Mold in walls from roof leak.. DIY or hire mold remediation company?

[kissthesky]

Hi DIY-ers!

TLTR: Roof leak + insane amount of rain = water in master bedroom ceiling & wall. Will get roof fixed first, but then should I DIY or hire mold remediation company?

Long version:
I have a roof leak which I'm 94.8% sure is getting in from where the roof and vent meet (roof is in great shape otherwise). Water is coming in and running inside my walls, pooling & creating a water stain where the ceiling (slant roof) meets the outside wall in master bedroom. Water is running down that wall and pooling where wall meets floor too. No dripping water or wet carpet, just water stains on walls, mold growing inside wall, and mold on wall facing the room (already cleaned up with bleach).

I've been reading a bunch of stuff on the interwebs and this site, and have come up with the following plan:
1) Fix leak (roof guy doing this)
2) Remove everything from the room, cover what can't be removed, seal off room from rest of house
3) Put on respirator, gloves, & crappy clothes
4) Remove drywall, moldy/soggy insulation, anything else that needs to go
5) Dispose of above
6) Clean mold off anything salvageable, treat with bleach
7) Dry out area
8) Hepa vacuum
9) Mold prevention stuff spray/paint
10) Put in new insulation
11) Patch up / replace wall

I have never done this before. I'm pretty sure I could do everything but 10 and 11. Should I try it myself, do everything I can then bring in a handyman to patch up, hire a handyman for all, or hire a professional mold remediation team for all ($3k)?

Pictures attached. Thanks in advance to the DIY gurus.

[markbike528CBX]

Interested too. Posting to follow.

[john6221]

This is definitely all do-able on your own. It sounds like you know all of the steps, and I would even challenge you to push your skills to include items 10 and 11. The only thing I would change is using the bleach. Bleach doesn't kill mold spores in porous materials. You'll want to look for something like Concrobium or Bora Care w/ Mold Care and spray that instead. It will work on all surfaces and ensure that there aren't any spores in the nearby drywall or wood that will keep growing.

[threefive]

I have done this now twice. What I did is basically what you laid out in your list of steps.

If you can take out insulation, then you can put it in. That's insanely easy. Just wear gloves and long sleeves so you don't get itchy. Otherwise, unroll, cut to length, shove in place, staple. That's it.

Drywall finishing can also be DIY with a bit of patience. The first time I ran into a similar issue, I did everything but the drywall work. The second time, I was also completely remodeling a kitchen. I tried to hire someone of Craigslist because my wife insisted on it. Hired them, then waited with materials for them to show up. They never did. Wife was out, so ...

Basically, a few youtube videos later I'm doing all of my walls in the kitchen and living room. I started with the seams that would be hidden behind cabinets. If you take your time, and recognize it will take several days of sand, feather, dry, then it comes out better than the "pro" that will slap it up fast without much attention to the detail.

For wood, you want a pretty dilute bleach solution. The bleach won't penetrate the wood where the mold will live. It'll just flash off the top layer. Mixed with water it can. Although, it's probably just easier to buy a mold treatment solution if it's not a huge area.

[kissthesky]

Thanks john6221 and threefive for the helpful suggestions!

I just found what I believe to be the most comprehensive guide here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/5/31/1303371/-How-to-remove-mold-properly

Hope this guide helps someone else too. It doesn't go over drywall finishing but like threefive mentioned youtube is probably a good place for that.

[Sibley]

If anyone in the house gets sick, even a cold, keep an close eye on them. Mold may contribute to respiratory issues and require meds to calm things down. If they have mold allergies or asthma, be even more careful. Otherwise, good luck!

[kissthesky]

If anyone in the house gets sick, even a cold, keep an close eye on them. Mold may contribute to respiratory issues and require meds to calm things down. If they have mold allergies or asthma, be even more careful. Otherwise, good luck!

Great point Sibley, totally agree. Through the course of this mess I realized I am indeed allergic to mold, and that plus my asthma is the reason there is currently a professional taking care of this and I can't DIY it :(

[Papa bear]

Do you even know that the mold in your house is toxic?  Most mold isn't.  You could get bit tested to know how thorough you need to be in remediating.


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[kissthesky]

Do you even know that the mold in your house is toxic?  Most mold isn't.  You could get bit tested to know how thorough you need to be in remediating.

Yep most mold isn't toxic as you mentioned. But I am allergic so having mold inside the walls and ceiling of my bedroom isn't going to work :/

[Jon Bon]

I'd for sure get the roof fixed first, then I would at least wait a few days to see what happens. Does the mold continue to bother you? Or as it dries out the issues go away? From your pictures it does not look like you need to start writing checks as of yet but YMMV.

I too am allergic to mold, but those "remediation" companies usually remediate a nice chunk of your net worth as well!!

[kissthesky]

I'd for sure get the roof fixed first, then I would at least wait a few days to see what happens. Does the mold continue to bother you? Or as it dries out the issues go away? From your pictures it does not look like you need to start writing checks as of yet but YMMV.

I too am allergic to mold, but those "remediation" companies usually remediate a nice chunk of your net worth as well!!

The mold was really bothering my breathing even after a week of drying out, so I had a company to take it out. They did a great job so at least that is good. They couldn't put the walls back up right away, but that turned into a good thing because we discovered the roof patch didn't fix the leak. So now I need a new roof. Then I'll get the walls back up. Then I'll paint. Then I think I'll be able to stop sleeping in the living room. Stay tuned :)