Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 15, 2020 6:52 pm Hi all, I'm currently in the midst of construction and my frame went up during a wet rainy week in melbourne (i know ) Unfortunately a lot of the wood was left exposed and in puddles for 1week+. I just received a inspection report from darbecca and they indicate that there is mould and wood with excess moisture throughout. The inspection report only listed some areas of the frame that is on the floor, which im not too overly worrier about. But I visited the lot today and noticed that the wood they used for the roofing tiles were clearly all mouldy... as well as timber with mould on it hidden under the insulation batts. My SS said hes ordered for a mould specialist to spray some chemicals and dryout the timber frame, but I cant help but be worried. Is this the standard procedure to fix a mould issue? Will the mould on the roofing structure be an issue? wouldn't condensation be present in the roof space increasing the humidity for mould to grow? How will they spray and dry the roofing timber? What about the mould that are already hidden by insulation? Very annoyed with the tradesman who used clearly already mouldy timber for the roof structure, clearly a "not my house, not my problem attitude". Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Mould on timber frame, only these areas alike were shown and listed by darbecca Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Excess timber that was used for the roof framing, these were left in the garage in stockpile Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ mould on the excess timber framing used for the roof found in the garage Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Mould under the insulation batts Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ mould under insulation batts Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Mould on the timber roof framing Any input is highly apreciated. Kind regards, Martin Re: Mould on timber frame 2Jul 15, 2020 10:26 pm Keep taking pictures of mouldy wood including good closeups,making sure you know where it is after its covered,no such thing as too many pictures, document what they have told you they would fix with and how, dates,by whom etc,then research what is best practice for mould on timber,the more you know the better your build will end up,good luck. Re: Mould on timber frame 3Jul 15, 2020 11:57 pm This is so typical of the standard crappy attitudes by most builders and trades. One thing I would definitely push hard for even if you have to do it yourself is hire one of those large diesel powered blower heaters and run it for a day or two inside. We did that when our new build had some water breach our wall wrap during construction last year, after it was plastered. Reverse building is so stupid! I made our SS take down several wall sections of plaster (well I ripped most of it down myself in front of him) and once we realised where the water was we removed all the insulation batts as well and ran a proper heater for 2-3 days. It is important to get that moisture level in the timber down well under 20% otherwise like you are seeing mould will set in. So I would think some proper chemicals applied with some drying should be ok. But don't let them plaster over it whatever you do. That is what they will want to do, I can guarantee it. Out of sight out of mind.... --------------------------------------------------------------------- Check our Homeone build blog here Re: Mould on timber frame 4Jul 16, 2020 7:12 am All the mould needs to be removed by wiping and vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner. Spraying it and issuing a paper ‘guarantee certificate’ is not effective. That’s a rental real estate agents trick. If it’s not completely removed then In the right conditions In future the mould spores will come to life and multiply, creating a serious health hazard and damage to structure, clothing and furniture, which is unlikely to be covered by insurance. The builder just wants to cover it up with plaster and move on. Re: Mould on timber frame 5Jul 16, 2020 9:58 am I remember going through a similar post on Instagram on someone's build journey. I can't remember but it was most likely the big C, it's a public post try searching for it. They had to call in a certified mould inspector (reimbursed by the builder) to get an exact report and remediation actions. Pulled down non load bearing studs to replace with new ones and powder coat the remaining. Like others have said ask for a detailed written report from the builder on their plan to fix it. General question, does a couple weeks of rain enough to start moulding on frames ? or is it a sign of sub standard material used by the builder. Melbourne has been rainy for the past 3 months, if moulding is this common most should see it in their builds. Re: Mould on timber frame 6Jul 16, 2020 10:14 am Mould will grow and multiply on most organic materials, also loves silicone!, given the right moisture conditions caused by water leaks, ground moisture seepage, capillary action, inadequate ventilation etc. Weather conditions and low temperatures can exacerbate mould, but this is not normally the root cause. Be wary of the 'cowboys' in the mould remediation industry using ineffective and dangerous chemical spraying and 'fogging' techniques. The root cause first needs to be fixed and mould spores physically removed from the materials. Re: Mould on timber frame 7Jul 16, 2020 10:19 pm Joker Keep taking pictures of mouldy wood including good closeups,making sure you know where it is after its covered,no such thing as too many pictures, document what they have told you they would fix with and how, dates,by whom etc,then research what is best practice for mould on timber,the more you know the better your build will end up,good luck. I've got plenty of pictures! only problem is that there could be mould hidden under the insulation batts or even in areas in the roof that i cannot see nor take a picture of. darb74 This is so typical of the standard crappy attitudes by most builders and trades. One thing I would definitely push hard for even if you have to do it yourself is hire one of those large diesel powered blower heaters and run it for a day or two inside. We did that when our new build had some water breach our wall wrap during construction last year, after it was plastered. Reverse building is so stupid! I made our SS take down several wall sections of plaster (well I ripped most of it down myself in front of him) and once we realised where the water was we removed all the insulation batts as well and ran a proper heater for 2-3 days. It is important to get that moisture level in the timber down well under 20% otherwise like you are seeing mould will set in. So I would think some proper chemicals applied with some drying should be ok. But don't let them plaster over it whatever you do. That is what they will want to do, I can guarantee it. Out of sight out of mind.... My greatest fear is to having to tackle a mould problem somewhere down the line where it could of been taken care of right now! At the moment, my SS is awaiting a report from a 3rd party mould specialist or pest control on what to do. From his understanding they are going to chemically treat the mould and then run high powered heaters for a few days and monitor the moisture in the air. But I do wonder how their going to chemically treat the mould on the roof as well as under the insulation batts... highly doubt the pest control guys would touch the batts... Norfolk All the mould needs to be removed by wiping and vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner. Spraying it and issuing a paper ‘guarantee certificate’ is not effective. That’s a rental real estate agents trick. If it’s not completely removed then In the right conditions In future the mould spores will come to life and multiply, creating a serious health hazard and damage to structure, clothing and furniture, which is unlikely to be covered by insurance. The builder just wants to cover it up with plaster and move on. The cleaning of the mould will be done via a 3rd party company, (so my SS says). So hopefully we'll receive some form of a report on how it was done and areas. KameGame I remember going through a similar post on Instagram on someone's build journey. I can't remember but it was most likely the big C, it's a public post try searching for it. They had to call in a certified mould inspector (reimbursed by the builder) to get an exact report and remediation actions. Pulled down non load bearing studs to replace with new ones and powder coat the remaining. Like others have said ask for a detailed written report from the builder on their plan to fix it. General question, does a couple weeks of rain enough to start moulding on frames ? or is it a sign of sub standard material used by the builder. Melbourne has been rainy for the past 3 months, if moulding is this common most should see it in their builds. That would be the ultimate fix and a peace of mind. But I highly doubt they would be willing to spend the time and money to do that to my house! The timber frames were in pristine condition when they first went up, but with rain in melbourne some areas sat in pools of water even after the roof went up. these were the areas that the mould was mostly found. As for the roof, some idiot used wood that was already mouldy... Norfolk Mould will grow and multiply on most organic materials, also loves silicone!, given the right moisture conditions caused by water leaks, ground moisture seepage, capillary action, inadequate ventilation etc. Weather conditions and low temperatures can exacerbate mould, but this is not normally the root cause. Be wary of the 'cowboys' in the mould remediation industry using ineffective and dangerous chemical spraying and 'fogging' techniques. The root cause first needs to be fixed and mould spores physically removed from the materials. thankfully we know the cause of the mould. I just really hope they fix it properly and we wont get a mould problem later down the track Thank you all for your replies! I'd just like to say that currently both us and my SS are awaiting a report from this 3rd party mould company. My SS has been great to us so far and has answered all our questions and is guiding us through the build. Him himself didn't put up any of the wood so he had no idea about the mould in the roof as well as under the batts until we told him today! He was under the impression that the mould was only in the areas shown by darbecca. He said hell get back to me on the others areas. (fingers crossed) Re: Mould on timber frame 8Jul 16, 2020 10:50 pm Australia's leading mould expert is Dr Cameron Jones. Google him. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. This certainly doesn't look good. I would be engaging with an independent inspector to have a look at this. As for the unscheduled site visits, most builders are quite… 1 28161 This is 100% true. You can not hang anything on steel frames. very frustrating 8 5313 Thanks Pulse, thats really helpful and very much appreciated. Also thanks for the pointer on sheathing, thats me watching too many american youtube videos! 6 2750 |