insulation before siding

7 years ago

Our builder installed Owens Corning ecotouch pink fiberglass insulation last week with paper backs. They did this before the exterior siding was completed even though we asked that they wait until it’s closed in. Of course now we have had rain the last two days and it’s evident we are getting water in the house especially around the windows and at the bottom of some framing. Does this ruin the insulation or cause a mold risk? Should we request they run dehumidifiers prior to drywall?

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ksc36

7 years ago

The new wood you get from the lumber yard will have mold spores, as does the air all around you. Nobody's tearing out lumber because of a little mold.

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Comments (8)

sprink1es
7 years ago
Depends if it has taken on water or not. Usually fiberglass goes in after house wrap, and before siding... but not until the roof is shingled and windows are in so there's slim chance of water getting in.

Depends what happened - if the glass is wet wet, it needs to be cut out and replaced. If it's just condensation ish, then glass does breathe so it will be fine
robin0919
7 years ago
DEMAND the GC do a 'complete' ck on mold with 'lic' mold detector company. That YOU approve.
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gle2011
7 years ago
We had a similar situation with our walk out basement last winter during our build.

In June we notice the poly covering the fiberglass insulation had beads of water behind it.

Long story short, all of the insulation needed to be removed and a black mold remediation needed to be done.

Good Luck
opaone
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
The wall cavities should not be closed in with insulation until the house is fully dried in - no moisture at all getting inside.

The problem you may be facing now is that the wood framing is wet and does not have a way to dry out very fast which may promote mold growth in the wood. Once mold begins growing in the wood it cannot be killed - no chemical that I'm aware of that will kill the mold will also penetrate wood to get to the mold roots. Once mold begins to grow you'll need to replace any wood with mold on it.
ksc36
7 years ago
"Once mold begins to grow you'll need to replace any wood with mold on it."

Nonsense...
PRO
Springtime Builders
7 years ago
Yeah I think most believe it's safe to scrub the visible mold, dry out and keep the wood. Agree that a house should be dried in before insulation. For the most part, a home should be dried in with the weather resistive barriers that are beneath the siding or exterior finish. Good cases can be made for moving ahead with insulation before exterior finishes.
opaone
7 years ago
@ksc36, perhaps you know something that all of the scientists that study mold do not, please share.

We recently went through this due to mold during framing of our house and a daughter-in-law who is very susceptible to mold spores. The consistent response from everyone we talked with is that once mold begins growing in wood there is no chemical that will kill it.

If you get the wood dry, kill the mold on the surface, and the wood stays dry (ideally below 45% RH but minimally below 60% RH) then there is a good chance that the spores will remain dormant and not cause problems. If the wood gets moist then the mold will begin to grow and since it is growing from colonies of dormant spores it will grow and spread very quickly. This is the situation that seems to cause the most health problems for people.