You’ve had water damage in your house due to a burst pipe, a roof leak or a heavy summer storm. You hope that your insurance will cover the damage. What to do? First, read about mold below. You may not know the implications of water and mold damage.

What Is Mold, and Why Should You Care?

Molds are part of a group of micro-organisms called fungi that also includes mushrooms and yeasts. Molds are familiar to most people as food spoilers on items such as bread or fruit. Molds are nature’s decomposers in the food chain.

Mold requires the following conditions to grow:
•Mold spores (which are always present indoors and outdoors)
•The right temperature range, from 2°C to 40°C
•A food supply, which means anything organic such as books, carpets, clothing, wood, drywall, etc.
•A source of moisture

The last condition, moisture, is the only practical factor to control in most houses.

If allowed to grow inside your house, mold can be a problem because:
•It can damage your possessions
•It can cause health problems, for example:

“ … mould … can cause … allergic reactions such as asthma or allergic rhinitis, non-allergic reactions such as headaches, and other symptoms [including] lung and breathing infections” (Health Canada, 2003).

Dry Quickly to Avoid Mold!

1 — Contact your insurance broker

First, call your insurance broker or agent and report the water damage. You can expect to discuss these questions and issues:
•How did the water damage occur?
•Is this damage covered by your policy?
•Did the damage occur during the period your policy was in effect?
•Are you reporting the water damage promptly (within 24 hours) to allow quick drying and repairs?

2 — Hire a Contractor

Hire a contractor to clean up the water and make repairs as needed to your house. Your adjuster can recommend contractors, but you must confirm the selection with your adjuster — the contractor reports to and is paid by you. You need to be sure that the adjuster and the contractor are following the best possible procedures to look after your concerns.

A thorough and fast cleanup will help avoid mold growth. If you wait too long and mold growth starts, cleanup costs will increase significantly. This is what you should be looking for:

Speed
Mold grows quickly; your adjuster should ensure that you have a contractor in your house promptly.

Knowledge
The contractor you select should have certification or training in water damage restoration and mold remediation.

Competence
The contractor should follow basic, good clean up practices after your water damage. Here are some things to look for:
•The moisture source is stopped
•Wet items that can’t be salvaged are removed
•What can’t be removed is dried quickly
•Ideally, drying is done within 48 hours (to minimize mold growth)
•No refinishing is done until the area is thoroughly dried

3 — Make sure everything is dry

Confirm that the contractor checks thoroughly to make sure all wet areas are completely dry. Be sure all cavities, such as crawl spaces, are dry.

4 — Verify the work

Make sure all repairs and cleaning have been done properly before you tell your adjuster you are satisfied.

You’ve Got Mold

If you already have extensive mold because, for example, you’ve had water damage while you’ve been away for two weeks, or there was a long delay between the water damage and the arrival of a restoration contractor, then you and your adjuster will have to discuss the following points:

1 — Drying the damaged area

In addition to the items discussed in steps 1 and 2 of the previous section, your adjuster will ask you about pre-existing mold and discuss minor or hidden water damage with you. See the text boxes below for more information.

2 — Removing the mold safely

To protect the workers and you and your family from exposure to mold, the contractor must follow certain procedures. Here are some things to look for:
•The affected area should be sealed off from the rest of your house.
•The workers should be wearing protective gear.
•There will need to be an exhaust fan removing air from the affected area to the outdoors.
•No chemical disinfectants, such as bleach, should be used during clean-up, only fragrance-free detergent.
•If transported through your house, moldy materials should be sealed in plastic.

3 — Inspecting for mold

Confirm that the contractor checks thoroughly to make sure there is no remaining mold in your house. This means inspecting:
•All areas adjacent to the mold growth
•Behind wallpaper
•In areas where water may have seeped, such as wall cavities, basement subfloors, crawl spaces, etc.
•Under wall-to-wall carpeting

4 — Verifying the work

Make sure the repairs and cleaning have been done properly and check for the possible spread of the mold before you tell your adjuster you are satisfied. This is what you should ask yourself:
•Do you smell mold?
•Do you see mold?
•Have all affected items been either properly cleaned and dried or discarded if cleaning was not effective?
•Are you or your family experiencing health problems that could be mold-related?

Pre-existing Mold

Typically, most insurance policies cover mold damage if it is directly related to a “covered peril” or insured loss. This means that the direct cause of the water damage, and consequently the mold growth, can be identified. Your adjuster will want to determine whether the mold you are reporting is pre-existing. In other words, was mold in your house prior to the water damage? The adjuster may make a visit to your house to assess the cause of the mold.

If you have a damp basement already full of moldy furniture and stored items, for example, and a water pipe bursts, you cannot claim for the material that was damaged prior to the water damage caused by the burst pipe. A good inspector should be able to tell the difference between pre-existing mold and recently developed mold.

The adjuster may determine that the mold is the result of some factor other than the water damage (the burst pipe) you reported, such as lack of maintenance or poor house design. If the mold was not the result of a specific occurrence that is covered by your insurance policy, the mold damage is unlikely to be covered by your policy.

Mold From Ongoing Minor or Hidden Water Damage

Minor or hidden water damage means that you had a leak for a long time before you became aware of it. The water seepage may be, for example, from a defective water pipe, hot water heater, or window seal. You almost certainly have mold along with the leak and water damage. The adjuster and contractor will need to deal with both issues, the water damage and the mold. Again, the cause of the leak will determine what costs your house insurance will cover. Discuss with your adjuster whether the cause of the minor or hidden water damage is covered by your policy and whether the mold was pre-existing.

Below is a list of some frequently asked questions. If your particular concerns are not addressed here, please contact us directly. We will make every attempt to provide you with the necessary information.

Q: My whole family is in perfect health. Why would I consider contacting Attics to Basements for my next remodeling project?

A: Our Design-For-Life approach to remodeling addresses the long-term concerns many people do not consider until they are directly faced with them. Let’s say you just purchased a home with a 30 year mortgage. Chances are you are not thinking too much about what your needs will be 30 years from now. Even if you are healthy and many years away from retirement, there are things you can do as part of your next remodeling project that can easily adapt to possible later needs. With a little remodeling foresight, we like to call it “Premodeling”, Accessible Lifestyle can help you avoid unnecessary and costly alterations in the future.

Q: I’m afraid it may be too expensive to customize my current home to meet my access needs. Why shouldn’t I avoid all that expense by just selling my home and moving into an assisted living facility?

A: For many people, there is simply no place like home. But if you prefer to look at this question strictly from a dollars-and-cents perspective, you will find that modifying your home can be a far less costly alternative than the expenses related to selling, moving and the ongoing costs of assisted living. You may also want to consider the value of your home in the current real estate market. Moreover, the improvements themselves can build additional equity in your home.

Q: Why do prices vary on different estimates?

A: There are many different factors to take into consideration when pricing estimates. First, make sure that the estimates have the same scope of work. The amount of service provided by the contractor has a big effect on the cost. If the contractor handles every detail of the project, the price will probably be higher. If the contractor has all proper forms of insurance, the price will be higher than a “pick-up contractor”. Quality of work is another factor of the cost. The customer should not have to ask for things to be re-done. If you are still undecided call references provided by the contractor.

Q: What should the proposal submitted to me contain?

A: In addition to the final job price, the proposal should contain details including everything from model numbers of the materials to allowance costs budgeted for appliances, flooring, fixtures, doors, tile, lighting, etc.

Q: What are some key questions to ask the contractor when they come to see me?

A: A few key questions to ask could be: “How long have you been in business?”, “Have you ever done a project like this one? If so, tell me about it.”, “Are you certified, or a member of any organizations?”. Ask as many questions as you would like until you find a contractor that can answer all of your questions to your satisfaction.

Q: How long will the project take to complete?

A: It all depends on the type of construction taking place. Remodeling projects often vary due to factors such as limited access to the work area, work areas that are already fully furnished, demolition of the current finishes, daily clean up, and delivery schedule of special ordered items. Major remodels, additions and adding 2nd floors could take from 5 months to a year. Each project has its own timeline. New home construction will take between 4 and 8 months depending on the size of the home.

Q: Do we need to move out of our home while construction is taking place?

A: Not usually, it all depends on how extensive the project is and which areas are being renovated. You may be able to relocate to another area in your home while work is taking place. Some minor inconveniences are to be expected, but we make every effort to keep a safe and comfortable atmosphere during the project at hand. However, if you are adding a 2nd story to your home or performing a MAJOR renovation, you will need to.

Q: I keep hearing about change orders, what are they?

A: A change order is a written statement signed by the customer authorizing the contractor to do additional work which was not included in the original contract. The change order should be signed before the additional work is started, but often it is not in order to keep the project moving. The amount specified is due when the change order is signed. A change order also may be written when a contractor comes across any unforeseen damage or problem that was not part of the scope of work that was bid.

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Houses can be built in a large variety of configurations. A basic division is between free-standing or detached dwellings and various types of attached or multi-user dwellings. Both sorts may vary greatly in scale and amount of accommodation provided. Although there appear to be many different types, many of the variations listed below are purely matters of style rather than spatial arrangement or scale. Some of the terms listed are only used in some parts of the English speaking world.

[edit] Detached single-unit housing

The interior of an Iraqi mudhif

• Mudhif: a traditional reed house made by the Madan people of Iraq.
• Octagon house: a house of symmetrical octagonal floor plan, popularized briefly during the 19th century by Orson Squire Fowler.
• Patio house
• Pole house: a timber house in which a set of vertical poles carry the load of all of its suspended floors and roof, allowing all of its walls to be non-load-bearing.
• Prefabricated house: a house whose main structural sections were manufactured in a factory, and then transported to their final building site to be assembled upon a concrete foundation, which had to be poured locally.
• Ranch: a rambling single-story house, often containing a garage and sometimes constructed over a basement.
• Queenslander: a house most commonly built in the tropical areas of Australia, especially in the State of Queensland and in the Northern Territory. These are constructed on top of high concrete piers or else upon the stumps of felled trees in order to allow cooling breezes to flow beneath them, and often they have a wide veranda, or porch, that runs partially or completely the way around the house. See the Cracker House, above, which was quite similar to this one.
• A Roundhouse dwelling: is a kind of a house built with a circular plan. This kind was constructed in Western Europe before the Conquest by the Roman legions. After this conquest, houses were usually built in the Roman style that came from Italy.
• The Saltbox: was a style of wooden house that was widespread during Colonial Times in New England.
• Split-level house: a design of house that was commonly built during the 1950s and 1960s. It has two nearly-equal sections that are located on two different levels, with a short stairway in the corridor connecting them. This kind of house is quite suitable for building on slanted or hilly land.
• “Sears Catalog Home“: an owner-built “kit” houses that were sold by the Sears, Roebuck and Co. corporation via catalog orders from 1906 to 1940.
• Shack: a small, usually rundown, wooden building.
• Shotgun house: a style of house that was initially popular in New Orleans starting around 1830, and spread from there to other urban areas throughout the Southern U.S. Its peak period of popularity ran from the Civil War to the Great Depression. This house typically follows the structure of living room, bedrooms, then the bathroom, and kitchen as the last room of the house. The reason for the name is because it all sits in on straight line from front to back.^[4]
• The detached single-family house is any free-standing house that is structurally separated from its neighboring houses, usually separated by open land, making it distinctive from such dwellings as duplexes, townhouses, and condominiums.
• Souterrain: an earthen dwelling typically deriving from Neolithic Age or Bronze Age times.
• Stilt houses or Pile dwellings: houses raised on stilts over the surface of the soil or a body of water.
• Snout house: a house with the garage door being the closest part of the dwelling to the street.
• Splits
  • Backsplit: multi-level house that appears as a bungalow from the front elevation.
  • Frontsplit: multilevel house that appears as a two-story house in front and a bungalow in the back. It is the opposite of a backsplit and is a rare configuration.
  • Sidesplit: multi-level house where the different levels are visible from the front elevation view.
• Storybook houses: 1920s houses inspired by Hollywood set design.
• Tipi
• Tree house: a house built among the branches or around the trunk of one or more mature trees and does not rest on the ground.
• Trullo: a traditional Apulian stone dwelling with conical roof.
• Tudor Revival architecture:: modern variants of Tudor architecture.
• Tuscan
• Underground home: an dwelling dug and constructed underground
• Unit: a type of medium-density housing that is usually found in Australia and New Zealand.
• Unity house: a type of low-cost dwelling built in Great Britain during the 1940s and 1950s. These contain walls made of stacked concrete panels between concrete pillars. About 19,000 of these houses were constructed in the United Kingdom.^[1]
• Vernacular house: house constructed in the manner of the aboriginal population, designed close to nature, using locally-available materials.

Example of an early Victorian “Gingerbread House” in the USA, built in 1855.

• Victorian house
• Villa: originally an upper-class country house, though since its origins in Roman times the idea and function of a villa has evolved considerably.
• Wealden hall house a type of vernacular medieval timber-framed yeoman‘s house traditional in the south east of England.
• Wimpey house: a low-cost house built in the UK from the 1940s onwards. The walls are of no-fines concrete. About 300,000 were constructed.^[1]
• Yaodong: a dugout used as an abode or shelter in northern China, especially on the Loess Plateau.
• Yurt: a nomadic house of central asia.

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Split Level Remodeling Guide

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 Your small kitchen can be beautiful kitchen, it comes down to what fits where and how you use the space. There are many different designs and styles of furniture and surface’s that can add a taste of space in your kitchen design.

To create the kitchen design the most effective, you need to incorporate three key elements in a small kitchen design: storage, lighting and appliances.

A small kitchen can seem very difficult design challenge, but can also be functional, beautiful and powerful. Although a small budget and building restrictions of the law, you will find that there are many options open to you to convert a small kitchen design is a perfect fit for your needs.

You can create a wider search for a small kitchen design the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) recommends designing more unique storage solutions, mixing natural light and environment, with more space-saving devices, and adding a personal touch .

A small kitchen design requires creativity in storage solutions. Some ideas to try include:

1. Using design kitchen island in the middle of the kitchen that can provide self-storage is also convenient from anywhere in the kitchen.

2. Using a kitchen design kitchens where cabinets and appliances line on each side of a corridor can work very well for a small kitchen design.

3. Manufacturers today must find a more compact space saving design to make a small kitchen easier, such as refrigerators, which are 24 inches deep instead of 30 inches deep, as well as devices that can be hung under the cabinets furnaces microwave.

4. Other small kitchen design tricks to create a kitchen eating area by using the DROP TABLE or a small round table two small chairs that can be hidden in a corner. Or a built-in along the wall to provide chairs for eating Nook.

5. Another interesting challenge in small kitchen design is to create an illusion of space with the lighting or under-counter cabinet. With the right kind of kitchen lighting can be made to look bigger and nicer.

6th The use of light colored cabinets with glass doors.

7. Installing deeper counters that can accommodate multiple devices and increase the workspace.

8. Floor tiles can be placed on a diagonal, and a wood floor kitchen style kitchen can run the length of the kitchen.

9th For storage, you can hang pots and pans. This is a great way to free up storage space, and they add a certain charm and character to your small kitchen design. The interior of the cabinet doors can be used to hang everything from utensils, oven mitts, and various other objects. Pantry storage with units that go all the way to the ceiling with the upper cabinets to provide more space for seldom used items, while the lower cabinets more accessible with rollout shelves, lazy Susans, and bow out trays.

10. Install a large kitchen sink, since larger sinks are considered more practical than small sinks when it comes to cleaning pots and pans.

Remember most kitchens are small. When you look in magazines kitchen remodeling design ideas, of course realize that the kitchen was presented beautiful and great if you could think of your small kitchen design is not enough. But good small kitchen design means being able to create space and incorporating ample storage facilities and be able to accommodate all the necessary equipment.

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