§ 03.09Mold remediation — TX + OH
Mold is the symptom. The moisture source is the cause. We meter every suspect surface — roof line, plumbing chase, HVAC closet, foundation grade — and confirm whether the source is still wet. Contain the room with 6-mil poly under HEPA-filtered negative pressure. Cut the substrate twelve inches past the visible colony, per IICRC S520. Treat after the demo. Rebuild with the same in-house crew. No fog-and-spray.
IICRC S520 — the reference adjusters and inspectors look at — sorts mold contamination into three tiers. We do not quote the same scope at every tier. The category we land on at the walk-through decides what gets cut, what gets contained, and what your insurance will and will not fund. Most jobs we run are Category 2.
Fog-and-spray is a two-hour visit and a small invoice. The substrate stays in the wall. The leak stays wet. The spores stay alive in the cavity. Everything reads clean for ninety days because the surface was sterilized; the colony underneath is still feeding. Here is the same wall, month by month, on each path.
Surface looks clean, room smells different. Wall looks intact. Invoice is small.
Containment broke down. Source dry. Substrate cut, replaced, treated, rebuilt. Job closed once meter clears.
Source leak still wet. Spores in the cavity already feeding on damp insulation behind the patched drywall.
Source dry, substrate replaced. Insulation new. No food source for spores; nothing to recolonize.
Musty smell back. Visible bloom returning along the original water trail. Drywall starts staining.
No regrowth. Wall reads dry on a moisture meter. Paint film intact.
Homeowner calls a different contractor. Substrate now compromised — bigger demo, bigger bill, second deductible if insurance.
Wall holds. Warranty intact. The room is just a room.
Most homeowner policies cap mold remediation at five to ten thousand dollars under a separate sublimit — a small, walled-off bucket that does not draw against your dwelling coverage. The cause has to read as sudden and accidental for the bucket to open at all. We tell you which side of that line you are on at the walk-through, before any demo is quoted.
Numbers are a representative model, not a quote. Read your policy declarations for your actual sublimit; we will scope the work to it and call out the line items that exceed it before we start.
Documented as sudden and accidental — wind-driven rain, hail, valley failure. Tied to the same claim as the roof scope.
Ice-maker line, washing-machine hose, water-heater discharge, dishwasher leak. The cause line is the trigger for coverage.
Cracked drain line, clogged condensate pan, secondary pan overflow. Tied to the HVAC scope on the same claim.
Slab leak, supply weep at a slip-joint, drain-line crack. Carriers fund the mold downstream when the source is sudden.
A slow drip that has been weeping for months or years reads as wear-and-tear. Almost every carrier excludes this language.
Vented crawl with no vapor barrier, no dehumidifier — the moisture is environmental, not an event. Excluded as maintenance.
Under-insulated exterior walls in winter. The water comes from the air, not from a fitting. Carrier reads this as habitability.
Pre-existing damage, even mold from a leak you fixed three years ago, is not covered. We document timestamps so the file is honest.
§ 12Continue the manual — related to this page
§ 02.08HVAC
The patch should disappear in raking light.
Five GA-214 finish levels, three-coat mud build, texture matched at the seam — knockdown, orange peel, popcorn, smooth. HEPA + zip-wall containment so dust does not migrate.
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§ 01.05Roofing
The leak shows where water exits, not where it enters.
Trace from the ceiling stain back to the entry — pipe boot, kickout, dead valley, or not the roof at all. The fee credits back to a repair when the repair follows.
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§ 03.11Remodeling
Source first. Trim second.
Rot is a water problem, not a wood problem. We meter the wood, fix the upstream detail (kickout, drip edge, sealant pan), then rebuild the trim in PVC, Hardie, or primed wood per the run.
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§ 03.02Remodeling
Five layers behind your tile.
Schluter KERDI on every wet wall, hand-packed mortar pan, modified thinset on every tile. Three honest scope tiers from cosmetic refresh to full gut.
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§ 04.01Programs
Your storm. Your scope. Your carrier's check.
Fifteen years on the carrier side. Documented loss, written scope, adjuster meeting on-site. Out-of-pocket: deductible only.
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§ 06Reach the dispatch desk
The crew lead who would run the remediation walks the rooms with you. We meter every suspect surface. We name the source before quoting any demo. You leave with a real scope — diagnosis, containment, removal, treatment, rebuild — and a clear read on what your carrier will and will not fund. The walk-through is free. No fog-and-spray.
(214) 578-9961