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frankelred · Dec 29, 2006, 04:45 AM

After Mold Remediation and new construction: still have the mold smell.

During remodeling, after mold remediation (done by a national, reputable company) on my daughter's bathroom/vanity area, where there was a leak under the vanity and a lot of mold growing in the vanity and behind the vanity drywall, we had a contractor fix the plumbing problem, and build a new vanity and wall. The vanity is built on the adjacent wall where the tub is.
While the wall was not in place, I noticed that there is no slab under the bathtub - bare ground is all. The mold smell is very strong. The contractor said to pour bleach on the soil and that would take care of the mold and the smell. He also said that bathtub construction without slab is very common - just bare ground. I was dubious about whether bathtubs are placed over bare ground and not slab as well as pouring bleach on soil. I don't believe that pouring bleach on dirt will solve the mold/smell indefinitely. Obviously, it hasn't. The mold smell is the same as before . In spite of having new dry wall and a new vanity, I feel that we were taken for a very expensive ride and the mold problem has not been resolved. How should we fix this problem?

speedball1 · Dec 29, 2006, 07:26 AM

I learned plumbng working at my fathers shop in the 40's. I retired from plumbing as a foreman and shop trouble shooter. In the over 50 years as a working plumber I have never set a tub over "bare ground". One reason being that I live in a area that has termites and that gives termites and other critters a easy entryway into your house. The other is that it's just plain bad plumbing. We leave a tub "dap-out" hole for the trap and raiser. This is only done because the tub waste and overflow connect beneath the floor line and then the contractor may pour hot tar or roof cement in the dap-out to seal it up. I can think of no reason that a contractor would allow a installation such as that and it mystifies me as to why the house ever passed inspection and was C.O.'d. I would make a formal complaint to, the builder/ contracter, the plumbing company the Building Department and last, The Health Department.
Good luck and please keep me in the loop on this. Tom

frankelred · Dec 29, 2006, 10:52 PM

Thanks, Tom.

We live in west Texas, and despite the limited amount of rainfall, we do get rain. Every time the ground is soaked from rain, the smell gets stronger. We bought this house from my husband's friend and colleague. Unfortunately, the contractor who built this house is now deceased. As the story goes, my husband's friend is from west Africa and is not well versed in American practices and probably never asked questions and was naïve about good construction. The neighborhood we live in is very upscale and the houses range from $225,000 to millions. I will get to the bottom of this, but thank you for confirming that this practice is not up to code. My husband owned a house before we married and he said his hot tub was also placed over bare ground. Go figure. Frankelred

ballengerb1 · Nov 2, 2009, 09:15 PM

Between Tom and I we have been putting in tubs for over 100 years, not one on bare ground. The newer acrylic tubs would sag and sound like a drum. You need a contractor who can pass code and knows what he is doing.

Klop we need to move you to your own post.