Mold Intruding on Your Completed Work?

Let's walk through the evolution of a mold claim due to roofing repairs or interior restorations.

The building owner calls and reports the leak or damage. Implied in this request is water damage and the intrusion of outdoor elements, like mold, mildew or other various spores.

The roofer assesses damages and fixes the roof. Perhaps other contractors are called in to repair sheetrock walls or ceilings. Everything looks back to normal if not better, and the roof does not leak during the next storm event.

A few weeks later, visible black mold is present in the repaired area. What went wrong and why is the contractor to blame?

Part of the repair process is drying out the dampened area. Mold needs over 15% moisture content to thrive. That level feels very dry to the touch; dry soil is about 17% normally. Wood members need to be that dry because wood is mold food, and it is very difficult if not impossible to remove a colony of mold from a porous surface.

Use a moisture meter to measure the dryness of the repair area before covering up wood with insulation or plastic. Do not encapsulate wood greater than 15% moisture content. Treat any wood exposed to the elements with a biocide before covering it up. This includes new building materials.

Advise the building owner to positively pressure the building to avoid mold infiltration. In other words, circulate filtered air and let the building exhale normally.

If you use these preventative actions, environmental claims will be reduced. Look into Contractors Pollution Liability to cover these occurrences.

To answer the opening question: it is not the roofer's fault. All the conditions existed for mold growth before they arrived on the scene. However, as a completed operation, roof repairs assume the wood members and other roof materials have been returned to fully functioning condition. Wet wood does not meet this definition because rot and mold is likely to grow on it.

Dry thoroughly - and test the moisture content to verify dryness.

Need insurance for You, Your Family or Your Business?
We can match you to a qualified, local insurance expert!
Further Reading
The construction business evolved over the past many years to a more brokered business. Thirty years ago a general contractor landed on a site with a dozen workers to build most of a building. Now, specialists combine to do everything from site cl...
Warranties provide an assurance to the owner that the contractor's completed work will remain up to a specific standard for a defined period of time. The court system has set this time frame typically as one year in the absence of a written extension...
An accounting firm on a building's top floor accused the roofing contractor of ruining its computer network equipment, even though the contractor wasn't working on the building at the time. The contractor had finished replacing the roof in September....
An accounting firm on a building's top floor accused the roofing contractor of ruining its computer network equipment, even though the contractor wasn't working on the building at the time. The contractor had finished replacing the roof in September....
Operations concerns work in progress such as constructing the steel for a bridge. Completed operations is the finished process or scope of work put into its intended use by someone other than another contractor. The steel skeleton is an operation...