Moisture, Mold, Cupping, Buckling Floors, and Termites.
Louisiana is one of the states that has homes that are over 200+ years old. The architecture, the history, and the culture behind these homes tell an amazing story and is an image of what life was like 200+ years ago.
The walls and the original hardwood floors can be a portal through time, but the problem with antique homes is the condition of the wooden substrates. These homes have lived through the elements and stood the test of time, and unlike history books homes deteriorate.
Kathy and Steve of Baton Rouge own a beautiful country home in an affluent neighborhood that is over 75 years old. Over time the hardwood floors started to feel soft, and they knew they were literally stepping on a huge problem.
Festering with Moisture, and Mold
Kathy and Steve’s home had been festering with moisture, and mold for some time. The home needed mold remediation and other repairs as soon as possible before one of them fell through the floor.
Kathy called Sunlight Contractors because the other 3- previous contractors never fixed her problems. Sunlight Contractors started evaluating the home and no one knew what was in store for us, and how serious the problem was.
Our technician discovered extremely high moisture, mold, rot, termites, and improper footings on the piers and beams in their crawlspace. The moisture content in all the spots tested with a moisture reader/hygrometer was in the 40’s. Moisture levels like these there needed to be a full proof plan in place, and that is exactly what Sunlight Contractor provided for Kathy and Steve.
Sunlight Contractors guarantees all the work we perform, and we do not just repair the problem. Our plan is the solution to the problems, and also prevent the problems from ever occurring again.
Our Plan
- First they needed over 20 new perfectly constructed and reinforced piers with 28” depth of steel rebar and 320 pounds of concrete in each of the 20 piers.
- There were over 85, 2x10x16 new floor joists, over 7 brand-new support beams measuring 6x6x16, over 45 new sheets of plywood, 110 joist hangers for support, intensive mold removal, and Sunlight Contractors abolished the moisture from the home with heavy duty commercial equipment.
- Finally, we sprayed Kathy and Steve’s brand-new subfloor with 2lb closed cell spray foam at thickness of 3” R-21. We fully covered every sill, beam, and floor joist so the closed cell spray foam can act as an air, vapor, and thermal barrier for decades to come.
Sunlight Contractors is a one stop shop so we placed a brand-new hardwood floor on the top side as well. Kathy and Steve’s floor will now last another 100 years and can stand the test of time and tell its own Architectural story a century from now.
