End-of-Year Word Play: Mold

Here’s a thinker…for all of us – what isn’t a mold, but fits in a mold and can mold to any contour? The answer – mold.

In the trades and related industries, we often say things to clients and others that come from yet other inspectors, builders, presenters, education materials, and professionals. As all knowledge does, our industry knowledge has compounded upon itself as it has grown alongside the continued industry evolution (e.g., once upon a time home inspectors only offered home inspections…). But, how often do we stop and think about the words which we are spewing forth like a slurry of melting ice burgs?

Thus, we find ourselves wondering – why do we refer to a variant of fungal growth as “mold” when we also refer to “mold” as an object to form/shape objects? Are you ready for a crazy answer…brace yourselves.

These are molds that most children would view as beneficial and yummy!

I was curious about this idea (particularly since many of us don’t use “mold” in our verbiage). So, I used AI searching and found the online etymology dictionary (who knew…?). Well, c. 1200 mould referred to a hollow pattern used to shape things but in a figurative sense, stemming from Latin, of course (why didn’t I take that class in high school…).

By c. 1300, the word had morphed a bit to refer to physical form/shaping. By c. 1400, molde referred to stuff growing on other stuff and came from either Proto-Germanic (wetness, slipperiness) or Old English (loose earth). If we fast-forward to 1897, the Brits made a point to say all variants should be spelled “mold.” So much for uniqueness. Colonists…eh.

To obfuscate the matter just a bit – mould in the mid-14 century meant to mix or blend by kneading (think dough); by late 14c. it had baked (get it…) into kneading bread and forming into a specific shape. The figurative sense of the word – as in, mold your child in your image (referring to character) – appears to have come back with the assertiveness of the plague c. 1600.

This is how all babies are made, no?

So, is there a link or some form of a connection between usage of mold as a tool and mold as a term referencing a subset of organic microbial growth? Sadly, it doesn’t look like it. Just a coincidence. Mold usually is intended to refer to one type of fungus that grows on organic matter. Fungal growth/microbial growth is the more generic term encompassing all fungi, inclusive of mold.

If we want to split hairs, we could ask – why do we say “mold” when there are various types of molds? Some molds are okay molds, like Glenda the Good Witch. And some molds are bad, like the Wicked Witch of the East. I mean, when we’re in crawlspaces, it’s pretty impossible to know the difference for those of us not properly trained as mycologists. If the bad molds would wear striped socks like their ne’er-do-well counter-part who got flattened by a house (see why I used this reference now…), it would be so much easier.

Err…maybe I’ll take a rein check on the treats, Grandma.

I’ve been perplexed and stupefied many times over the 12 years I’ve been inspecting related to mold – like Lord Voldermort or Macbeth, we aren’t supposed to say it, write it, snuggle it, support it, or play with it. Yet, we now have a plethora of third-party providers constantly shoving mold testing, mold sampling, mold reporting, and mold vacations (okay, I may have made that last one up) down our small business throats. Sooooooooooooo, the legal eagles advise not to say “mold,” but we can offer “mold” testing services. I think I’m starting to understand absurdism, after all.

Perhaps the issue isn’t the etymology of the term, or the classification of type, but in our understanding of the term. It’s a communication issue so our messaging isn’t way off when we speak with clients and agents and builders. Perhaps, like most of our industry information that has continued to evolve, our usage of the term as taboo can, too – much like the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes (also, that’s a medical condition if I know anything about hearts…), our usage of mold can grow if our understanding of how and when to use it grows, too. So, we could mold our businesses in the mold of a well-educated professional who can distinguish moments for mold to safely be front and center. I do hope you’ve enjoyed this educationally molding experience.

Can’t we all just get along…

Our Southern Homes and Water Vapor

Prologue

Writing, for me, is synthesizing ideas, concepts, and facts into understandings of my own words. This creates meaning for me as a professional and, thus, helps me to be a better professional for my clients.

Writing helps create meaning…which has to be read…to create meaning

Recently, I was re-reading Dr. Joseph Lstiburek’s 2004 article, “Insulations, Sheathings, and Vapor Retarders.” In my best moments, I try to touch one of his articles once per week. His material is dense, but accessible and witty. It really satiates my brain. But, I find that the information does not self-retain in my noggin – there is no adsorption or absorption for all of what Dr. Lstiburek freely disseminates. So, I have to re-read things continually to overcome my mutton-headed ways.

In the above-mentioned article, vapor in walling (and technically, roof and floor) assemblies is discussed in terms of thermodynamics and chemistry. At one point, the article talks about how vapor will diffuse to the lower vapor pressure and/or temperature side between two sides, regardless of air pressure. For our southern, humid climate this means that the water vapor that is outside in the warmer months will migrate inward for two reasons – our air conditioning “usually” is pulling moisture from the air inside our homes while simultaneously cooling interior surfaces. So, the inside has less vapor pressure (fewer water molecules inside than outside) and cooler surfaces. Vapor moves from high concentration to low concentration (inward in warmer months in our region) and from warmer to cool (inward in warmer months in our region).

Our Market

Now, the most common wall assembly configuration in our market is 2x4 studs, OSB wall sheathing, and a weather-resistive-barrier from DuPont (although competing brands are starting to show more frequently, but they mostly perform the same). These WRBs are not air barriers if not fully sealed (they never are in our market) and they are not vapor barriers as they are usually semi-permeable. Basically, they are designed to manage bulk water, but can’t do much for water in gaseous form (if you live here, you know we have a ton of water in gaseous form for at least 7 months each year).

A representative example for homes in our region which usually look modern-pretty from the cladded finish side

So, our wall assemblies are deplorable, historically, at managing water vapor. In older homes, like one I was in last year, this results in saturated fiberglass battens and some fungal growth on the battens’ paper-facing and the backside of the finished walling. The assembly configuration is uber common, even in new homes here – brick veneer, a banal WRB, sheathing, battens, interior wall finish (paneling and drywall in this instance). Now, this home’s walls had not rotted, but insulation was ruined and there was the fungal growth. So, what gives?

The walling was disassembled from the interior for renovation during the summer months. The previous owners had kept the home at 68 degrees F. up until it sold to the new owners. When we got into the walls, we saw thermodynamics at work – the interior temperature of the walling materials were at least 20 degrees cooler than outside temperatures. That undeterred, hot and humid air was like Garfield at a lasagna dinner – “Gimme, gimme, gimme!”. So, the vapor moved inward to less density and cooler surfaces whereby we happened to hit dew point due to Delta T and, Ta-da! Wet stuff.

Where’s the Mush?

So, why wasn’t it all mush? Why aren’t all our homes mush? Well, honestly, my best guess is that because we spend almost no time on air sealing, the walls are drying out – in the summer from heat and convective air movement; in the summer from vapor moving into the interior and the A/Cs reducing some amount of said moisture load (hello, utility costs…!?!); in the winter from being generally more dry outside while also being dry inside (a equilibrium of sorts). Inefficiency has saved us. Quick, ditch all that damn wall insulation…inefficiency saves us!

Except, maybe not. Utility costs continue to rise (TVA announced plans to raise their rates by 4.5% this fall). Building materials are not coming down in price to pre-COVID numbers. Home prices and mortgage rates also remain elevated. Oh, and let’s not forget the changing of weather that adds more strain to our structures. Maybe inefficiency shouldn’t remain our rule of thumb.

The flipside scenario also is not the answer – in several new homes in the last two years I’ve been called out related to moisture (relative humidity) being too high inside and under the home. Usually, these homes were built with modern materials and slightly better air management details. Slightly. We haven’t increased the R-value of our walling beyond an R19 (not regionally enforced), nor are we sealing our sheathing or WRBs, nor air sealing dissimilar assembly joints. We are starting to use integrated air/moisture management systems, but not properly executed. So, water vapor is still getting in via diffusion and air penetrations. And then it gets trapped with nowhere to go from the inside of the home (except the attic sometimes…not good in winter…unless we also are leaking heat to dry the moisture (heat from the sun and heat from our houses)…inefficiency is such an efficient cycle).

We Are Not In The Clear

What we can’t see within pretty exterior and interior finishes may pose issues for our younger homes in years to come…

In none of these newer homes have we been allowed to perform surgery to see what the innards look like. I’m hopeful, but not delusional. What creates deficiency in one direction can create it in the other direction, seasonally speaking. As most newer homes are drywall and latex-based painted, unsealed penetrations for conditioned winter air to move outward are going to be somewhat limited to man-made holes for electric and finish features. Vapor diffusion, moving outward, shouldn’t pose an issue due to proper paint finish on the interior side; plus, during the day the exterior materials are warmer which may escape the dew point (except shaded sides) and vapor isn’t trapped by vapor semi/permeable sheathing and membranes which is mostly what we still use. So, our winters mostly should harbor fewer issues than summers when warm air and higher vapor concentrations hit the cooler/dryer backside of drywall.

Trades Industry Sherpa For Consumers

There was a time when good work was in short supply, but good workers were not. Then, by various triggers that would require a top-ranking economist to explain and chart, good workers started to be in short supply and good work plentiful.

“…good workers started to be in short supply and good work plentiful.”

Then things got even more strange. People who performed the work started charging more money while more consistently performing a mediocre service or finished product. It seems, to my lint-filled pockets, money has lost its holding value for consumers. This is where the home diagnostic and consulting skill sets sweep in to save the day.

If you at all listen to The Unbuild It Podcast, or follow Home Diagnosis, or any of the plethora of available resources out there, you should be aware that the trend for ensuring what is built performs to a standard of today’s global and economic climate, and NOT a standard of past-home-building-decades, is becoming more common. Trade schools have been catching on over the last 10 years, industry figure heads (mostly via social media) have been adopting, adapting, and espousing these principals, and titans of the performance industry – Building Science – have freely shared so much technically difficult and yet simplistically executed information that there is no reason our buildings aren’t healthy, durable, and safe. If you have never taken a course with Joe (see previous link), then you just don’t know.

Unless you are a consumer.

Consumers don’t follow these channels. Consumers are living their lives, focused on their professions, and paying our trades professionals on the assumption that we will execute to a level worthy of the money they pay.

Consumer’s are a valued commodity by businesses.

How can consumers claw back the value of their money?

That does not happen, yet. Most general contractors, trades partners, and laborers work from a set of game plans that are based on requirements from the local jurisdiction having authority (if there is one), which means standardization is not standard across our states and even within any one state. This means the local business and trades culture shapes and reinforces skill sets, habits, and practices. There’s more truth to, “Well, that’s how my granddad taught me and the homes he built are still standing,” than many realize. Like the paths cut through a forest by furry creatures, we humans blindly follow that which provides the least impedance.

“Three hundred and sixty-six words in, this piece really is to say I shouldn’t be needed. But, there is such a chasm for consumers looking to understand their homes and spend their money wisely versus the trades professionals that perform said work…”

The beauty of what an entity like myself does is amalgamate overlapping fields of knowledge and practices to the benefit of the consumer. You have to know the basics of construction and related processes, materials commonly used in your region and their performances, typical trades practices within the field, a modest amount of building science, how to investigate, how to test, how to communicate, and how to listen. Entities like myself once were unicorns – now, we’re growing in number because there’s a need for us – we’re usually reasonably educated, experienced, open-minded to problem solving and willing to say we may not know the answer on the front end, and understanding that the consumer is not a trades professional and a trades professional is often limited in what they know or do (that whole worn path thing, again).

Some of us, like TNergy Services LLC, have chosen to act as consultant in order to properly guide consumers toward competency of decision making. It’s not my job to make choices for my clients – my job is to help my clients step from one stone to the next until they get to the end of the path and can choose their own way. My job is to listen to their choices and help them facilitate their needs and wishes to a contractor in language relatable to the contractor. This is the only way to deviate from the “norm” of trades practices that often leave consumers short for the value of their money spent.

Okay, so no cape and cowl.

But, consumers still deserve a means to make empowered decisions related to how they spend their money.

Having an entity such as myself makes sense – I have no dog in the fight. I don’t perform the work. I don’t cherry pick the contractor. I acquire information for the consumer, I gather bids for the consumer based on decided scope of work for an intended outcome, I help interpret said bids for the consumer, and I add an informed eye toward work performed to ensure proper execution. All of this is done without any sort of kickback from contractors or materials manufacturers. Yes, I get paid, but I get paid because I am hybridized, I am specialized, I am communicative, and I am a guide. Entities like myself are the sherpas of the trades industry for consumers.

I want my world to be better. I want my community to be better. I want our homes to be safer, healthier, and longer-lasting (one of Mr. Baczek’s common refrains is “long live our buildings”). I want to do more than just say, “I want.” This is me executing, trying, working to help our communities be better by assimilation of information that’s out there. The truth is out there (anyone interested in this last reference may be interested in this tidbit of fandom).