On March 11, Alan Zahka from Axiom was brought out by contractors (Winterbrook Property Management) to check for mold growth in brand new extension of house. The new roof (put on by contractors in summer 2010) has been leaking since the last week of January and floors, walls and ceilings of two-story extension have been soaking wet off and on, with water continually coming in through the leak.
Alan was brought in by contractors after I repeatedly expressed my concern about mold growth. The upstairs part of the extension has water stains everywhere, the wooden floor has buckled and now resembles little hills and valleys, black stuff is growing between floorboards, and green stains are surfacing on top of the wood itself. Downstairs, in my young daughters' bedroom, the carpet and padding has been saturated and now smells of mold, the drywall and paint have come off parts of the wall with the running, leaking water, and the ceiling is stained everywhere with water marks.
Alan was chosen by the contractors to come in and inspect for mold. The contractors told me they've worked with Alan for five years and trust his judgment. The contractors also told me they would take care of mold removal and would repair all damages and take care of all issues caused by the leak in the new extension.
Alan came into the house, looked around for no more than ten minutes, did not touch anything, refused to take any kind of samples for lab testing, and made the following statements:
"Mold cannot grow on carpets." "Once carpet padding dries out, it's fine, even if it's been wet for more than 48 hours." (Mine's been wet for over 7 weeks).
"You don't smell mold in the carpet, that's mildew, and mildew can't hurt anybody. Neither can mold, since mold only harms people with pre-existing conditions."
He then proceeded to tell me that water only runs a certain way down walls, normally going along the studs and around the insulation, and therefore the insulation and sheet rock should be fine, not to worry.
I kept asking him to test for mold but he refused, saying there was no reason for him to do so — and that he hadn't even brought the proper equipment.
I asked the contractors to have Alan write out a report. They agreed to have him do so.
Needless to say, this wasn't the inspection I had been promised. I let the contractor know what had happened and then I hired an independent, board certified mold inspector out of my own pocket ($645) who came out and did the job properly. He found mold in the walls and flooring, of course — both green and black, he thinks the black might be the "toxic" kind... He took samples and sent them to the lab, I'll get a full written report within a few business days. The inspector I brought in told me to take everything out of the kids' bedroom and the other part of the extension and seal those rooms off, that I would need professionals to come take care of all the mold and get into the walls to inspect for more, that the kids cannot go into those rooms as the air may not be healthy for anyone, that as summer comes on the situation will get worse if it's not taken care of soon.
Had I trusted Alan, my kids would be sleeping in a bedroom filled with mold, at least some of it black.
When I informed the contractors of the board certified inspector's findings, they did a 180 on their written promises of repairing all the damage. Now they say they aren't going to fix the roof, clean up the mold, or repair any of the interior damage. When I asked them if they had asked Alan to put his own report in writing, the contractors said they no longer think that's necessary.
I've filed a different report concerning Winterbrook Property Management (a division of Waterville Estates Realty), but I felt Axiom deserved its own report for the blatant non-inspection of an obvious mold problem that could have negatively affected the health of my children had I blindly trusted what Alan had to say.
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