Mold, you may know, is a naturally occurring fungi. It usually develops on fabric, soil, food, wood and plants. Mold spores can be dangerous to your health, so it’s important to address it if and when it occurs.
Mold itself is not necessarily a construction defect, but it can be a sign that something went wrong during the construction of a property.
How can you tell if mold is related to a construction defect?
It isn’t always easy to tell, but there are a few things you can do to start understanding where it’s coming from. To begin with, you should mix up some bleach and water, spray the mold and then wipe it away. If it comes back, especially if it comes back quickly, then you know that you didn’t get rid of the problem and that it may be deeper than surface-level issues.
To adequately remove mold, you need to determine why the mold is growing in the first place. Leaky pipes or trouble on the roof of the house may be allowing mold to develop due to an accumulation of moisture.
Mold isn’t necessarily on the surface only. Sometimes, it will be much deeper, and you may find it behind the walls of the home, in the attic or in other spaces. Mold may be a sign of a construction defect if the water or moisture that is leading to mold is caused by a problem with construction instead of being caused by the homeowner in some way.
For instance, a low plumbing leak inside the walls of the home may be a construction defect. Similarly, if there is an area of roofing that wasn’t waterproofed correctly, water may seep in and cause mold to form.
What are your options for dealing with construction defects?
It’s possible that you may have a claim against the contractor who worked on your home. It’s worth reaching out to them to ask if they would be willing to rectify the problem and take care of the mold that has formed as well. If they don’t want to resolve the problem, then you may want to look into other legal options to have the issue eliminated.
