Pennsylvania's registration law
Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires every contractor who performs at least $5,000 of home improvements a year to register with the state Attorney General's Office.
Drinking water in the State College area
The State College Borough Water Authority serves the Borough of State College and portions of Benner, College, Ferguson, Harris and Patton Townships.
Start with the wet, not the spots
Spores drift indoors on air, shoes and fur, and they can rest on wood, paper and dust without growing until something keeps that surface damp. A dark patch on a wall is often a marker of moisture that lingered there: a slow drip, seepage through a foundation wall, condensation on a cold surface, or an old leak that was never dried out.
A useful plan names that moisture and says who will stop it before any cleanup starts. Ask each company to explain, in its own words, what it believes is wetting the area and how it will confirm the wetting has ended. If the answer is vague, keep asking before you sign.
How a proposal sorts what was affected
One useful way to read a remediation proposal is to see how it sorts the materials in the affected area. The work is often planned around a few groups.
Porous materials
Drywall paper, ceiling tile, fiberglass and cellulose insulation, carpet and its pad, upholstered cushions and cardboard soak up water, and growth can root in them where surface cleaning may not reach. Proposals may list these for removal. Ask which pieces are coming out, how far past the visible growth the cut will run, and why the company chose that margin.
Semi-porous materials
Framing lumber, subfloor sheathing, wood trim and bare concrete sit in between. Surface growth on them may be cleaned and the wood dried in place, or a damaged piece may be replaced. Ask how the company decides between those two paths, and which cleaning method it plans to use on what stays.
Hard surfaces
Metal, glass, glazed tile and sealed counters take up little or no water. Ask how these will be wiped down, and whether anything metal in the affected area, such as a duct run, will be opened and looked at.
Your belongings
Clothing, books, papers, furniture and keepsakes need decisions of their own. Ask whether the company handles contents, sends them to a cleaning service, or leaves them to you. Photograph each item where it sits before anything is moved or discarded.
Containment sized to the job
A patch on one closet ceiling and growth spread through a finished basement call for different setups. Ask each company to describe the barrier it plans for your house: whether plastic sheeting will seal off a whole room or part of one, where the crew will enter and leave, whether a filtered air unit will run, and where that unit will discharge its air. Ask, too, how the route from the work area to the outside door will be protected while bagged debris is carried through the house.
Agree on how the finish is judged
Settle what "done" means before anyone starts. Put these to the company:
- Which moisture readings will show the materials are dry, and who takes them?
- Will someone walk the cleaned area with you before insulation and drywall go back?
- Will an outside party inspect or test the area afterward, and if so, who picks that party and who pays?
- What written report will you hand over at the end?
Clear answers here give you something concrete to hold the finished work against.
A careful first look
Should you need to peek behind an access panel or lift the corner of a rug, put on gloves, goggles and a snug disposable respirator first, and keep children and pets in another part of the house. Leave dry growth alone rather than brushing it, skip the household vacuum, and turn fans so they blow elsewhere. Any health worry is a conversation for your doctor.
Questions for every company
- What do you think is feeding this growth, and which trade repairs it?
- Who sized up the problem, and is that person part of the crew doing the removal?
- Are you registered with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office as a home improvement contractor, and what is the registration number?
- Can you send proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation?
- Will your own employees do the work, or a subcontractor?
- What does your price leave out, and how are changes priced once a wall is open?
- What will I receive in writing when the job is finished?
The insurer and the permit calls
Phone your insurer before materials are torn out. Ask what your policy says about mold and about the water that caused it, which photos and records it wants, and whether an adjuster should see the area first. If putting the room back together involves new framing, plumbing or wiring, ask the contractor which permits the rebuild needs and who will apply for them.
A one-page brief for bidders
Write a single page describing the problem: the rooms involved, what you saw and when, any leak you know about and whether it has been repaired, and what you want the job to achieve. Give that same page to every company and ask each to price against it line by line. When bids arrive, any gaps between them are then more likely to reflect the work each one offers than the story each was told. Keep the brief, the bids, photos and receipts together in one folder.