Question on cost of whole house mold abatement

Question on cost of whole house mold abatement

Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 5 votes

Does anyone have experience here with rehab costs on a house with mold essentially everywhere?  I looked at a 1600 sq ft. house in the south suburbs of Chicago and nearly every wall was covered with mold, as were the light fixtures, doors, vanity cabinets, etc.  There was (and still is) about 2 feet of standing water in the basement and a sign on a bathroom sink that mentioned a burst pipe so I think the cause of the water and mold was a water leak while the property sat vacant (they dropped the price by over half after a few weeks on the market, so I think this theory makes sense).

I am assuming I will need to remove and replace all of the drywall, everywhere, all the fixtures, doors, windows, etc. but I am not sure if there would be other costs involved.  For instance, is there any chance that the studs behind the walls would also be moldy and if so would I need to cut out and replace them or do any re-framing, or would dehumidifying the place work?  Is the electrical likely to be damaged due to this issue?  I am assuming I will need to replace most or all of the plumbing system.

Any advice would be very helpful, if the costs aren't too out of control beyond what I was estimating, this could end up being a great deal at the right price.

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Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
10y

Here's one we did recently, black mold throughout. Lower level finished basement, main floor all the drywall had to be removed plus floors and subfloor, upper level bottom half of most walls. 

Remediation Cost Quote 20,000

We had to replace insulation, but no studs, the treated the studs.

We had a couple pipes in the upper level floors that small sections had to be replaced.

No electric upgrades or damages done.

We did have water standing in the basement as well, similar to what you are describing.

This was my most profitable deals.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9281-Chamberlin-...

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  • Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
    10y

    Here's one we did recently, black mold throughout. Lower level finished basement, main floor all the drywall had to be removed plus floors and subfloor, upper level bottom half of most walls. 

    Cost 20,000

    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9281-Chamberlin-...

  • Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
    10y

    Here's one we did recently, black mold throughout. Lower level finished basement, main floor all the drywall had to be removed plus floors and subfloor, upper level bottom half of most walls. 

    Remediation Cost Quote 20,000

    We had to replace insulation, but no studs, the treated the studs.

    We had a couple pipes in the upper level floors that small sections had to be replaced.

    No electric upgrades or damages done.

    We did have water standing in the basement as well, similar to what you are describing.

    This was my most profitable deals.

    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9281-Chamberlin-...

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 5 votes
    10y

    @Dell Schlabach Thanks for the excellent reply and congrats on the great deal, I can see from the price history that it was a pretty solid profit.

    Do you remember ow long the remediation steps took/how much time they added to the overall project?  Looking for what my expected impact on schedule would be.  I assume no other work can be done at the same time, but is it possible to do a new roof during mold remediation for instance?

  • Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
    10y

    It took the remediators I believe a week, maybe 10 days.

    Then we did renovation, they came back in at the end for clearance testing. 

    And yes we could have done roof at the same time.

    We did exterior work, deck repair, landscape cleanup, paint etc during remediation. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Dunedin, FL · Member since 2015 · 121 posts · 61 votes
    10y

    I was also quoted 20k by two different groups for a whole house remediation that wasn't that bad of a mess, just in one room, but supposedly there was mold all over. They seemed to be charging a ridiculously high price for a <2k sqft house. I ended up demoing the house since it wasn't that good a quality house, and am dividing the lots. good luck!

  • Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Waverly Rennie:

    I was also quoted 20k by two different groups for a whole house remediation that wasn't that bad of a mess, just in one room, but supposedly there was mold all over. They seemed to be charging a ridiculously high price for a <2k sqft house. I ended up demoing the house since it wasn't that good a quality house, and am dividing the lots. good luck!

    Mold guys are all over the place, for a single room or an attic that we used to pay 4,000 for, then 2,000, now we are paying 800.00 for, pretty routinely.

    On the big house, we ended up doing lot of the interior demo ourselved following their protocols, they reduced their quote from 20,000 to 12,000, an 8,000 discount. I if we remove carpet, drywall kitchen, flooring etc.

    I paid a few of my guys who volunteered  a large bonus,  did demo  for about 3,600 including the full body tyvec suits, masks, and rental equipment. 

    For a net of about 15,600.

  • Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
    10y

    Curious if you ended up buying the mold house?

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 5 votes
    10y

    @Dell Schlabach

    Well I certainly tried.  Someone else came in with a bigger offer.  Oh well.  I just need to find another mold house now.

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