glennken

Hey guys, first time on here and looking forward to enjoying everyone's input. A house that I am eying up to purchase has a MAJOR mold issue in the basement. It is a foreclosure and I'm looking for something cheap that needs work and that I can turn around and sell or rent out so that is why I am not running and hiding.

In the basement ALL the walls are covered in Black mold. I have a friend who is a do-it-yourself real estate investor and he says its not as hard as you would think. From what I remember from the conversation is this. He says I need to gut the entire walls down to the studs. Then he says I need to apply, if I recall, "Masonary Paint". I'm not sure if that's the term he used, anyway. He said apply it to everything and that will get rid of the mold. He also said he thinks the mold was coming b/c of the plant life around the edge of the entire house is just well over grown and growing ON the house. He said when that happens plants bring water/moisture into the house. Also the studs are all wrapped in plastic, he said this keep the moisture inside the house and doesn't allowed it to breathe. The mold is on the walls and on part of the main floors. The house is built in 1947 so it has hardwood floors under carpet that I would be replacing. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys and I'm Looking forward to hearing your opinions

inspectorD

I'm a bit biased, but get a home inspection. It will be worth the $$ saved on knowing what you are getting into.
Mold is a serious issue if it is bad enough, no guesswork, getthe facts on WHY there is water.
Only a Professional will tie all the systems together and give you a good idea what your up against. Some you will not be able to see until after you open the walls up.
I have been remodeling for 25 years, and been an Inspector for 15, I have seen things that never make sense or even thought was possible with a home. And spent plenty of $$ to fix isssues that looked good until we got into Pandoras little box of goodies.
My advice,
American Society of Home Inspectors, ASHI for a good Inspector, find one that deals with environmental issues with a home.

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glennken

I figured that much, but lets just say we know what the source is and where there affected area is....how do you remove it?

joecaption

No offence to your friend but they do not have a clue on this one and gave you a bunch of wrong info.
You can not just paint over mold and have it go away. Homes have been condemed in this kind of condition before.
Paint will just not stay stick to block in a basement. If it was all perfectly clean mold free and dry I'd use Dri-Loc not paint.
Your going to find mold growing all over the studs behind those walls.
At a min. you looking at removing anything growing up again that foundation, coating the outside foundation walls with foundation sealer down to the footings, adding a french drain. Adding seamless gutters with the down spouts leading far away from the foundation, regrading so water runs away from the foundation.
Gutting everything in that basement and tossing it. If there insulation in the floor joist bays it's got to go to. All that molds got to be sprayed with bleach and water, and all the sub flooring and floor joist will need to be treated with Boric acid to kill the mold and make sure it does not come back. (an extermination company can spray the Boron (Boric Acid) for you.
If there is a return air duct in the basement then all the duct work will have mold spores in it.
Anyone that works on this is going to need to be wearing Tyvek sutes and dust mask and goggles.
In the real world, as in not what there trying to show on TV, houses are just not selling right now. The reason, it's so hard to get the loan, not because people do not want to buy them.

glennken

Hey thank you guys for your insight. If anyone else has anything to add please do so it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

DIYMom

I know more than I want to about mold after our neighbor had a mold problem (she has been venting to me). I wouldn't deal with it unless you know what kind of mold it is. Some molds are more dangerous than others. My neighbor, luckily had a less dangerous form but they took special lights and found mold spores all over the house that were tracked around by them after being in the room with mold.

reillypainting

Mold should be cleaned/killed first as best as you can with bleach or related product. Walls should then be prepped if needed, and either primed/sealed, then painted. You can use a masonary paint but it'll depend on how much paint is still on the walls. A latex paint is useable too. If mold is there, a dehumdifier NEEDS to be run as much as possible, and/or the source of the moisture addressed, or it may just reappear sooner than later.