Got mold? I’ve got the article

I found a helpful "how to" article on getting rid of mold in "ecological HOME ideas" magazine.

The magazine itself is pretty impressive from an editorial standpoint. The articles are informative, well written, and useful without being alarmist and overly technical. The mold article has plenty of pictures, tips for clean up, and resources to help you do it.

I learned the only way to get rid of mold is to eliminate moisture. Good grief, that means our basement needs more than a clean up of the mold spores, we need to tackle the leaks. My brother-in-law said the only way to keep the water away from the foundation is to dig a trench next to it and pour gravel in the space. Not only is that time consuming, backbreaking work but expensive. Not going to happen, this year at least.

Clean up is our priority before winter sets in again. We pulled the carpet out, trashed all the cardboard boxes, paper, etc. after many ghastly trips to the re-cycling center over the summer. Everything of importance is in sealed, clear plastic bins.

Next up, cleaning the foundation walls in one small room where the moisture seems to come in from the outside. The article offers some good DIY tips for this. Then, we have to seal the walls as best we can from the inside. I’ve been told there’s something to paint on the cinder blocks that keeps moisture out. Hope our neighborhood paint store knows the answer.

I’m open to ideas, and encouragement. This is one awful job but I’m convinced our health is at risk every weekend we let this project slip.

Comments

[Melissa]

You guys do a wonderful job! Keep up the good work!!!.

[Chris Chamberlin]

Andrew,
This is great info! Thank you so very much. We are talking to several vendors about doing this work and your suggestions will come in quite handy. I like the idea of being the GC ourselves and hiring HS guys to do the labor. Thanks for taking the time.
Chris

[Andrew]

As far as "just dig a trench and put gravel in it," that isn't quite the right thing.

You'll need to dig the trench, line it with landscaping fabric first, and *then* put the gravel in. If you don't do this, then the pores between the gravel (how the water will drain) will just fill with dirt and your problem will be the same. The fabric will keep the dirt out of your "drain."

The ditch needs to be sloped so that the water will run in one direction and away from your house. Most people have it run from the back to the front, and then away from the foundation completely.

Also, you need to make sure the grade away from your house is correct. I think it's supposed to be something like a 6" drop every 10' or so.

The cost actually isn't too high. Pea gravel should work, and it's only about $15 per ton. If you dig a narrow trench about 1' wide by 2-3' deep, it shouldn't take more than 10 tons for the whole house...that's about $150 for gravel. It'll probably cost another $100-$150 for the landscaping fabric.

Pay some strong high-school kids in your area to dig the whole. With 2-3 guys it should take about 2-3 days to dig it out at the most. Pay them a good $8-10 per hour; that's about $300-$400 in labor (cheaper if you have some family that can do it as a favor).

So for less than $600 you can fix the whole problem yourself. That's a much better solution (and the right one) compared to just painting the walls. The problem is that the water is still entering and weakening the foundation, and really it's just a bandage on the problem.

Hope that all makes sense. Do a search on "perimeter drain," "foundation drain," or "french drain" for more info on the hows and whys of this method.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Robin Draper]

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