Umm...So THIS seems like a problem...?

TOTALN00B

This is the bottom of an exterior side door in a house I might be interested in purchasing (if I negotiate the price down from what my realtor and I think is unreasonable, but that's another story). It would seem there's a moisture barrier problem with this door? There's black mold growing to the left, on the wall. This door is VERY hard to open and close. I thought it was from swelling with moisture, but a friend seems to think it's just a tuft of wood at the top that needs to be shaved off to fit the door in its frame properly. This is an old wooden door, possibly original, and I'd like to keep it if feasible - but what can I do to make it more weather-proof and not have mushrooms growing inside the house?

Ron6519

You would need to remove the door from the opening, clean off the organics and get a look at the door. It might be salvageable, and it might not.
Ron

nap

there are some things to check you haven't addressed here.

If there is no protection from the weather on the outside such as a portico or other construction and the ground is too high, this could be caused by that.

If you end up with water setting outside the door, it will leak in. Not too many doors are watertight at their perimeter. If this is a wood door, setting water will also be soaked up if the door isn't 100% sealed with a waterproof finish.

If it's a 100% wood door and it has soaked up water, I would plan on replacing it.

tcleve4911

From the looks of the drywall and baseboard next to it, I'd guess there's more moisture issues that just the door......

TOTALN00B

Here's what the door looks like from the outside. (Sorry, that little bush in the middle of the photo is kinda blocking it, but you can see that the door is elevated off the ground, and outside is a slight drop down to cement steps). So, there would never be any standing water just outside the door, which makes this water damage only at the base of this room here weird to me. Unlike most old houses I looked at in this rainy climate, this house's moisture issues seem to be miraculously confined to this one little room. This is also one of the only rooms in the house without really high ceilings - it's what appears to have once been a mud-room, converted into a so-called bedroom (don't get me started on that). It's also obvious that this section of the house is an addition to the original house, but not necessarily a recent one. This lower section you see in the picture below is the "bedroom" with the mushrooms in it, plus the bathroom. Both are "sunken," one step down from the rest of the house. The bathroom, however, seems to be fine.



Is this part of the problem (see below)? See the horizontal boards on the wall on the right? That's part of the original exterior of the house.



However, looking at an expanded image of the "mushroom-zone," you can see that the ORIGINAL wooden exterior wall (on the left) seems to be ok, but the NEW exterior wall (on the right) is moldy. Can I just clean it up and caulk between the two walls, and maybe replace the door + frame?

Blondesense

I'd also want to peel back the carpet and see what is left of the subfloor.

Edited to add: Is it possible the source of the problem is the roof? Improper or missing flashing along the addition?

nap

that is exactly what I was going to suggest. or maybe where the two sections of building are joined there is a problem what allows water to enter the corner and run down.

tcleve4911

Since you can see the exterior wall from the interior, I'd be willing to bet that there's a flashing/roof-to-wall connection that has failed.

I'm also willing to bet that that entire corner is wet and when you uncover the skin, it will not be pretty.

MJW

I would start with cutting back all the vegetation away from the house. How long has this been vacant?

kwikfishron

Post a picture of the whole door from the outside.

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JimV

I would also have a mold remediation company look at it. They will probably want to do mold testing which is a bit expensive, but only if the seller is willing to play ball. They will give you a nice fat number that includes hazmat suits and isolation of the work area and everything. Some of what they put in the quote will be overkill, but the seller doesn't need to know you will tear it out yourself. The big number on the quote will give you something to back up your lower offer.

TOTALN00B

Hey, thanks Jim!

TOTALN00B

MJW: It's been on the market pretty much since October 2009, listed too high compared to comps in the neighborhood. They certainly don't seem to be in any hurry to sell the thing, but my realtor thinks they may be ready to negotiate...Everything else here has consistently gone down $10K every couple months, but this has stayed the same for about 6 months now. I don't think it's been vacant that whole time. The first time I looked at it, a month ago, it looked like they did have someone staying there and watching it for them, though it looks like that person may have moved out. There's still furniture, and they were still doing work on the house in January, which is when they tore the carpets out in all the rooms but this one. It does appear to be habitable, at least (more than I can say for some of the houses I've looked at).

Gary in WA

They may have been disgusted or digested......

Leave your name and number, and one of a quality mold remedial company...

Gary

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