January 4, 2016Cincinnati Revdex.comCincinnati, OhioRe: [redacted]Complaint I.D. #[redacted]Dear [redacted]This letter is to confirm receipt of the complaint filed with your office regarding mold remediation at the home of [redacted]. Our scope of work was to...
clean and remove mold from the joists and ceiling sheathing in the crawl space of the home as well as to apply a fungal sealer and remove the water impacted vapor barrier. We did all of the above as well as wipe down and treat the walls in the interior of the house even though it was not part of the contract. The reason for this remedial work as we understood it was that there had been a plumbing breakwhich left water on and under the plastic vapor barrier causing mold growth. From the beginning [redacted] had made it clear that he didn’t have much money and that they were on a fixed income and that [redacted] was very ill from mold. It was for these reasons that we did a complimentary cleaning and treatment of the interior of the home.We removed the water and moisture impacted plastic from underneath the house. The purpose of a vapor barrier is to prevent naturally occurring moisture and water vapor from rising from the ground and wetting the wood building materials. Since money was an issue we removed only the plastic that was wet or had water under it. [redacted] was to replace the vapor barrier later at his convenience since money was tight. From the very beginning money was an issue. We bent over backwards to help the [redacted]. Initially our proposal was $2400 and then $1800 and finally $1200 which is very low for this type of work. The work was basically done at our cost with little to no profit.It is important to mention that we did our work and we did it properly. At no time did we guarantee that mold would not return for five years. There are simply too many factors out of our control such as, new pipe breaks, rain, improperly installed moisture barrier, flooding, inadequate air flow etc... Further we don’t believe that it was a failure of our work that caused new mold growth but a failure [redacted] to understand the dynamics in play under his house. In the complaint [redacted] stated that he Closed the vents under the house due to the weather. The purpose of these vents are to provide adequate ventilation at all times and to prevent stagnation of moisture laden air which causes mold. This air movement is crucial even in the winter. That is why the pipes underneath the home should be insulated to help prevent freezing. The cavity between the floor joists and the floor should have insulation as well which will keep the floors from being so cold. The same principle of cross ventilation exist in the attics with gable vent and soffit vents. If the soffit vents are covered by insulation the moisture laden air has no where to go and settles on the truss’ and sheathing setting up a perfect condition for mold growth. The only difference between the two is that there is no moisture from the ground requiring a moisture barrier in the attic. Attics generally have fans, turbines or ridge vents to aid in air movement. Homes that have poor under the house ventilation and heavy moisture problems generally have a humistat installed which would pull the air and moisture out of the crawlspace. These devices are designed to automatically shut off and on at certain temperatures and are relatively inexpensive. When we finished our work and left the home the crawlspace did not have any of the above. Lastly ,we have no idea when or if the [redacted] installed a new vapor barrier.However we know that when we left their home there were no pools of water in the crawl space. Yes, the ground was wet and moist from washing and treating the joists and floor sheathing with the mold killer and fungal sealer but not enough to stay wet long enough to cause mold growth.. If the crawl space vents were closed and no moisture barrier was installed it is completely plausible that pent up moisture from the ground eroded the sealer allowing for new mold growth. It is not uncommon to encounter dripping water from pipes and joists where there is no air flow. The optimum temperature for mold growth is between 68 and 86 degrees but can easily grow above and under these temperatures. The key to controlling mold growth is to control water and moisture. In this case it would not matter if the crawl space was sanitized and re-treated if the moisture beneath the house is not controlled the mold would simply re-grow.It is important to mention that when [redacted] contacted me I was out of state on vacation with my family. I told him that I would set up a time to come out and check the crawl space the first of the next week.Before I could return I had received several harsh,ugly and degrading voice mails and emails. In some of them he called me ugly names such as a thief, liar,crook and swindler.This kind of aggressive language simply discouraged me from calling him. If he was this aggressive in his emails and letters who knows what kind of confrontation might have occurred had I gone to his house and disagreed with him. Further,I have attached a copy of the agreement for you to review. I still do not understand why he waited nearly 10 months to contact us. Please feel free to call me at ###-###-####, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the situation.Sincerely,Hugh J.Operations Manager
January 4, 2016Cincinnati Revdex.comCincinnati, OhioRe: [redacted]Complaint I.D. #[redacted]Dear [redacted]This letter is to confirm receipt of the complaint filed with your office regarding mold remediation at the home of [redacted]. Our scope of work was to...
clean and remove mold from the joists and ceiling sheathing in the crawl space of the home as well as to apply a fungal sealer and remove the water impacted vapor barrier. We did all of the above as well as wipe down and treat the walls in the interior of the house even though it was not part of the contract. The reason for this remedial work as we understood it was that there had been a plumbing breakwhich left water on and under the plastic vapor barrier causing mold growth. From the beginning [redacted] had made it clear that he didn’t have much money and that they were on a fixed income and that [redacted] was very ill from mold. It was for these reasons that we did a complimentary cleaning and treatment of the interior of the home.We removed the water and moisture impacted plastic from underneath the house. The purpose of a vapor barrier is to prevent naturally occurring moisture and water vapor from rising from the ground and wetting the wood building materials. Since money was an issue we removed only the plastic that was wet or had water under it. [redacted] was to replace the vapor barrier later at his convenience since money was tight. From the very beginning money was an issue. We bent over backwards to help the [redacted]. Initially our proposal was $2400 and then $1800 and finally $1200 which is very low for this type of work. The work was basically done at our cost with little to no profit.It is important to mention that we did our work and we did it properly. At no time did we guarantee that mold would not return for five years. There are simply too many factors out of our control such as, new pipe breaks, rain, improperly installed moisture barrier, flooding, inadequate air flow etc... Further we don’t believe that it was a failure of our work that caused new mold growth but a failure [redacted] to understand the dynamics in play under his house. In the complaint [redacted] stated that he Closed the vents under the house due to the weather. The purpose of these vents are to provide adequate ventilation at all times and to prevent stagnation of moisture laden air which causes mold. This air movement is crucial even in the winter. That is why the pipes underneath the home should be insulated to help prevent freezing. The cavity between the floor joists and the floor should have insulation as well which will keep the floors from being so cold. The same principle of cross ventilation exist in the attics with gable vent and soffit vents. If the soffit vents are covered by insulation the moisture laden air has no where to go and settles on the truss’ and sheathing setting up a perfect condition for mold growth. The only difference between the two is that there is no moisture from the ground requiring a moisture barrier in the attic. Attics generally have fans, turbines or ridge vents to aid in air movement. Homes that have poor under the house ventilation and heavy moisture problems generally have a humistat installed which would pull the air and moisture out of the crawlspace. These devices are designed to automatically shut off and on at certain temperatures and are relatively inexpensive. When we finished our work and left the home the crawlspace did not have any of the above. Lastly ,we have no idea when or if the [redacted] installed a new vapor barrier.However we know that when we left their home there were no pools of water in the crawl space. Yes, the ground was wet and moist from washing and treating the joists and floor sheathing with the mold killer and fungal sealer but not enough to stay wet long enough to cause mold growth.. If the crawl space vents were closed and no moisture barrier was installed it is completely plausible that pent up moisture from the ground eroded the sealer allowing for new mold growth. It is not uncommon to encounter dripping water from pipes and joists where there is no air flow. The optimum temperature for mold growth is between 68 and 86 degrees but can easily grow above and under these temperatures. The key to controlling mold growth is to control water and moisture. In this case it would not matter if the crawl space was sanitized and re-treated if the moisture beneath the house is not controlled the mold would simply re-grow.It is important to mention that when [redacted] contacted me I was out of state on vacation with my family. I told him that I would set up a time to come out and check the crawl space the first of the next week.Before I could return I had received several harsh,ugly and degrading voice mails and emails. In some of them he called me ugly names such as a thief, liar,crook and swindler.This kind of aggressive language simply discouraged me from calling him. If he was this aggressive in his emails and letters who knows what kind of confrontation might have occurred had I gone to his house and disagreed with him. Further,I have attached a copy of the agreement for you to review. I still do not understand why he waited nearly 10 months to contact us. Please feel free to call me at ###-###-####, we welcome the opportunity to discuss the situation.Sincerely,Hugh J.Operations Manager