Originally Posted By: rschlater This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I got a call today to inspect a crawl space in a one year old house. These folks just moved in Christmas day 2004. The contractor had laid a footer tile inside the crawl space, and had it connected to the to the storm drain leading out to the street. The connection from the footer tile to the storm sewer was not hooked up properly and flooded the crawl space with about 2 feet of water, back in January. The contractor came out to correct the problem, and an added a sump pump in the crawl space. The lady said that the contractor had the foundation walls sprayed with that expanding foam insulation, prior to the flooding. She also said you can see the water line on the wall from the flood. They are also seeing big black splotches on the sprayed insulation, from the flood line down. They also don’t know if there is a vapor barrier in the crawl space either. These people are looking for some advise on what it would take to clean it up. They are also going to send the contractor the bill for the clean up. By the way, the foundation is of block construction. I to am looking for some other opinions on what to do.
Originally Posted By: rcloyd This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Bob,
Can you post any pictures of the inside of the crawl space? This will enable us to make a better recommendation.
The conditions you describe sound dangerous for two reasons. 1) Spray on foam insulation exposed in the crawl space might have a high flame spread and smoke developed rating. It could be highly flammable and toxic if it burns.
2) Black splotches on the foam sounds like mold, potentially toxic.
I recommend they have a certified industrial hygienist test for mold and make recommendations on remediation. This will probably include removal of the spray on foam insulation. Did the crawl space have any ventilation? If not, it sounds like it could use some.
Originally Posted By: rschlater This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Russel
This is just the description I got over the phone, so I have no pictures. However, I agree with your suggestion about contacting a certified industrial hygienist. I was also thinking that they would have to remove the sprayed insulation, in order for it to air out properly. I also don’t know the number of vents that are in the crawl space.
Originally Posted By: rschlater This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Erby
Thanks for the advice. I called them back and referred them to a couple of mold remediation firms in the area. I didn't think that it would be right for me to go there and charge them a fee for something that they already knew. They were just looking for someone to confirm what they were seeing, and was wanting some ideas on what it would take to clean it up. I don't think the home inspection business wants the reputation of charging people for information what they already know. Thanks for the response. This is a great organization!