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Mould Prevention
In British Columbia we have the unfortunate pleasure of living in a rainforest. This fact is both a blessing and a curse; it’s the reason we have beautiful greenery all year round, but is also one of the reasons we have such high occurrences of mould growth inside our houses. One of the reasons for this is when our houses are being built in the rainy season (Sep-May), the moisture content in the wood framing and OSB is often too high before putting up the drywall. Moisture content needs to be checked before closing drywall and should never be higher than 19%. If this doesn’t happen, mould has the potential to grow inside the walls.
This is the reason why mould lawsuits for new home construction have sky rocketed around North America. With the legal community saying that mould is the new “asbestos”, builders are finding themselves liable at epidemic rates:
So what can be done?
At Medallion Healthy homes we use Foster® construction products. The Foster® construction products are designed for application to building materials at the time of construction and remodeling projects to protect materials from water penetration while offering a product that is highly resistant to mold growth.
The products are excellent for application to a variety of building materials and a range of locations prone to high moisture content that can lead to mold growth. Foster® 42-42™ is the perfect product for use on surfaces not easily seen, such as wall cavities, ceiling/floor joists, crawl spaces and attics. When tested under the rigorous parameters of ASTM D-5590 it exhibits no growth.
Foster® 42-42™ Mold Resistant Sealer is an easy-to-use, specially formulated, low viscosity sealer designed to provide water resistance to building materials and a coating that is resistant to mold growth.
The product contains water resistant polymers to mitigate water penetration and fungistatic agents that provide long-term resistance to the growth of mold or mildew on its surface.
This advance formulation allows the product to inhibit mold growth both during the construction phase and after the walls of the structure have been enclosed. Foster 42-42 is excellent for use in new construction, as well as remodeling projects, where moisture leading to mold growth is a concern.
Marijuana Grow-Op's
My house had a Grow-Op in it, should I be worried about toxic mould?
YES, when a house or building has marijuana grow operation, it creates an environment of excessively high levels of humidity. They’re literally putting a greenhouse inside a house or building. It’s this high humidity that causes most grow houses to have excessive amounts of mould growing inside the structure. Mould needs very little to grow: a food source (wood, paper, drywall, or dust), mould spores, an amiable temperature, and moisture. What this means is that practically every house and building in the known world has the ability to grow mould if you add moisture. A marijuana grow-op is a disaster waiting to happen. Why? It only takes 24- 48 hours for mould to start growing after being exposed to a moisture source like high humidity. Many of these grow-op’s are in operation for years!
The first thing a person needs to do is bring in an expert to do a Certified Mould Inspection of the structure and assess the situation. This will allow the inspector to determine some very important questions:
- Is there mould present?
- How extensive and concentrated the colonies are?
- What type of mould is present?
- Should air or other mould samples be taken?
- What will the scope of work be to repair the potential mould problem?
- Can the house safely be inhabited?
At Medallion Healthy homes we have been doing the remediation Grow Op's for over 9 years. We have the expertise to help you through the process of getting your house back to a livable and safe environment. Give us a call.
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