We are sharing this article, because sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else. This simply confirms our motto: “Take care of the small problems so they don’t become big ones.”
For years, we battled a leaky roof. We patched it, but it still leaked. Water would soak the ceilings and pour into the house during a big storm. Buckets and towels became our best friend.
During the winter, ice dams were another problem; we could not seem to prevent leaks. Eventually, mold set in. Everyone in the family has allergies, and we could tell that mold was causing a problem as our asthma and conditions got worse.
To add to our headaches, we had a leak somewhere in the chimney that plagued us for years. Nobody could seem to solve this problem, so water would come in through the chimney flashing and soak the living room wall as well.
We finally wound up replacing the roof, had the chimney redone, and hired a contractor to fix the visibly damaged walls and ceilings. This is where we made our big mistake. We did not have a mold inspection or mold removal or remediation plan.
The contractors fixed the ugly parts, not realizing that there was mold in places they could not see. Thousand and thousands of dollars later, mold suddenly started reappearing on our new walls and ceilings. Our breathing and allergy problems continued. We decided to get a mold inspection this time, and were able to pinpoint where the problems were. We had to shell out a ton of money yet again for a contractor to come back and do the work properly.
If we had just invested the $1,000 for a mold inspection the first time, we would have saved about $10,000 and a ton of aggravation. Lesson learned!