed, or there isn't one installed. We had a similar issue at a Body Corporate that we managed and it turned out to be that a membrane had not been installed and it leaked every time it rained.

A plumber should be able to do a leak detection test which should show if it is the membrane or another underlying issue.

haywgl · Apr 10, 2008 11:49 am

Thanks everyone!

Kryten - Ours is a body corporate lot of townhouses in Newport, I wonder if it is the same one

I'll definatly give a local plumber a call....they did come and rip up all the balcony tiles and put new ones down - we haven't had any further roof leaks but the yellow patch won't go away

Ash - Its not in the kids bedrooms - but the main living area so just as bad. I just googled ceiling mould and it said ventilation is the key - I have all windows open - I just applied some diluted bleach to it too and the yellow colour is gone

3xb - Originally it was dark in one patch but after they 'fixed' it and painted it cmes back yellow...

Thanks again guys

royalblue · Apr 10, 2008 12:04 pm

proper course of action;

1. Investigate to determine where & how water is getting in. Fix it.

2. Measure moisture with moisture detection instruments.

3. Dry any wet materials (either allowing to dry naturally or by assisted drying).

4. Repair any damaged materials & paint.

Typically, a plumber will only address 1.

A qualified water damage restoration technician is worth having in to address 2 and 3.

Ash.

haywgl · Apr 10, 2008 12:15 pm

Hey Ash

Thanks for all the info - do you know how I would get onto such a technician - where would I look up phone numbers etc (I'm in Melbourne)

Thanks again
Belinda

royalblue · Apr 10, 2008 12:28 pm

Many carpet cleaners are trained in WDR, but not all. You could look in the yellow pages, and look for carpet cleaners that are qualified in WDR.

However, you shouldn't have to. If you are renting, it should be your property manager that arranges the appropriate tradies.

Ash.

haywgl · Apr 10, 2008 1:36 pm

Thanks Ash, sorry we actually own the property...but we are under a body corporate scheme.

Will look in the white pages

Kryten · Apr 11, 2008 7:24 pm

Bel

I would report this to your Body Corporate manager - the internal damage should be covered under the Body Corporate's insurance policy. I would also get the manager to check the strata plan, as some balconies I have come across before are not noted as part of the title and are technically a Body Corporate responsibility to repair. If it is on the title, the cost to repair will unfortunately be your cost, howver the insurance will still rectify the water damage.

Either way, the insurance company will send someone out to check the damage and the underlying cause and will advise what needs to be done to rectify the leak.

HTH

Michelle · Apr 11, 2008 7:33 pm

Yep….tell them to stop buggering around by painting it, that’s not going to fix or help anything! :evil:

Tell them you want it fixed! Maybe a leak in the roof tiles.