Local talk of mold-related litigation and insurance claims seems to have quieted to a dull roar, or even hushed tones, as local builders are taking a proactive approach to moisture threats.
Mold-related litigation is nothing new, but more of it has been sprouting up over the last 10 years throughout the United States, possibly sparked by quick construction during the housing boom.
And problem products, such as synthetic stucco, have allowed water to seep into siding and framing, said Brian Kashas, owner and chief executive officer of Camas-based Kashas Construction.
“There is no doubt (mold-related litigation) has been persistent, especially in the Northwest, because of all the moisture and rain we get, but I think the more diligent builders are learning what to do to prevent it,” said Brad Andersen, a construction and commercial litigation attorney at Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt’s Vancouver and Stevenson offices.
Andersen is currently working on one claim related to mold, but said he rarely encounters them otherwise – especially in Southwest Washington.
“I don’t think there’s been a huge run on mold claims in Clark County, and I think that speaks highly of the builders here,” he said.
When problems do arise locally, mold-related law suits tend to involve condominiums and remodels, Andersen said.
Kashas, who sits on the Building Industry Association of Clark County board of directors, agrees.
“There was a big construction boom and people just cut corners when they were building (condos),” he said.
Proactive practices
Kashas Construction hasn’t been involved with mold claims in its 23-year history, but Kashas knows of other companies that have been “saddled with the results of these (moisture) problems.”
The results can include dry rot that weakens wood and attracts insects, he said.
As an alternative to metal door and window flashing of the past, Kashas said he uses flexible, self-adhering flashing, and speculates its popularity is a response to past industry issues with moisture. Flashing covers joints and angles of a building to protect it from the elements.
“It’s become pretty much the standard practice, whereas that barely existed 10 years ago,” he said.
Other traditional building practices, such as ventilation, are being revamped to work better in wet climates, said Timothy Buckley, principal at Vancouver-based Greenstone Architecture.
“There’s a new science approach to make sure the designs are climate-appropriate,” he said.
Examples include newer building wrap systems and self adhered membrane flashing systems applied around doors.
“They have to be applied in a very specific methodology for water management. … They need very careful attention, especially during installation.” Buckley said.
The proactive approach at Vancouver-based New Tradition Homes involves eliminating potential sources of water intrusion, such as rain water seeping behind siding or improperly draining gutters, said Vice President Kelly Helmes.
Walls are his biggest area of concern in moisture-proofing a home, he said.
Helmes’ team waterproofs the walls of homes with products like Tyvek DrainWrap.
“If any water gets behind the siding you want to protect (the walls),” he said.
Avoiding vapor intrusion is Helmes’ next priority. New Tradition has created an air exchange system to lower humidity in the homes it builds.
New Tradition also pays close attention to window and door treatments, especially when it comes to flashing. Preventative drainage systems are built into crawl spaces to ensure that moisture has a way to exit if it manages to get in.
“As the industry learns more, the newer homes are adopting more and more of these practices,” Helmes said. “I think partly the potential for litigation prompted that (about) 10 years ago when mold litigation was
at the forefront. Builders saw a potential of the litigation and said, ‘Let’s try to address it before and not after.’”
Mold may creep up soon
But Todd Grewe, a construction litigator and shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt’s Portland office, said the rest of the region is knee-deep in water-intrusion litigation and predicts the trend won’t slow down any time soon – especially between condo builders and homeowners associations.
He expects the regional boom of residential construction could bring about more moisture-related litigation in the near future, especially combined with the slowing housing market and overall economy.
“That construction boom is about five years old and that’s the amount of time it takes for (moisture) problems to manifest themselves,” Grewe said. “In a high lawsuit-type environment the builders are being very careful. It just makes good business sense.”
Even with their proactive efforts, Kashas and Helmes said industry mold issues have contributed to their rising insurance costs.
“We’ve never had a claim but our liability insurance climbs and climbs,” Kashas said.
He said his company’s insurance premiums have gone up more than five times in the last five or six years, doubling in one year alone.
He suspects it is partly due the company’s growth, but speculates at least half of the increases were spurred by industry-wide troubles with lawsuits related to condos, townhouses and products like synthetic stucco.
Helmes said New Tradition saw large increases in insurance costs around 2004.
“I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say the insurance costs went up 500 percent,” he said. “It happened very quickly it was around the same time there was a lot of public reporting on mold problems nationally.”
But Kris Greene, agency manager at Vancouver-based Country Insurance and Financial Services, claims there’s not a connection.
“I haven’t seen rate increases due to mold specifically,” he said. “Industry-wide, it seems to me that there was an increase for general liability for everybody.”
Greene said he hasn’t had a claim directly related to mold during his 11 years in the business.
“I haven’t heard of a big issue in a long time,” he said. “Builders generally do a very good job of protecting the homes they’re building.”
He said insurance companies have to respond to business liability claims regarding mold, but that frequent or severe claims can create the possibility for such a business to lose coverage.
“If someone is doing something continuously and consistently wrong they could get dropped by the insurer,” Greene said. “That’s been going on as long as insurance companies have been around. It’s not specifically related to mold.”
Insurance and litigation risks are just a couple of reasons Buckley said it’s worth the extra investment in moisture-proofing methods during construction.
“There are some added costs, but that’s such a minor cost on a large project,” Buckley said of the preventative measures. “(But) it’s added insurance. The alternative is potentially incredibly costly.”
GET VENTILATED
Today’s tightly built homes can be good for keeping the weather out. But they can also be a common trap for indoor moisture.
Jeremy Harmon, president and owner of Vancouver-based Tri-Tech Heating, said that without adding ventilation mechanisms, it’s easy to for a mold problem to develop.
“They make houses so tight that they don’t breathe properly,” he said.
Along with heating and air conditioning service, Tri-Tech often installs energy recovery ventilators in homes.
“It’s an exhaust system that brings fresh air into the home and exhausts it at the same time,” Harmon said. “It recovers about 70 to 80 percent of the heat that it’s exhausting so you’re not wasting a ton of energy as you do it.”
Harmon said homes with forced air heating and cooling systems tend to have fewer moisture problems than homes with radiant heat or wall heaters.
“On a forced air system you can put in the electronic air cleaners, remove the (mold) spores in the air and capture them,” he said.
But ventilation gets his highest recommendation, especially in areas like bathrooms and kitchens that tend to have higher moisture levels. He said it helps improve air quality, utility bills and environmental sustainability
“Bringing in that outside air, you’ll have much fresher air inside,” he said.
LOCAL BUILDERS' RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MOLD PREVENTION:
Protect materials from moisture damage prior to installation
Avoid installing dampened materials
Maintain clean central air
Avoid heating indoors with fossil fuels that generate water vapor
Keep buildings well ventilated
Use flexible, self-adhering flashing on windows and doors
Waterproof the inside of walls
Add drainage systems to crawl spaces
Charity Thompson can be contacted at cthompson@vbjusa.com.
