Solve a Mold Problem - PEP BB homesteading.straw.solvemold

Good day permalicious community!  I had a job last year that was a very extensive shower remodel due to rot and mold.  Permaculture values were not even considered in this due to the hazards to health and safety that were present.  A 30 year salty veteran carpenter came to offer his advice on this job which was "I wouldn't have taken the job."  I also had a mold and mildew specialist review this same video and he said I did all that I could and even his company wouldn't have done anything different other than maybe using a 30% hydrogen peroxide chemical that his highly caustic and not available to those outside their business.

Within an hour of beginning demolition I phone the landlord and told him that the tenant (who suffered from some lung and breathing issues) had to be removed from the premises while there was rot open to the air.  I used respiratory protection all day for four days straight until I traced the mold and rot as far as I could detect it.  The damage was caused by a leak in cracks in the grout between tiles near a window in the tiled shower.  It basically filled up the wall with water and turned the studs and insulation into fungus inoculated sponges.

The structural components of the wall were all compromised and contaminated, they had to be replaced.  I went above and beyond and painted all the studs and sheathing with Zinsser Mold and Mildew primer which has a fungicide in the recipe as well as being able to encapsulate any straggler spores.  This was probably not necessary, but it was one extra precaution I felt made sense under the extreme circumstances.

When I framed the exterior wall it was decided to remove the window that was in the shower before.  All walls replaced were insulated with fresh r-15 batts.  The tenant really enjoyed this because he said it was a rather unpleasant and frosty experience to bathe next to a single pane window in the winter time.

The floor joists under the bath tub were rotten.  For the first (and I hope last) time in my career I stuck my hand THROUGH a floor joist!  I replaced the joists and added insulation under the floor of the shower.

Once the rot was all removed and taken care of it was a pretty straight forward shower remodel.

Later, I heard that the tenants lung condition had begun to improve after this remediation was complete.