Originally Posted By: phinman This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
I recently inspected a home that had a large amount of roof fungus on it especially around the intersection of the garage roof and the second floor wall.
When I went into the garage I noticed that the framing lumber had a black coating on it. There was some on the roof plywood, sidewall plywood sheathing and the studding.
When I saw no ventilation I began to worry about what the substance may be.
I went into the second floor attic and saw the same thing. The attic was small in volume, had 2 gable louvers of adequate size and a functioning attic fan.
When I rubbed my hands on the framing lumber the black substance came off on my hand. I scraped it off the ridge board where the was a heavy deposit and there was no damage to the ridge.
The house is 42 years old in South Jersey.
BTW the owner who I was doing the work for had his friend there who is a mold remediation contractor and he said it is not mold.
After I left I started to wonder if the roof fungus could invade the attic and if it did, would it be a health problem. Could the attic fan draw the fungus into the attic?
I checked some websites but I did not see an answer I thought fit my observations. Your thoughts please.
Originally Posted By: rsummers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Sounds like the home is always wet must not get enough sun to dry out the roof. How was the dryer, kitchen exhaust, and bath fans vented? Did you stick your hand in the insulation and was it wet ? Sounds like mold to me or maybe calling it fungus is less frightening to people. I wood report on what I found and leave it to a pro to decide.
Originally Posted By: Guest This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
You asked "could the attic fan draw the mold into the attic…is the fan between the garage and the attic?
The black stuff in the garage may be the result of running cars inside or the use of a salamander type heater or a regular kerosene heater. The exhaust from any of these would readily attach itself to the roof sheeting in cold weather.
Originally Posted By: jmyers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Phil,
I have seen this on several houses, all the lumber in the attic is black. It rubs off in your hand and cleans off with soap and water.
I have seen this before on some older homes around here and it I believe it is just dirt. If you send me a sample I will send it to a fellow inspector who can determine if it is mold, fungus or just dirt. 
Originally Posted By: phinman This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Joe M,
Send me your address and I will take you up on your offer.
I have remodeled many older homes and been covered with this substance. You may be right that is is dirt because there was a tremendous amout of dirt laying on the insulation! The older the home the more it seems there was on the wood.
I will send it up to him to see if he can identify it as mold. I don't know very much about this kind of stuff but I am sure he can tell me if it is mold related or just dirt.