I just finished remodeling a house. The outside deck has sat without a
finish surface for about 2 years. A rubber membrane surface was painted on
the plywood deck and then an aggregate coat was floated on top. Well the
guy who did it did not tape the seams properly and it started to leak a few
weeks ago with the bad rains in southern california. I have been waiting
for the deck to dry out enough to bring someone else in to finish it. Well
the other day I noticed some discoloration under the deck on the plywood and
thought it was water stains but it is dark and probably is mold or fungus
and I am not sure what to do. I assume it would be a good idea to remove it
if possible prior to the topside of the deck being finished so that if there
is any mold between the joints of the plywood it can be treated if possible.
I have read that bleach doesn't really do a good job at removing or killing
this. It is now wet as it rained today. I don't want to infect myself with
the spores. Is there anything I can spray on it that is safe to use? I
have maybe a half of a dozen pathches or streaks. One area is maybe 2-3 ft
square the rest are smaller. But if I wait until the rains stop and things
dry out to deal with it it may have grown alot more. Is it better to deal
with it wet or dry? To tear the deck down and incur the cost of rebuilding
would be a financial nightmare for me right now. Once the mold is removed
or treated is it a pretty good bet that it will stop growing. I don't want
dryrot growing in a deck for obvious reasons? And I was considering govering
the underside of the deck with stucco at some point. I guess I should paint
and leave it open to observe it over time? Any adivice or help would be
greatly appreciated.

Michael Roback wrote:

I just finished remodeling a house. The outside deck has sat without a
finish surface for about 2 years. A rubber membrane surface was painted on
the plywood deck and then an aggregate coat was floated on top. Well the
guy who did it did not tape the seams properly and it started to leak a few
weeks ago with the bad rains in southern california. I have been waiting
for the deck to dry out enough to bring someone else in to finish it. Well
the other day I noticed some discoloration under the deck on the plywood and
thought it was water stains but it is dark and probably is mold or fungus
and I am not sure what to do. I assume it would be a good idea to remove it
if possible prior to the topside of the deck being finished so that if there
is any mold between the joints of the plywood it can be treated if possible.
I have read that bleach doesn't really do a good job at removing or killing
this. It is now wet as it rained today. I don't want to infect myself with
the spores. Is there anything I can spray on it that is safe to use? I
have maybe a half of a dozen pathches or streaks. One area is maybe 2-3 ft
square the rest are smaller. But if I wait until the rains stop and things
dry out to deal with it it may have grown alot more. Is it better to deal
with it wet or dry? To tear the deck down and incur the cost of rebuilding
would be a financial nightmare for me right now. Once the mold is removed
or treated is it a pretty good bet that it will stop growing. I don't want
dryrot growing in a deck for obvious reasons? And I was considering govering
the underside of the deck with stucco at some point. I guess I should paint
and leave it open to observe it over time? Any adivice or help would be
greatly appreciated.


Good info he
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/prod...1621.html#1639
and you can order materials.
You need to apply a mold kiler and then seal the surface against
future growth.

Jim

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 02:12:15 GMT, someone wrote:

... It is now wet as it rained today. I don't want to infect myself with
the spores....

Once the area is permanently dried out, the mold shouldn't be able to
grow any more.

Unless you are one of the very very few people who is sensitive -
kinda like a peanut allergy, real to those who have it but no bother
to the rest of us - there is little to worry about getting "infected"
from a casual approach towards it.

Mold spores are everywhere - how do you think it started growing there
- they just don't grow unless conditions are right. You need to make
them wrong. Yes indeed nobody should intentionally live in an
enclosed area filled with high levels of mold, but unless you are
predisposed to sensitivity its not like Ebola virus, I would not be
worried about briefly going near it to repair it.



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