A chip off the old tub
Q. I purchased my house about a year ago. At the time, the bathtub seemed OK, but now it is apparent it was painted to cover rust. I also found plumbing problems under the sinks, but none of these issues was reported by my home inspector. What can I do about this?
A. The parties who are potentially liable are the sellers and your home inspector. Sellers are required to disclose all known defects. However, the sellers in your case may not have thought the painted tub was a defect. It might have seemed to them that this was a former defect, having been repaired with paint. Unfortunately, paint is not a permanent repair for the damaged finish on a bathtub. In most cases, chipping or peeling eventually occurs.
Home inspector liability depends on whether the problems were visible at the time of the inspection. The paint on the tub may not have been obvious at the time of the inspection.
As for the plumbing problems, seller liability depends upon whether the previous owners were aware of those issues and whether the problems even existed prior to the sale. Home inspector liability depends on whether the problems were visible and accessible at the time of the inspection. If the problems involve leakage, that may or may not have been occurring at the time. If there are installation defects, they may have been obscured by storage under the sinks, as is often the case during home inspections.
You should contact your home inspector and request a second look at these problems.
Q. I recently discovered black mold on the wood framing in my attic. One general contractor gave me a bid to treat the wood with a moldicide and then coat the framing with spray paint. Another contractor recommended replacing the infected wood. His bid was obviously much higher. I just want to make sure my family is safe from toxic mold. How do you recommend that we deal with this?
A. Small amounts of mold are typically found on the framing in most attics. This is commonly called "lumberyard mold" and in most cases is not regarded as a health risk. However, if your attic is not well vented, or if you live in a locale with high levels of humidity, you may have active mold growth that needs professional remediation.
The first thing to do, before hiring any contractors, is to have the attic evaluated by a registered environmental assessor to determine what kinds of mold are present in the attic and in the rest of your home. Once the situation has been properly evaluated, the mold expert can advise you on whatever forms of remediation are needed, if any. If remediation is needed, the work should be done by a certified mold abatement contractor, not by a general building contractor.
• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.
© 2015, Action Coast Publishing