randynavarro Posted March 5, 2013 Report Posted March 5, 2013 Never seen it before. . . North side of roof. Not consistent throughout, only random spots. Any ideas? Click to Enlarge 43.75 KB Click to Enlarge 51.25 KB Click to Enlarge 33.05 KB
Scottpat Posted March 5, 2013 Report Posted March 5, 2013 The nails in those areas are rusty so we know it is moisture related. I would be looking at ventilation and or something pumping up moisture/warm air into the attic under or near that area.
John Kogel Posted March 5, 2013 Report Posted March 5, 2013 I'd call that a wood-loving fungus. [] We see that fungus on wood in the lumber yard, where planks have sat too long in the rain. Or just out in the bush. Each plant spreads out from a central point. I'll venture to say that it will be hard to eliminate, because that type will draw moisture from the wood itself. It's not the typical mold that drifts in later.
hausdok Posted March 5, 2013 Report Posted March 5, 2013 North slope, No sunlight. The underside of the deck stays cool from October to May regardless of how sunny it is outside. Fungi abides. Did you check the whole house air change timer? Were they even using it? If they were, were they running the system long enough to be effective? Look behind the dial. They often look fine but they aren't working 'cuz the springs are broken (see photo below from a 4 year old home). Click to Enlarge 28.95 KB Without anything removing the moisture from the house, it migrates by diffusion into the attic and ends up condensing on the cool underside of the north slope. The fungi was already there; it just needed enough moisture to sustain it and allow the spores to multiply faster than they die off - something they can't normally do on the south and west slopes, and sometimes the east slope, 'cuz those sides get enough sunlight to stay warm enough to evaporate the moisture. Ten years ago we'd have told them to treat it with some Cuprinol and go on with their lives. Now the only safe (for your livelihood) thing to do to avoid the "toxic mold" crazies from talking folks into suing you is to recommend they get it professionally abated or the subject will come up again when they go to sell the home. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike
Erby Posted March 6, 2013 Report Posted March 6, 2013 This reminds me of the fungus I ran into in a crawl space a few years ago and just came back across the picture. http://b4uclose.tripod.com/cockamamieph ... ungus?i=21
mlparham Posted March 12, 2013 Report Posted March 12, 2013 Never seen it before. . . North side of roof. Not consistent throughout, only random spots. Any ideas? Click to Enlarge 43.75?KB Click to Enlarge 51.25?KB Click to Enlarge 33.05?KB Water in the crawl space or basement.
Tom Raymond Posted March 12, 2013 Report Posted March 12, 2013 Morgan, you do realize those are roof trusses in the pics, right? I have only ever been in one house where the moisture in the crawl was contributing to the fungal forest in the attic. The most cost effective way to air seal it would have been to bulldoze it and start over. If this is how you inspect, remind me never to stand on or under anything you've engineered.
Jim Katen Posted March 13, 2013 Report Posted March 13, 2013 I see wet crawlspaces contributing to attic moisture problems regularly.
mlparham Posted March 23, 2013 Report Posted March 23, 2013 Morgan, you do realize those are roof trusses in the pics, right? I have only ever been in one house where the moisture in the crawl was contributing to the fungal forest in the attic. The most cost effective way to air seal it would have been to bulldoze it and start over. If this is how you inspect, remind me never to stand on or under anything you've engineered. Somebody's eraser shield is all in a wad.
hausdok Posted March 23, 2013 Report Posted March 23, 2013 Inspection from last week, brand new house.. I came out of the crawl and said, "You've got some stuff growing all over 100% of the underside of the house, yadda, yadda, best get it dealt with or when you go to sell the house some guy like me is gonna come out of there and tell the buyer, "You've got some stuff growing all over 100% of the underside of the house......" They asked the builder to have an abatement firm remove it and treat with a fungicide and make everything pretty again. Builder responded back, "We treated with microban (or something like that - not sure) biocide before installing the insulation or putting down the vapor barrier. Home has been resinspected since and we didn't find any additional growth; so we aren't going to do anything about it, yadda, yadda..." Click to Enlarge 513.05 KB Click to Enlarge 482.36 KB Click to Enlarge 497.91 KB Click to Enlarge 404.76 KB I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I'm happy that someone has finally taken a stand and said, "No f****n' more! I'm not spending another $6K to $10K to remove something that can't hurt anyone. I'll spray it - that's what we used to do back in the day - and they can accept it or walk away," but on the other hand I'm like, "What? They knew about this and didn't bother to tell you before you hired me and spent nearly $700 for an inspection? Why didn't they just tell you about it up-front and give you the option of walking away or saying, "Ok, that sounds reasonable. I want to make an offer despite that."?" I'm curious to know how they know there's been no additional growth. There are hundreds of thousands of spots down there. Did they count them? Maybe they were just figuring that home inspectors are stupid and will never see it.....I dunno. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now