My Wife Has Started The Bathroon Remodel!

[OldCoyote]

Three days ago the contractor started ripping everything out, including the drywall.

We were running more pipe with a recirc pump so you could get almost instant hot water,

When they took out the old bathtub there old black mud and water in the drain pit under the tub where the drain connects to the sewer.

Started cleaning all the junk out broke up the thin layer of concrete in the pit to run new drain pipe,,

Suddenly water started to fill the hole!   it happened when my wife was using the kitchen sink.

So today they came back with a concrete saw, cut a big hole in the concrete below what used to be where the tub was,,

Dig out the concrete, lots of black mold under the concrete.  dig down trying to find the leak.

Well ,, WE found it! The kitchen sink was never connected to the sewer,  It went down into the dirt about 12" under the concrete.  It drained under the house into the gravel and dirt!!

The house sits on a slab of concrete,, the house was built in 1975,, We have live there for 33 years,, So, this means the water has flowed under the concrete for all those years,,

That water and all that mold is not going to dry out!!

Any one have a suggestion??

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

Oh my goodness. That is awful. I’m so sorry. I have no idea what you should do.

[CCL]

I guess they have to bust up enough concrete til they can connect the kitchen line to the rest of the drain pipe.

[OldCoyote]

What do We do with all the Black mold?

It's like 10" thick where the hole is.

I woke up early this morning worrying about whether or not we should even be staying here.

[oped]

Bleach. Lots of bleach.

Actually I’d call professionals at that point probably.

[OldCoyote]

I am hiring an adjuster to guide me thru this, Because over the last 10 years or so the Insurance Co. have specifically said they don't cover mold.

So I, at least at this point intend on going back on old policies that when in effect since I bought the house.

[OldCoyote]

When the house was built, some one had to just stuck the plastic pipe into the ground, not connected,, then, the poured the concrete!!

[OldCoyote]

I guess this is why I was told to never throw away old insurance policies,, Now to dig thru old files to find them.

[OldCoyote]

Here is something funny, even if it isn't,,

I have huge cactus's and a couple of trees growing in front,,I always wonder why mine were so large, grow as fast as they did ,, since we never watered them,,

At least intentionally!

[oped]

And honestly gray water is great for that! As long as it doesn’t create moisture/mold issues under your house

Is gray water allowed where you are?

[wvugurl26]

I would definitely call professionals in. I wouldn't stay but I have asthma and mold allergies.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

You probably want to call someone in for mold remediation.  I don’t know if lots of bleach is going to be sufficient for this.

[tractor]

Wild suggestion, but you might need to bring in a vacuum truck to suck out all the nasty stuff, the refill the hole with new sand.

I surprised it never backed up before, at least you know you have good drainage.

Oh, and it’s possible that the black stuff isn’t mold, it’s dissolved organic material, made up of all the food particles washed down the sink. I don’t think mold can grow under anaerobic conditions.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Mar 22, 2019 12:01:28 GMT -5 tractor said:

Wild suggestion, but you might need to bring in a vacuum truck to suck out all the nasty stuff, the refill the hole with new sand.

I surprised it never backed up before, at least you know you have good drainage.

Oh, and it’s possible that the black stuff isn’t mold, it’s dissolved organic material, made up of all the food particles washed down the sink. I don’t think mold can grow under anaerobic conditions.

These are not true anaerobic conditions, but mold can grow anywhere.  I have dealt with it in an anaerobic chamber....and it sucks.

[CCL]

Doesn't seem to me like something insurance would cover since it was never connected from the beginning. Probably no harm in trying, though.

Good luck. It sounds like a mess.

[finnime]

Wow. That really bites, sorry. I agree with others, call mold remediation specialists, then have plumbing redone.

[laterbloomer]

Now I'm scared for my bathrroom reno, it starts in 2 weeks 

[engineerdoe]

Mar 21, 2019 22:15:01 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

Three days ago the contractor started ripping everything out, including the drywall.

We were running more pipe with a recirc pump so you could get almost instant hot water,

When they took out the old bathtub there old black mud and water in the drain pit under the tub where the drain connects to the sewer.

Started cleaning all the junk out broke up the thin layer of concrete in the pit to run new drain pipe,,

Suddenly water started to fill the hole!   it happened when my wife was using the kitchen sink.

So today they came back with a concrete saw, cut a big hole in the concrete below what used to be where the tub was,,

Dig out the concrete, lots of black mold under the concrete.  dig down trying to find the leak.

Well ,, WE found it! The kitchen sink was never connected to the sewer,  It went down into the dirt about 12" under the concrete.  It drained under the house into the gravel and dirt!!

The house sits on a slab of concrete,, the house was built in 1975,, We have live there for 33 years,, So, this means the water has flowed under the concrete for all those years,,

That water and all that mold is not going to dry out!!

Any one have a suggestion??

I agree with everyone speaking to the mold remediation people.  It may actually end up being a "cap it" situation once you make the sewer connection for the kitchen drain.  The main issue right now is keeping everyone in the house safe and you or your contractor will likely need to make "clean" passages to the bathroom to make sure the mold isn't relocated to the rest of the house.  I would shut down your house fan if you have it running.

[engineerdoe]

Mar 22, 2019 6:37:29 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

Here is something funny, even if it isn't,,

I have huge cactus's and a couple of trees growing in front,,I always wonder why mine were so large, grow as fast as they did ,, since we never watered them,,

At least intentionally!

Once the water supply is gone they may actually die back.  I kill plants no matter what I do so I am no help in giving suggestions on how to prepare the cactus and trees for the coming drought.

[obelisk]

I would make sure that all the toilets in the house are actually hooked up to the sewer line first before seeking remediation.

[sesfw]

I agree with getting a mold professional in there to look.

Is the original building company still in business?  Somewhere else I would look.

 One bit of luck in this horrible situation ………… low humidity

Good luck.

[OldCoyote]

Mar 22, 2019 19:25:15 GMT -5 sesfw said:

I agree with getting a mold professional in there to look.

Is the original building company still in business?  Somewhere else I would look.

 One bit of luck in this horrible situation ………… low humidity

Good luck.

John F. Long!

[zibazinski]

Mar 22, 2019 6:24:19 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

When the house was built, some one had to just stuck the plastic pipe into the ground, not connected,, then, the poured the concrete!!

Some inspector signed off on it as well. 🤬

[OldCoyote]

Mar 23, 2019 5:52:18 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Mar 22, 2019 6:24:19 GMT -5 OldCoyote said:

When the house was built, some one had to just stuck the plastic pipe into the ground, not connected,, then, the poured the concrete!!

Some inspector signed off on it as well. 🤬

This is very true!

[OldCoyote]

Mar 22, 2019 19:25:15 GMT -5 sesfw said:

I agree with getting a mold professional in there to look.

Is the original building company still in business?  Somewhere else I would look.

 One bit of luck in this horrible situation ………… low humidity

Good luck.

As you know almost all houses in Lower elevation in AZ are built on a slab of concrete,.. Concrete poured over a sub strata and over the ground.

In my case I have a shallow layer of dirt on top of Caliche.

In the back end of my yard , the Caliche is within 8" of the ground.  I almost killed the trencher digging thru it when I put the sprinklers system in!

In the front yard it is 4' down.

So how do We dry out the water that is trapped under the concrete?

Well, I already had one, General Contractor/ mold remediation Co. tell me the entire house need torn down, the concrete removed!

I was hoping for a gallon of Clorox would do the trick.

[busymom]

I'd say it's time to get a 2nd, and a 3rd opinion.  Of course we can't see it, but that sounds a bit extreme to tear down the entire house.

[sesfw]

With 30 plus years of mold building ……. a tear-down may be the only permanent solution.

And John F Long would pay for it ……...

[CCL]

Mar 23, 2019 14:03:26 GMT -5 sesfw said:

With 30 plus years of mold building ……. a tear-down may be the only permanent solution.

And John F Long would pay for it ……...

Is that the builder? Good luck with that. Could he even do anything since it was built so long ago? When we tried to sue our home builder, he went out of business.

[Deleted]

Won't it just dry out?  I mean, it's trapped under the cement, so it's not like it's in the wood and walls where you're exposed to it, and it's so dry in AZ.  

I'm really sorry this happened, water issues suck! 

[nittanycheme]

Are they sure its mold?  If its from the kitchen, it may be a lot of rotten food.  Based upon what your general area and soil, I would think that a lot of the moisture would just soak away into the ground because its so arid.  But I know a lot of food particles go down my sink - especially with the dishwasher hooked up to it.  And the mix probably isn't right to make good compost.....    So, it may be mold - but not necessarily just from the water, but from the food particles.