Mold Tops Builder Concerns

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Mold Tops Builder Concerns

A tally of builder and homeowner inquiries shows that both groups have

become keenly interested in learning about mold.

By Power

Each month, the NAHB Research Center in Washington fields and records

housing-related calls from builders, homeowners, and others from all over

the country. In the process, it often discovers that builders and homeowners

have the same issues on their minds.

In the last two months, the topic of interest by a wide margin of builders

(38 percent) has been preventing and identifying mold--confirming what

Builder has heard from Realtors, builders, and consultants in recent months.

This may be a warning that mold could be the biggest litigation boondoggle

facing builders since lead paint.

The NAHB's numbers, although anecdotal, demonstrate that builders have good

reason to be scared. Questions about mold dominate the field of queries by

homeowners (27.9 percent). They have heard about mold. They know it's a bad

thing. And, right or wrong, they clearly connect builders with the problem.

For more information, contact the NAHB Research Center's hotline at

800-638-8556 ext. 6232.

Top-Ranked Subjects of Recent Hotline Calls

Builders

Mold/Mildew or Moisture Protection 38.0%

Codes and Standards 13.9%

Research Center Resources 13.9%

Business Management 13.0%

Homeowners

Mold/Mildew or Moisture Protection 27.9%

Business Management 16.2%

Codes and Standards 16.2%

Durability 11.8%

Others *

Mold/Mildew or Moisture Protection 21.6%

Research Center Resources 21.6%

Business Management 18.6%

Codes and Standards 11.3%

*Note: Architects, designers, manufacturers, suppliers, and dealers likely

make up much of " the others " group. They, too, have taken an interest in

mold. [source: NAHB]

Information please: Although most homeowner inquiries mirror those of

builders, some homeowners note that they don't have enough information about

structural durability--a knowledge gap that builders could help to close.

The statistics were culled from September's call reports.

Source: BUILDER Magazine

Publication date: 2001-12-14