Leaky Roof and Black Mold
 

Hi I own a 30 year old Vancouver special. The ground floor is showing black mold on the ceiling. The Top floor is leaking during the large rain falls. How much do I need to spend on contractors? What work needs to be done? Any recommendations?

Yes.

Its hard to know for sure since there could be quite a bit of damage hidden behind the drywall. Opening it all could lead to many other noticeable issues. I'd plan for the worst like possible structural damage due to rot if the roof has been leaking for a while.
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Unfortunately this is one of those sort of questions that can't really be answered on a message board. It's akin to someone coming here, saying their engine doesn't work and asking what will be needed to fix it. You need to have someone come by and physically look at the damage and poke a couple holes before they can give you an estimate. Call up a bunch of different contractors and get quotes. You'll soon get an average cost. Keep in mind black mold should be removed by a specialist. This will add to the total cost but it's your best choice.

plan on gutting the house....

Well, if the ground floor is showing black mold on the ceiling, I'd say the damage sounds pretty extensive especially if you are implying its purely related to your roof leaking. Like Lomac said, you definitely need someone to assess the damage. The black mold should be removed ASAP as it is absolutely bad for your health. If you have people in the home that are more immuno-compromised, this will wreak havoc in their systems.

All that said, it can also be leaky pipes somewhere to cause black mold in the ground floor ceiling considering its a vancouver special and its not related to the roof at all. Get someone in to look at it.

Since the weather is warming up, if you do have drywall and there are mold showing on that, you can put on a mask, take some bleach and water, and wipe it off. The key thing is, make sure it gets dried. Thats the key to keeping mold out. But that is just a temporary solution until you find the source of the problem.

How bad is the mold? Is it widespread or concentrated? Is there mold on the second floor ceiling as well?

Is it the roof itself that's leaking?

Call up my guys at Masters Remediation and have them come out and survey the damage. They'll tell you exactly whats up. The one guy that does the surveys is just a nut, but in a good way. You look at him, and he has this huge ass mohawk and you just say to yourself, "dear lord" but he knows his stuff.

You are looking at potential Asbestos in the drywall compound and mold in the insulation and drywall. Thankfully, mold protocol and asbestos protocol are the same, so its not like you need to pay more for one, because of the other.

It's fucking expensive. I can't sugar coat that. Their rates are high, and there is extra costs surrounding setup, tear down and disposal.

You are also looking at needing a new roof. Thankfully, roofing is cheap, considering what all is involved in having it done. There is skill there, but its not high.

Two notes: First, people here are happy to chime in on advice, but we need some clear definitions on what the problem is, and some photos. You can't just say, "how much to unfuck this problem" and hope that we have a clue whats happening.

Second: These things happen because you don't stay on top of maintenance. Advice for all...stay on top of this stuff. There are very few companies that won't come out and look at your house and give you their opinion on what needs to be done, in the hopes that their first in approach nets them the work. The only company that won't, is glass. They won't even entertain you on the phone without the credit card number.

Thanks for the response everybody! This last week I was trying to get a better understanding on the problem. Seems like there are several issues.

The roof Leaks during heavy rain.
The upstairs interior south wall seems to have water leakage from rain.

The mold issue seems to be a seperate issue. I traced the areas from the downstairs ceiling where the mold is showing. It appears that it is below the upstairs sinks/piping.
Ie. there may be a leak/drip in the pipes in between the floors. There isn't any particular odours/mildew smell. So hopefully its a leaky pipe and not a mold problem.

Keep uou guys updated soon!

There was a period in buildings in Vancouver where the plumbing was really shitty.

Wait. Sorry...there was a period in time where building in general was really shitty. I notice issues in early 70's creeping up to the crescendo of the leaky condos of the early 90's.

I can always tell the build year by the style of bathroom, and the water stains on the drywall. I did a bathroom on an early 80's house in Delta, and when you pulled the walls out and actually looked at the construction...so bad. 2x4 construction, no insulation and apparently levels were invented in the 90's.

I grew up in a house that was built in 1910ish. It had its quirks in terms of how it was made...but rock solid man. No insulation anywhere, as that wasn't done at the time, but you could tell it was made with, this sounds corny...love.

So, in general terms, those houses went through a few phases...
new and pretty
kind of new and kind of pretty
dated but together
minor cosmetic changes and paint
starting to replace some shit
damn brother, thats shag
Call Norm, its time for This Old House

And the process begins again. The 30 to 40 year time frame on a house is that perfect storm of major mechanical replacement, roof, windows and an interior rehab to finish it off. Then its new and pretty again.

Vancouver Specials were typically done with R20 and R12 paperback, so fortunately they're quite easy to gut from an insulation standpoint. Loose fill insulation, like vermiculite, which often contains asbestos, or blown fiberglass, which doesn't contain asbestos but is chopped up, are very expensive to remove even without considering hazmat procedures. And if the insulation has gotten wet, it's been permanently ruined. You're looking at $3.00-$6.00/foot at best, insulation wise, and a Vancouver Special attic is between 1200-1800sq/ft. And the insulation is only one of a series of areas you'll need to address. The roof reaching the point where its leaking is an expensive oversight, and leaving it longer will increase the pain exponentially. Get this checked out by a pro - NOW.

I'll leave you with one thought - mold is biotic. It's doesn't appear and slowly increase, it appears and exponentially increases with the addition of water (which it already has) and heat (which the sun is now giving it).

Don't leave this for a few months, get it done now before roofers raise rates and the problem magnifies.

i worked electrical for a while and have worked on places that were gutted due to mold and water damage.

you will definitely NEED to gut the place. not a want or a suggestion.

i've refused to work on jobs where the owner just wanted to paint over the mold.

while the house is gutted you should consider doing upgrades/investments. running cat6 is alot easier to do while the walls are open. you could get a centrally located smart panel and run a network switch, internet modem and wifi all in one neat organized area. i personally recommend 2 ports per room. this gives you the added bonus of telus HD tv over ethernet vs coax/rg6 as you will have better overall user experience. if you're handy and know the basics you could rough wire the cat6 yourself and have a professional come in and do the patch work.

having someone check the electrical connections would be a good idea as well.

also, personally i'd swap out the old plumbing with super pex. if your house has poly-b (usually gray in color) for plumbing its worth the investment to get rid of it. ploy-b tends to pinhole over time and will leak on hot water lines (never seen it wear on cold lines) which explains the non rain related water damage you have.

good post, but really only worth it if the structure/exterior of the house is worth it

true,

if the studs are still solid and the house is structurally sound it'll be worth doing the upgrades, especially if he plans on continuing to live there.


otherwise he could make it "livable" without doing the upgrades.

whatever he decides to do he should get on it fast.

He needs to PLAN on gutting the place.

BUT the mold may contained to a smaller area.

The remediation report will determine what's necessary.

and alot of beer :fullofwin:

When they surveyed the apartment I had that was...pretty bad with mold, they mapped it all out and showed that prior to testing, they could do it in a swath down the middle of the unit.

After testing, they found spores everywhere and gutted.