Avoiding Mold, Mildew And Dry Rot When Building A New Home
By Greg Vanden Berge
Home mold has become the topic of today's new
construction and home building markets. It has always been a problem
with homebuilders, but it is starting to become a bigger problem with
new homebuilders.
New homes aren't going to be affected by mold as much as older homes,
that are already suffering from mold and mildew.
Here's some problems to look for when building or
framing a new house.
I have worked on plenty of homes, where the framing lumber already has
mold and mildew and even dry rot on it. Instead of throwing this lumber
out, most builders simply install it and make it part of the new home
package. Over time this could become a problem and usually does.
I would advise most homeowners that are planning on building a new house
to look for this. What is it exactly, that you are going to be looking
for? Dry rot on new lumber is usually white and looks like a fungus and
is usually holding two pieces of lumber together that haven't been
separated yet from the lumber mill.
This white fungus isn't hard to spot, because it doesn't look like wood.
If you feel comfortable, try scraping the fungus off and then spray the
lumber with a mold and mildew removing product.
In other words, anything that doesn't look like wood, probably isn't
wood and if you find any spots that look like mold, mildew or dry rot,
try to avoid using them during new construction. You can always take the
lumber back to the lumber yard and explain your problem to them to
collect a refund or get new materials.
When I say try to avoid using any products that are damaged, when
building a new house, this doesn't apply only to wood products. Most
home builders are in a rush and will use its damage products if they can
get away with it.
Taking these products back and getting products that are in excellent
condition can increase the longevity of the new house.