A mold inspection was conducted at the above mentioned property on 10-15-06 because the client had concerns in regards to a worker's health.

During the inspection, it was observed that offices did not have names or office numbers on the door thus in this report most offices will be referred to by the three digit extension for the phone in that office, extensions were found on the phone in each office.

On the interior of the building use of thick wallpaper was common on perimeter walls, this will almost always cause moisture to be trapped and mold to grow behind the wallpaper. Moisture and mold was found behind wallpaper in several areas.

It is recommended that all the wallpaper in the perimeter walls be removed.

In addition, a mold odor was detected throughout almost the entire building, the odor is mostly coming from mold in the carpets and behind the wallpaper.

During the mold inspection, it was observed that the majority of the mold and active moisture was detected in the rear offices, this is to be expected because on commercial buildings the majority of the AC refrigerant lines, electrical conduits, hose bibs and pipes etc are for aesthetic reasons placed out of site at he rear exterior wall wall of the building. In this report such items will be referred to as penetrations because they penetrate the building envelope. 

Roughly two dozen such penetrations were observed at the rear wall and the seal between penetrations and the exterior walls were not at all water tight, this has allowed much water into the rear wall of the building.

In addition, the rear walls on this building have no decorative parapet roof section / large roof overhang or soffit area thus rain water pours directly off the roof and onto these rear walls more often.

On the front and both sides of the building, large mansard roof overhangs were observed and these protect the front and side walls from much rain water.

The above building defects at the rear of the building and the lack of a roof overhang at the rear of the building have combined to cause excessive water problems at the rear walls, thick wallpaper has trapped this moisture in the walls.
It will be necessary to remove all of the wall covering material (drywall, paneling, wall paper, etc.) from all of the perimeter walls of all the rear offices.

Also, remove carpets from floors of the above offices.

Remove all wallpaper from all perimeter walls in all areas of the building.

In addition to defects at the rear wall, nail holes were observed in all of the buildings exterior walls, as well as front, back and side walls. In fact, around 30 or 40 holes around each of the buildings 35 windows, or about 1000 holes were created when nailing plywood panels over the windows in preparation for hurricanes.

These nail holes allow rain water into the building.

In addition the building has 35 windows and all the windows are original, as a result the window caulking around the windows is failing. This alone will allow much water penetration and result in mold. All nail holes and wall penetrations need to be repaired and recaulked.

In past years, the roof leaked but the client replaced the roof 6 years ago and most of the roof leaks are no longer active but stains are still observed in ceiling tile in various areas. Some of the mold is from past roof leaks but present mold is living off moisture leaking through walls in most cases. A few roof leaks may still exist because the client reported suspected active roof leaks originating under or around the rear package unit on the roof. Also, this inspector observed defects in the roof see photo section for details.

Have a roofer review the roof and make any required repairs.

HVAC systems often contribute to mold and humidity problems but the HVAC systems were both relatively new and were well maintained and free of any visible evidence of mold problems, see photos.

In addition to mold in most of the rear offices, mold was found in a few front offices at the North West corner of the building. These included mold in the perimeter walls of Mr. X's office and mold and moisture in the perimeter walls of office 206. This mold and moisture is related to some of the above mentioned defects, most likely the defective window caulking and nail holes in the exterior walls around the windows.

Because of the above building defects at the front of the building that have combined to cause excessive water penetration at some the front walls, it will be necessary to remove all of the wall covering material (drywall paneling, wall paper, insulation and carpet etc.) from all of the perimeter walls of Mr. X's office and office 206 after moisture problems have been repaired.

Also, remove carpets from floors of the above offices.

Remediation is needed at the perimeter walls of the rear offices and in the two smelly offices located directly West of the front door. These two offices are discussed below.

In this building very minor mold odors were detected throughout all areas by this inspector but mold odor was strongest in the blueprint office at the rear of the building and in offices 201 and 203 at the front of the building. Client questioned why odors were detected in the two above areas. Inspector observed some similarities in the two above areas that would account for more mold odors in these offices:

1) Both of these areas were located under the junction of the 1st floor roof and 2nd floor roof, this area appears to have leaked more than some other roof areas in the past. Despite roof replacement in the last 6 years, some roof leaks still may persist in the junction between the 1 story and 2 story building sections near the package unit.

2) In addition, the two above offices had carpet on the walls, carpet on the walls serves as a reservoir for both dust and for the mold that feeds off it, and this carpet also retains moisture and increases surface area so that more molds can grow under and in the carpet on the walls than can grow under or on wallpaper.

Most other offices did not have excessive roof leaks nor carpet on the walls, this explains why odors were stronger in the above mentioned areas.

On the 2nd day of inspections it was observed that the odors were not present in the blueprint office, then later that day it was present, and later still on the 2nd day the odor was gone again from that office. This typically means the odor is coming from an AC duct only when the AC is on. The inspector climbed on a chair and confirmed that the odors were coming from the AC ducts in the blueprint office and in office 201 and 203. 

Why are these offices ducts moldy when other ducts in the building did not smell moldy? Sounds strange but this is to be expected. The ducts nearest the air handler are typically more dirty & moldy than other ducts, so we caught it early before the rest of the ducts further away from the air handler got moldy to a degree that odors were detectable.

Mold & odors are worse near the air handler because the dust settles out of these first ducts more, and ducts downstream do not receive as much dust or humidity. Dust and humidity is what causes mold. This is not theory but has been observed on several other inspections.

It is highly recommended that a roofer review the roof and perform any required roof repairs. The defects on the exterior walls must also be repaired to prevent further water infiltration. Remediate exterior walls and do not put carpet back on these walls, also replace or clean the ducts serving these offices.

Also a 8X8 inch opening was observed on the rear exterior wall, this opening is only visible if you enter the rear storage area located behind a sheet metal door, this opening lets hot humid air into the walls located under the stairs. When this hot humid air from outside hits cold air conditioned walls, the humidity in the wall goes up, on very humid days condensation may form inside cold conditioned walls.

This opening must be sealed. It is only accessible via the storage area under the stairs and is behind a sheet metal door.

It is expected that all perimeter walls in this building will have moisture during heavy rains, but active moisture was detected only at the following walls:

Room 216 227 206 and the computer room also referred to as the server room.

Humidity levels were healthy at around 55%RH at 77F when tested, this was typical throughout the building.

Areas not inspected, some interior offices away from the perimeter walls were not accessible as they were locked, but these areas are not likely to contain mold. Also Mike's office, office 202 and 226 had wood paneling and unlike wallpaper wood paneling cannot be peeled back to facilitate inspection of hidden mold.

Office furniture and documents also blocked much wall area.

In regards to causes of moisture intrusion many wall penetrations at the exterior wall and nail holes on all walls, and past roof leaks as well as a few active roof leaks has resulted in mold growth requiring professional mold remediation at all rear perimeter walls and also at the perimeter walls in Tims office and 206 both in the front.

Because of carpet on the walls and also because of what appears to be past roof leaks at the blue print office in the rear and because of similar conditions at office 201 and 203 in the front just West of the front door remediation of perimeter walls and also all carpets in these offices is required.

Most of the mold odors in 201  203 and the blueprint office were from the AC ducts clean the ducts serving these offices, and replace them if they cannot be cleaned, it is much better to replace them when possible.

One other condition found on this Florida mold inspection was the growth of cladosporium mold on ceiling tile around the linear air diffuser vents located in the 2nd floor offices.
This mold occurs because the cold air from the linear registers hits the ceiling tile, when the cold air hits it causes condensation to form or at least humidity to rise in these tile.This results in mold growth. Consider replacing these linear diffusers with some that are adjustable so the cold air can be deflected away from the ceiling. Also, replacing the moldy ceiling tile and cleaning the mold off will prove useless.

It is important to note that some areas could not be inspected since they were located behind wood cabinets, thick wood paneling, and furniture.Thus hidden mold may not possibly exist but does not currently exist in areas where it was not able to be detected or observed. The only way to remove the mold problem from this property, will be to remove all wall covering materials from all perimeter walls of the entire building after moisture intrusion defects are repaired.

In regards to health threats to workers, it has been this inspector's experience that when mold grows in walls to such a degree, and when odors are present to a small or moderate number of employees, relatively few are likely to complain of allergy or asthma like health issues. When similar conditions occur in residential homes, persons in the affected rooms often complain of similar health complaints even when they do not notice the mold odors or see moisture or mold in the walls.

In such cases, the spore levels in the air in commercial and residential properties  are not typically high. In this inspector's opinion, this may be a actual reaction of some product escaping from the mold trapped in the walls or under the wallpaper.

This inspector is not a doctor and this report is not intended to convey medical advice. Consult with a doctor for any professional medical opinions or advice.

None of the stachybotrys also known as toxic black mold was visually observed. In most offices and homes, molds do not appear to cause toxic reactions but allergy like reactions based in this inspector's experience and based on most scientific opinions in the indoor environmental health field.

Mold observed was cladosporium and pen asp like molds. Sample analysis will be used to confirm identity of mold types found.